Super Jet Water in the fly wheel area

[SkiDiggity]

So I am having nothing but bad luck with this motor. I had the motor rebuilt by a known builder and when I got it back the ski would run great until it would get hot then start shutting down. The builder said it was the stator so we replaced the stator and the ski ran great.

I went to change the starter and had to open the flywheel cover to reset the bendix and noticed that there was water in there! Rust on the fly wheel, brand new bendix frozen, and rust on the new stator. I thought it could be the flywheel cover leaking because the gasket looked compromised. I replaced the bendix and when I pulled it out it almost looked like the water was coming in through the back of the bendix. That hole that it sits in. I put the ski all back together rode it at the pismo freeride it ran great and then it started to die again when I would really get on it. I opened the flywheel cover and what do you know water in there again!

Has anyone ever encountered this? How else could water be getting in this thing?!?! I now think I need to replace the stator again and really lube up the bendix to keep from losing this one too.

Any ideas would be helpful, I am just out of energy and money trying to diagnose this on a newly rebuilt motor.

Thanks,

Shane

 

[Gliderskier]

I had a similar problem about a year ago. Every 5 rides would cost me a stator flywheel and bendix. I had water coming in between the cases next to where the starter comes in. I never had the cases apart and the bottom end came out of a couch. I resealed the cases and put in new seals and no problems since

 

[CRJ]

idk about others but i black rtv my cover on, around the wire boot and grease with marine grease the starters o-rings. Mine gets a bit oily, but otherwise dry.

 

[Harbor]

Same here ^^^ plus add a bead of silicon to the starter case, @ the nose, to aid in sealing and help prevent water intrusion past the starter oring

 

[txsuperjetfreak96]

The same as everyone else except when i used stock flywheel cover and gasket i grease both sides of gasket, helps keep water out and saves gasket when you remove flywheel cover

 

[SkiDiggity]

I swiped my finger across the bottom under he fly wheel and there is some grease and stuff too. I also found a small washer which looks like it went to one of the bolts that holds the flywheel cover on but all of them have washers so idk where it came from.

Any ideas on the ski randomly shutting down after like 5 min of riding? Does it sound like this stator is toast?

 

[CRJ]

if you had a washer in there yea lol

 

[SkiDiggity]

hahah I don't know if it did any damage but I will leave everything as is, pull the flywheel this weekend hopefully and post pictures. If the water is coming in between the cases, what is the easiest way to repair that? do you have to take the whole motor apart? or can you just unbolt it from the bottom and split them?

 

[eastcoastjumper]

What kind of front cover do you use?

If you get a couch cover it has the oil injection. make a little plate for the blockoff and put a brass straight 3/8 fitting in it and keep this tool. Also buy another proper blockoff they sell for 10$.

After you properly seal your starter with some 1211, put the cover on making sure to seal the stator grommet with some 1211 also. If you have a pop off tester pump 8-10 psi in there and it should hold. If it doesn't, spray some bubbles around the case and you found your leak.

Seal the new oil injection blockoff plate with a little 1211 and there you go. You now have a tool to test every time you build your engine. thus saving you $$ in the long run.

 

[SkiDiggity]

It's the stock cover. No area for oil injection. It's just a 94 701 61x

 

[eastcoastjumper]

It's the stock cover. No area for oil injection. It's just a 94 701 61x

so buy a couch cover for $10, a block off for $10 on ebay, and you wont waste any more time and $ chasing your water problem. you already wasted 2 stators& got a rusty bendix/flywheel

 

[Big Kahuna]

I silicone all around the starter before I slide it in there...........

 

[SkiDiggity]

so buy a couch cover for $10, a block off for $10 on ebay, and you wont waste any more time and $ chasing your water problem. you already wasted 2 stators& got a rusty bendix/flywheel

It does not seem like the water is coming in through the cover though. The gasket is bone dry.

I silicone all around the starter before I slide it in there...........

I followed Jetmaniac's instructions on how to install the starter and put a fat bead of 1211 around the front of it before sliding it in.

 

[Jetfiend]

I had the same water intrusion issues last season running an O-ring front cover. Was there any case trenching performed when you had your engine built?

 

[SkiDiggity]

I had a brand new OEM gasket that I used and no i did not have any case trenching performed. Just had the crank redone and a new top end.

 

[eastcoastjumper]

It does not seem like the water is coming in through the cover though. The gasket is bone dry.

I followed Jetmaniac's instructions on how to install the starter and put a fat bead of 1211 around the front of it before sliding it in.

There's more to test than just your cover seal with this cheap tool i'm talking about.

porous case/cracked case
starter seal
internally starter could be leaking through the nose
front cover
front crank seal(not your problem here)

SInce you just had your cases rebuilt whoever did it could have improperly used too much 1211... not enough...none.. who knows reading this

 

[Gliderskier]

There's more areas for water to come in than the front cover bud

 

[swapmeet]

Same as BK and Skidiggity said.... I had the same issues and the silicone on the snout of the starter helped immensely. You build it up just below the O-ring, let it skin up a little but not completely dry. Then slide it on without messing it up, bolt it down... you should be good concerning any water getting in from that spot. General consensus is that water gets in via that spot when you get water above your starter in the bilge area.
IDK if thats something you deal with often.

I have a SB Products plexi flywheel cover. So pretty much every time I ride it gets a little fog on the window. I always assume its just condensation caused by the heat from the motor and humidity in the air. Some days I'm glad I have it so I can see if anything has gone awry, but most of the time it just makes me worry more. "Hmm... I hope that fog isn't a bad thing..."

 

[SkiDiggity]

There's more to test than just your cover seal with this cheap tool i'm talking about.

porous case/cracked case
starter seal
internally starter could be leaking through the nose
front cover
front crank seal(not your problem here)

SInce you just had your cases rebuilt whoever did it could have improperly used too much 1211... not enough...none.. who knows reading this

Where do you get the pop off tester and how would I use it to see if there is a leak in the in the front?

 

[eastcoastjumper]

Maniac sells the real tool. Do you know how to work on carbs? If not then don't waste 40$ on it.

I can't give out any more secrets, I'm getting yelled at already...