300/440/550 what do i do after it sinks?

[Bluegill]

well, I sunk my 550sx yesterday and completely flooded the engine compartment. the ski was not running when it sunk and i didnt try to turn it over until i took the plugs out. I got the engine compartment all vacuumed and dried out, but now I want to get it running again. What should I do? Thanks for all the help guys, this site has been awesome.

 

[meatball]

ok basically all you gotta do is ensure the water is out within 24 hours preferably 12. Take the plugs out and crank it until the water is out of the cylinders (after first tipping it and draining them) then, start it up and run it for a half hour.

 

[Bluegill]

do i need to drain the gas?

 

[STEELDOGG]

X 2, and it would be a good idea to have an extra set ( or 2 ) of dry spark plugs to pop in during the process.

 

[keefer]

After you get most of the water out by draining it you will have to put the plugs in and prime it to basically put extra fuel/oil mixture so that it will displace the moisture. If you do not have a primer, dribble a little premix down the carb or in each spark plug hole. You will probably have to remove & dry the plugs and re prime several times before it will run on its own. Sometimes you can get it to run on one cyl with one plug still out first and then replace the other plug and it will run good enough to dry out the other cyl. Get it running ASAP before the crank rusts up and trashes everything.

 

[sflsurfrider]

RlDE lT!

 

[Bluegill]

sorry if i misunderstood, but do i need to drain out all the gas in the tank?

 

[keefer]

If it was not running when it sank it might be ok, however I would drain the tank anyway to insure that no water got in there. It is hard to tell because the water will be on the bottom and is hard to see through the thick yellowed plastic. You really need to get it running very soon before you end up with a ruined engine. Anytime I have drowned one I always did whatever it took to get it running within minutes or a few hours of the incident. Get some premix, a couple sets of plugs and get to it man!

 

[Bluegill]

i have been dumping a ton of premix in it (down the carb and in the plug hole). i will keep turning it over with the plugs out and blasting out all the gas, it just seems like there is still a ton of water in it. I guess i will just keep trying. thanks.

 

[jakew4]

i have been dumping a ton of premix in it (down the carb and in the plug hole). i will keep turning it over with the plugs out and blasting out all the gas, it just seems like there is still a ton of water in it. I guess i will just keep trying. thanks.

Have you actually tipped the ski upside down and hit the start button to get the water out? If not, try that and that will solve your problem. Keep trying it. Also, put your finger over the holes so it suctions out the water.

Just like everyone else is saying, keep trying it and get that thing started asap.

 

[brentR]

dont put too much gas in there with all that water while cranking, it will foam up !!!

 

[SQUARE JOEL!!!]

Draining the gas tank shouldn't be your concern right now.......concern should be, like everyone else is saying, get the water out of your engine! It sucks and is time consuming, but get some beer and have at it. Good luck!

 

[sflsurfrider]

its not that time consuming. i can typically get a ski on the water within 20 minutes after sinking.

here its been 2 days and a lotta talking. can you say rusty bearings?

 

[01PROX600]

My buddy sank his 550 last year, and it took us about 20-30 minutes to get him back on the water riding. Like everyone said we pulled the plugs and kept cranking it over until all the water was out of the motor. Got the plugs back in and he was able to ride it for another couple hours that afternoon. What seemed to happen was since the exhaust was filled with water and we had the plugs out i think alot of that water backed up through the motor and shot out the plug holes...that is the most time consuming part....

Edit: spelling

Funny site for people on shore watching 3 grown men with two floating skis trying to all hold up a sinking 550 in about 20 feet of water and swim it close enough to shore to walk it in...

 

[BigDog452]

if you cant get it running i bet the reeds are broken or bent. thats what happen last time i sunk my ski. if you cant get it running and all else fails. fill the crank case up with automatic transmission fuild to save your crank and pour it down the spark plug holes fill that baby all the way up. atf is a rust inhibitor. i store all my motors that way i have laying around as back ups. make sure you when you do this do have the pulse line on the carb off or you will hurt the pump if you turned it over. just turn over by hand and i would start by looking in the intake. i but hope its not salt water 24 hours and its done. i promise. after every surf ride. while it is running i pour a cap of atf down the carbs. just make me feel better. hope you get your ski going

 

[Bluegill]

Well, after about 10 beers and a pissed off wife(aftermarket pipes really resonate inside a garage), i got it running strong again at about 1am. It seemed to run great and I ran it for a while to make sure it was all good and get all the water out. I then started it back up this morning and it fired right up. It was freshwater, not salt water, so hopefully no damage was done. Thanks for all the help guys.