Jet Ski People - Can't Figure Out Where Oil Is Leaking

[Andrew03Mach]

I have a 99 Sea Doo SPX that has not been ran since 2012. Last year, a leak developed somewhere as the bilge was filled with oil and the oil reservoir tank was pretty low. I heard it was common for the tanks to develop hairline cracks overtime so last week I swapped the tank out and cleaned the bilge of all remaining oil. I put some fresh oil into the tank and marked the level on the reservoir and sure enough each day, the oil level is lower than the mark I put on the new tank. There are 3 oil lines that come out of the tank. One from the top of the tank and it appears to be clear of oil until the line goes out of sight under the engine. There are 2 other lines that come off the bottom of the tank. One runs into what looks to be an oil pump and one that runs under the carburetor. I examined each line and they don't appear to have any cracks and do not have oil on the outside of them like you would expect with a leak. I replaced both rubber fittings that the oil lines join and go into the bottom of the tank and those are dry too so the leak is not coming from there. At this point, I am stumped as I can't figure out why the tank is still losing oil. To me, it seems like the leak would have to come from the bottom oil lines but there are no signs of a leak coming from there. Anybody experience anything like this or have any suggestions?

 

[WireEater]

I have a friend who is a certified tech/mechanic for jetski's. I will run it by him.

 

[Andrew03Mach]

I have a friend who is a certified tech/mechanic for jetski's. I will run it by him.

Awesome, thanks! :beer:

 

[Sirhc7897]

The tygon lines they use for all of the oil lines on those things get brittle and crack over time...I'd start checking those first....If they are looking yellowed it's time to replace. If you've never replaced them...it's time to replace...

Secondly, I'd strongly suggest swapping it over to premix...The oil pumps themselves are pretty bombproof (even if the linkage breaks they flip open and default to wide open flow) but a many a ski has been done in by oil starvation issues on those old 951 motors...The blockoff kit for the oil pump is super easy and then just run premix and never have to worry again (decent marine synthetic @ 40:1 will keep it from smoking and give you plenty of lubrication)...

Couldn't hurt to clean your rave valves as well...

Edit - you said a SPX...that's the 800 right, not the 951...Not sure if that motor has rave valves or not...My experience is with the 951 which was "fragile" at best but I heard the 800's were damn near bullet proof...

 

[Blackness03]

Throw it in the trash and pre mix. I know too many motors that have locked up from that system going out

 

[vettez062002]

Throw it in the trash and pre mix. I know too many motors that have locked up from that system going out

x2 every 2stroker Ive had Ive changed to premix

 

[Blown99GT]

shoulda bought a yamaha

 

[Andrew03Mach]

It has the 787 Rotax engine. I have never thought about going to a pre mix but it is something I will have to look into

 

[Outlaw99]

my XP ran like a champ till the day i sold it.

 

[Andrew03Mach]

my XP ran like a champ till the day i sold it.

I haven't had too many issues with my SPX in it's 15 years. The trim system went out and the float for the gas gauge is always breaking. Other than that, it has been a great machine

 

[jbs$]

Andrew, I have a 2004 supercharged Sea Doo with not that many hours on it. It runs like a champ, no smoke, no oil in the bottom, does not foul plugs. Yet, after about an hour and a half of use, it has gone through a quart and a half to two quarts of oil. It seems that every time that I sent it to the dealer, generally in the past for electronic issues, the bill rounded up to $1400.00. I am not sure were to start with the current problem. Anyone have an idea?

 

[YJSONLY]

Andrew, I have a 2004 supercharged Sea Doo with not that many hours on it. It runs like a champ, no smoke, no oil in the bottom, does not foul plugs. Yet, after about an hour and a half of use, it has gone through a quart and a half to two quarts of oil. It seems that every time that I sent it to the dealer, generally in the past for electronic issues, the bill rounded up to $1400.00. I am not sure were to start with the current problem. Anyone have an idea?

You sir need to go to Greenhulk.net. It's the svt of skis. Are you sure it is full of oil after running after they "fill" it? Or does it burn 2 quarts after every hour of run time... Time after time.

 

[sunburned]

Everyone says '2 strokes are a ticking time bomb, go to premix', but I've rarely heard of anyone smoking a motor because of an oiling issue. We had a XLT800 for 5 years or so and never had a problem with the oil injection.

 

[vettez062002]

shoulda bought a yamaha

Yup gp series or get a honda.

 

[Blackness03]

Everyone says '2 strokes are a ticking time bomb, go to premix', but I've rarely heard of anyone smoking a motor because of an oiling issue. We had a XLT800 for 5 years or so and never had a problem with the oil injection.

My buddy smoked a motor 2 weeks ago. Do not trust it. I've had a few XPs and did not pre mix but I only keep them for about a month or 2 every summer. If I was going to keep one, pre mix would be the very first mod.

The trim has been or has went out on every XP I've owned too. Fuel gauge is known to fail also.

 

[Sirhc7897]

Everyone says '2 strokes are a ticking time bomb, go to premix', but I've rarely heard of anyone smoking a motor because of an oiling issue. We had a XLT800 for 5 years or so and never had a problem with the oil injection.

2 strokes aren't a ticking time bomb but their "variable rate oiling systems" are....The oil pump itself is damn near bombproof (they all use the same one and it's as simple of a mechanical pump as there could be) but the lines themselves are notorious for being problematic...The tygon lines eventually swell reducing the oil flow, clog, get brittle and crack, etc...

Figure that into the fact that almost all of that is concealed by the carbs and motor (because all the nastiness drains to the bottom of the hull under the motor) and you almost never notice it until it's too late. I have seen more than a few motors grenade from oil system failures...Rarely ever seen a failure on a pre mix that wasn't caused by some other modification (or in the case of the 1200 yami power valve motors, caused by a dropped power valve or clogged cat)...

 

[Sirhc7897]

Andrew, I have a 2004 supercharged Sea Doo with not that many hours on it. It runs like a champ, no smoke, no oil in the bottom, does not foul plugs. Yet, after about an hour and a half of use, it has gone through a quart and a half to two quarts of oil. It seems that every time that I sent it to the dealer, generally in the past for electronic issues, the bill rounded up to $1400.00. I am not sure were to start with the current problem. Anyone have an idea?

Are you checking the oil level with it warmed up and sitting level in the water or level on the trailer....The 4-tec motors are notoriously tricky about getting a good oil level reading to start with. They need to be warmed up almost to operating temp and sitting absolutely level...You'd likely never see it smoke as the exhaust exits below the water line. The TOPS valve/module is known to be a problem on them. Some are known to leak around the supercharger shaft also. The driveshaft seal (at the motor, not thru hull) could be bad also...

Hell, those motors only hold around 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of oil if memory serves. For you to be losing that much oil it would some you've got something serious going on...I would think you'd be seeing it if it was getting into the hull (the siphon bilge system on those skis pretty well sucks and I would think there'd be an oily residue all over the lower half of the hull interior where the bilge water pools...). If you can't see anything a trick would be to throw a shop towel down there next time you ride and see if it gets any oil residue on it...At least then you could isolate if the problem was a leaking external seal or if the motor was "eating" it....

What about your coolant bottle? I know when I had head gasket issues on my RXP the coolant bottle on the front of the motor would get very milky...If you've had the head pulled for any reason they are notorious for developing leaks there also. The decking is not very good on them (hence why they run a thick head gasket from the factory)...Also, if you've installed a block guard (presses into the cooling passages to help with flex on high boost applications) those are bad about causing sealing issues too...

Lots of variables but I'd isolate if it was leaking into the hull or being lost into the motor first. At least then you'd know which troubleshooting route to take off on...

And yes, visit greenhulk. Jerry and those guys over there are a wealth of PWC related info...

 

[VenomousDSG]

I changed ALL lines in my seadoo xp because of cracking. Fuel and oil lines in seadoo Jetskis are notorious for drying up and cracking due to their exposure to the elements over time.