My Winter Project

[itsdgm]

So here's my plan of attack. The previous owner said that the engine wouldn't crank. He really didn't get into detail about what that meant, so I left it at that. But he did say that the last time it ran, it ran just fine. So it could be a number of things. My plan of attack is to simply try and figure out if the engine needs to come out of the ski, or if the non-cranking issue is as simple as a bad starter or relay, stuck pump, hydrolocked engine or less likely just a dead battery.

Here's how I decided to tackle this:
1. Drain the fuel tank and refil with a couple gallons of fresh fuel.
2. Do an oil and filter change. Looking both at the oil and in the filter for signs of internal engine issues.
3. Remove and check spark plugs.
4. Cleanout and inspect air box and filter (if there is a filter in there.
5. Replace battery (this ones dead as a door nail.
6. Hookup YDS to read any previous error codes or alarms
7. Attempt to turn over/crank the engine

My next course of action will all depend on what I find along the way to step #7

 

[buckbuck]

You may want to consider a drop of oil on top of each piston to help lubricate cylinder walls. When was the last time this thing ran?

 

[itsdgm]

You may want to consider a drop of oil on top of each piston to help lubricate cylinder walls. When was the last time this thing ran?

Will do. I believe the guy said that it last ran a couple of years ago. The registration tags on the ski are dated 2015, he handed me the "new ones" to put on. They expire 2017

 

[itsdgm]

Ok so here goes step one: draining the old fuel and adding fresh fuel

I accessed the fuel tank filler tube through the front storage compartment.

This required removing a divider. The divider is held down with four plastic rivets. In my case only three, one was missing. These rivets are easy to remove, but only after you destroy one and realize that pushing down in the center releases it. Not prying up on the outer edges. So now I'm down to two. Add that to the list of things to order

IMG_0711

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

IMG_0712

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

It was easy to figure out what needed to be done from there once the divider was removed. So positioned the ski so that the front was lower than the rear. I disconnected the filler hose at the tank. Then I placed my "siphon" tube that I zip-tied a piece of aluminum to. The aluminum allowed me to bend the end of the tube and get all of the fuel from the lowest parts of the tank. Then I have placed a bulb type pump inline that draws out the fuel. It important to place the fuel can as low as possible too. That way a siphon effect is created and the fuel flows through the pump without having to continuously squeeze it.

IMG_0713

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

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• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

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• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

After pulling out only about a gallon of old fuel, I added two gallons of fresh fuel and moved on to the next step.

Edit: BTW, after pulling the divider out, I found the plug for the YDS in there. Sweet, that was on my mental list of things to look out for.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I just saw this I hope you did not pull the engine yet usually the reason the ski will not start after a log nap is the pump liner swells up and locks up the engine, usually pulling the pump will solve the problem. so check that first

 

[itsdgm]

I just saw this I hope you did not pull the engine yet usually the reason the ski will not start after a log nap is the pump liner swells up and locks up the engine, usually pulling the pump will solve the problem. so check that first

Thanks for the input Jeff. That is for sure one of my top suspects on this. To be perfectly honest, the first thing I thought of when the guy said that to me was your prior posts where you've suggested that to other guys over the years. It is a salt water ski, so it's quite possible that the pump housing has swollen. So my plan is to get things checked out to where I can attempt a start, then pull the pump if it doesn't turn over.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

well I can promise you the impeller is seized up if the pump is original, I would remove the back cone with the nozzle and reverse and look at the impeller blades if there is no space between them and the stainless liner then the pump is locked, if you try to start it you could damage the starter if the pump is locked as tight as I believe it is.

 

[itsdgm]

Step two: Oil Change

Right off the bat something didn't look right. When I opened up the oil cooler and removed the dipstick, it was dry as a bone. No oil in sight. I tried to suck out anything that could've been down lower and out of sight as my pela oil extractor can fit down an inch or two below the first baffle. But still nothing. So I moved on to removing the oil filter.

Removing the oil filter is moderately harder than in a boat. First off, you can't see it. Second, there's way less room to get in there and almost impossible to get rags under the engine to capture any spillage. Oh well, the bilge on this thing needs a good cleaning anyway. So I used my trusty filter wrench that I got at Home Depot. It was grabbing hold pretty well, but the filter wasn't budging. It was in there so tight that I had to use the wrench with a breaker bar. Even still it took several cranks with the breaker bar in order to get it loose enough to remove by hand. It was in there good.

IMG_0853

• itsdgm
• Dec 11, 2017

To my surprise, the oil filter was a Yamaha one. At first I thought that maybe the guy that I bought it from, who was the original owner, must've had it serviced at the dealer or something. But thinking back to how bad of shape the trailer was and he did mention taking the ski to a local mechanic to investigate why it wouldn't start. So for a second I thought that since it was so tight in there that the filter could be the original from when it was new. But on second thought, the exterior paint on the filter looked way to good to be that old. After removing the oil filter, it got me thinking that I should open it up and take a look inside just in case there's a bunch of metal shavings in there. Maybe that'll show me something. Nope, it was dirty, but nothing looked out of the ordinary to me. In fact, the oil that got on my hands was surprisingly clean, but imho the filter media looked a bit dirty, but not old enough to be an original. So somewhere along the line it was well taken care of.

IMG_0728

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

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• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

IMG_0729

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

So after replacing the filter, it got me thinking. There’s no way I could attempt to crank the engine unless I knew that there was some oil in the engine. So I added 1 quart and then I could see it in the bottom of the oil cooler. However, after a day, it seemed like the level dropped. So, it’s quite possible that the check valves in the oil pump are leaking through and dumping the oil from the cooler into the oil pan. But time will tell when I get the engine to turn over I’ll continuously check the level to make sure that I’m not under or overfilled. It did get me thinking that it could be possible that the whole bottom end is filled with oil. This would prevent the engine from cranking if it was completely filled with oil. Not very likely, but possible if the oil is just continuously leaking past the oil pump and more oil is added on top to "level it off".

Anyway, On to the next step.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just curious ,, was the trailer level when you looked for the oil on the dipstick? I never owned a m r 1 engine and I assume they are different however adding a quart to an engine that was not level may explain where it disappeared to if the oil was real low. Those had some oil cooler bolt issues and perhaps it leaked out ,, Our 1800 engines do not have oil tanks or oil pans I know it is very important to have the engine level on ours to get a true reading.

 

[itsdgm]

Step 3: Remove and inspect spark plugs

This was pretty straight forward. I unplugged the coils from the wiring harness. Then I used a 10mm socket to pull the Coils. I did notice that one of the coils looks different on the top than the other three. Must've been replaced at one time or another.

Right away I could tell that somebody had recently been maintaining this ski. There was waterproof grease all over the coils where they seat into the valve cover. Obviously this was to seal up the coils and prevent water intrusion. Something that imho would only be done if you're anticipating frequent washdowns. Also, the overall cleanliness of the engine (not so much the bilge) was pretty good. All the clamps are clean and all of the metal parts are in great shape. Especially considering it was used primarily in the ocean.

So, all four plugs came out pretty easily. They all were treated with anti sieze and looked equal. They did seem a bit wet or oily to me. But it's quite possible that some of the grease from the coils found its way down and got picked up by the plug when removed.

IMG_0732

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

I'm going to put some oil in each cylinder as @buckbuck suggested. Also, I will leave the spark plugs out for now. I want to see if the engine will crank without compression and to see if fluid of any kind gets pumped out.

 

[swatski]

Step two: Oil Change

Right off the bat something didn't look right. When I opened up the oil cooler and removed the dipstick, it was dry as a bone. No oil in sight. I tried to suck out anything that could've been down lower and out of sight as my pela oil extractor can fit down an inch or two below the first baffle. But still nothing. So I moved on to removing the oil filter.

Removing the oil filter is moderately harder than in a boat. First off, you can't see it. Second, there's way less room to get in there and almost impossible to get rags under the engine to capture any spillage. Oh well, the bilge on this thing needs a good cleaning anyway. So I used my trusty filter wrench that I got at Home Depot. It was grabbing hold pretty well, but the filter wasn't budging. It was in there so tight that I had to use the wrench with a breaker bar. Even still it took several cranks with the breaker bar in order to get it loose enough to remove by hand. It was in there good.

IMG_0853

• itsdgm
• Dec 11, 2017

To my surprise, the oil filter was a Yamaha one. At first I thought that maybe the guy that I bought it from, who was the original owner, must've had it serviced at the dealer or something. But thinking back to how bad of shape the trailer was and he did mention taking the ski to a local mechanic to investigate why it wouldn't start. So for a second I thought that since it was so tight in there that the filter could be the original from when it was new. But on second thought, the exterior paint on the filter looked way to good to be that old. After removing the oil filter, it got me thinking that I should open it up and take a look inside just in case there's a bunch of metal shavings in there. Maybe that'll show me something. Nope, it was dirty, but nothing looked out of the ordinary to me. In fact, the oil that got on my hands was surprisingly clean, but imho the filter media looked a bit dirty, but not old enough to be an original. So somewhere along the line it was well taken care of.

IMG_0728

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

IMG_0730

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

IMG_0729

• itsdgm
• Dec 9, 2017

So after replacing the filter, it got me thinking. There’s no way I could attempt to crank the engine unless I knew that there was some oil in the engine. So I added 1 quart and then I could see it in the bottom of the oil cooler. However, after a day, it seemed like the level dropped. So, it’s quite possible that the check valves in the oil pump are leaking through and dumping the oil from the cooler into the oil pan. But time will tell when I get the engine to turn over I’ll continuously check the level to make sure that I’m not under or overfilled. It did get me thinking that it could be possible that the whole bottom end is filled with oil. This would prevent the engine from cranking if it was completely filled with oil. Not very likely, but possible if the oil is just continuously leaking past the oil pump and more oil is added on top to "level it off".

Anyway, On to the next step.

Also note - this was the good old "made in Japan" filter with fleece-like media. Can't get those anymore.

--

 

[buckbuck]

Interesting...Your investigations will have me coming back every day. Don't you have to work for a living? How do you spend so much time on this?

 

[itsdgm]

Just curious ,, was the trailer level when you looked for the oil on the dipstick? I never owned a m r 1 engine and I assume they are different however adding a quart to an engine that was not level may explain where it disappeared to if the oil was real low. Those had some oil cooler bolt issues and perhaps it leaked out ,, Our 1800 engines do not have oil tanks or oil pans I know it is very important to have the engine level on ours to get a true reading.

Yeah. I have it on a stand in the garage now. So it's level. But thanks for the advice. Keep it coming. I did look earlier today in the pump housing too. It does seem like I can see daylight almost all the way around. But it's hard to tell on the bottom.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The plugs look older so I wonder if the air filter shows any signs of overfilling the oil, if the engine has too much oil in the pan as you thought would it not get blasted into the air filter element? I still have my bet on the pump being totally locked up.
My ski that blew the timing chain sat for about 2 months and even though they ran it before returning it to me the liner went to hell and I had to replace it , once they start to swell they can lock up really fast, I noticed that every week I had issues starting it with the impeller dragging so I ripped it down and fixed it.
The 2 months is the longest that ski ever sat around without being used, I usually run 2 or 3 times a week all year. Since there is no sign of impact on the tips of the plugs and no sign of water in the combustion chambers evident on the plugs I doubt the engine has any real issues.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The bottom is the usual place they start to lock up do you see any dark spots or dark lines in the liner surface I found that the impeller striking high spots heats that spot and turns it dark

 

[itsdgm]

Thanks for the tips Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC Ill know a lot more in a few days when the battery that I ordered comes in. But my next step is to check the air cleaner and box. So I'll keep you posted.

 

[itsdgm]

Interesting...Your investigations will have me coming back every day. Don't you have to work for a living? How do you spend so much time on this?

That's funny . Ironically, it takes way longer to document here on the thread that it has taken me to do the work. So I'll spend an hour in the garage working and taking pics when I get the chance (often late at night). Then I'll start typing and uploading pics when I get the chance and can't work on the ski. Like right now, waiting to pick up kids from school. Either way, I'm not in a rush, so far it has been relaxing to just get to it when I can.

Btw, it's been a long, long, long week at work. Being a firefighter in Southern California this past week has meant working a lot more hours than usual.

 

[buckbuck]

Hmmm...I am seeing pictures of an oil soaked air cleaner assembly. Are you ready to comment?

 

[Seadeals]

Aren’t you seeing the oil filter he cut open?

 

[ScarabMike]

Love threads like these. Interesting build @itsdgm !!!