angiegood

Hello, I am new to the forum and have done some extensive reading, thanks to everyone for all the info available here. I am ashamed to say I have been doing some things wrong as I did not read my owners manual.

I bought the ski used last year, it is an 03 it currently has 38 hours on it. It was bought new in 09. I last rode it a couple of months ago then it sat. I didn't realize the issue with the gas going bad so the first ride after it sat it was bogging down. It's almost like it is running out of gas it will go fine then bog down then go then bog. You can play with the throttle and keep it going by avoiding keeping the throttle wide open.

After that ride I read about the fuel and used some fuel cleaner as well as fuel stabilizer, after about an hour or so it pretty much ran great with a couple of instances of bogging down. As I was getting off the water after the last ride the fuel warning came on.

Went out the next day and filled it up with gas, now it's right back to the same problem but even worse then the first time.

I know from reading the posts I need to check the spark plugs and make sure my gas tank is not contaminated. I am just hoping to get some opinions about a few issues.

When starting up the ski it had a pretty good amount of bluish smoke, not a lot but something I have not noticed before. Also the tail has a pretty good amount of what looks like carbon on the tail.

Now to my mistakes I was not allowing the ski to warm up pretty much just taking off and giving it all it's got.

Second my husband usually flushes the ski but I did it the last time before it sat and I turned the water on before the engine. Not for long maybe a couple of seconds.

I have it at the dealer and based on the black stuff on the tail which I think is carbon he thinks the rings could be bad. I just have a hard time believing it could be that based on such low hours. Does anyone think I could have blown the rings by flushing it for just a few seconds like that? Do the turbos go bad at such low hours? Could the smoke be from the cleaner? Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

I also have an 05 non turbo that sat the same amount of time and it runs fine.

Thanks so much in advance!!

Angie

calivette2003

There is so much that could be wrong it's hard to tell from just reading it.
I would try going out and getting a compression tester ($10-15) and see what the reading are for each cylinder then look up the nominal value in the spec sheet. After that it's anybody's guess I'm afraid

calivette2003

angie, see my post, maybe the same thing? I have zero blue or black smoke though. Let me know if there is any noise clunking coming from the back end (seats removed)

jrinjax

You need to run away from that dealer. All Hondas run very rich and generate soot, especially the '02-03 models which had a richer fuel map in the ECU.
You just need to install new sparkplugs [Advance Auto Parts $11 each] along with some SEAFOAM to the fuel since Hondas will foul plugs frequently [especially the 02-03s] if they are cranked and then shut down before they have a chance to warm up [they lean out once they are warm]. You only need to warm them up for a couple of minutes before you take off WOT since the ECU will not allow full boost pressure until it warms up.
Be sure to control corrosion in your engine bay with a spray of CRC656 especially on the hard to reach turbo.
Your Honda has a high probability of being overfilled with oil due to their unique oil system and poor Dealer awareness.
There is a huge amount of helpful info on PWCTODAY.COM in the Honda forums.
Enjoy you toy.

angiegood

Thanks so much for the reply's I appreciate it very much. I will try the items recommended and see where that gets me. I bought some seafoam on Friday since it was recommended on some other posts. Am I putting one can per tank of gas?

jrinjax

One can per tank every 5 or 6 fills is plenty. I use Chevron Gas with Techrolene [the best fuel injection cleaner] in it so I seldom have to add anything and have never had an injector problem in the PWCs or my boat.

angiegood

Thanks again! Here is a pic of the tail. Any thoughts?

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jrinjax

I have seen many much worse, but you might be overfilled with oil. When Honda changed the ECUs on the 04-07s they updated the software to make them use less fuel and burn cleaner but even the later models still show some soot. You also need to look into changing the plastic nuts around the cables coming through your hull in the picture. The plastic nuts break and water pours inside the hull [it sinks].
There was/is? a guy selling unbreakable aluminum ones on ebay and the descriptions on changing them are on the Honda Forums of GreenHulk and PWCTODAY.COM.

angiegood

Thanks, I will look into the nuts today. I go to a car wash and wash them down every time we ride, I just don't ever remember it having any soot on it, I might be wrong but I don't think so. I really appreciate your time and advice.

calivette2003

Yeah lots of soot but was that after you took it out on the water?

I use the same professional car wash and wax I use on my Corvette (Detail King.com) and I swear by theri produucts. See my homepage or profile pics. Nothing sticks to my cars or my skis and they look as new!

Angie, Let me know if your Honda works after you check the WGS.

David

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