hekowitz

Dudes.
I bought a 2003 gp 1300 2 days ago. Went out riding it yesterday and it was awesome. Afterwards I parked it in the water next to my boat. This morning it was filled with water ;-(
I sucked the water out again, unscrewed the sparkplugs and ran the starter. It was like a fountain. Then I put the sparkplugs back in and it started. I went for a little run and initially it ran fine but after 5 minutes it started to run on 2 cylinders. I undid the sparkplugs again and ran the starter but no water came out.....
Three things:
1:
Off course I need to find the root cause to the problem. Where is the water leeking in. Any suggestions??

2:
There have been saltwater inside the crankhouse. How do I get it out? I am thinking of pouring in alcohol into the intake to dissolve the water and afterwards running the starter (like when I first emptied the engine). Afterwards the same proces with some kind of oil to grease up the bearings again.

3:
Do you guys think I need to take the engine apart to clean it thoroughly? (please answer no :-) )

Ernest T

1. Most common reason would be you left the drain plugs out, or they are leaking.

2. After you get as much water out as possible through the spark plug holes, you just need to ride the hell out of the ski to clear any residual moisture. I'd recommend putting some Stabil or Startron in the fuel then ride, ride, ride. Alcohol attracts moisture, but does not get rid of it. That is exactly one of the reasons ethanol fuels cause so much damage, not to mention what it does to rubber, and plastic parts. Putting alcohol in there would NOT be a good idea. After you get it home, pull the spark plugs and spray fogging oil down the cylinders, and bump the engine over. I'd do that multiple times to distribute as much oil around as possible.

3. You don't usually need to tear down the engine if you work fast to get as much water out as possible, then ride it. You may need to change out the spark plugs, cause they frequently foul from the water. That may be why its only running on 2 cylinders, so try changing the plugs. If its not the spark plugs then you could have done some damage from the water (hydrolock), then you are looking at lots more work.

__________________
2008 Yamaha FX HO Cruiser
2010 Hurricane Sundeck 2100

hekowitz

Hi Ernest
Thanks for the fast answers.
1: I did install the drain plug :-) -I think I will take the jet on the trailer and fill water inside the hull to see where it leeks out.
2: I was concerned about salt getting left inside the crankcase on bearings and so. Do you think that is over concerned?
3: After I emptied it for water it ran fine. Only after 5-10 minutes or so at full throttle it starting "limping" so I do not expect damage from a hydraulic lock.
There is still spark on all 3 plugs but a change would be good anyway since the plugs are old. I also have some fogging spray to use.
Maybe there is water contaminating the fuel, so I will also put some stabilizer into the tank.

123456

test the compression, chk for water in fuel, if good NEW plugs and ride again.

2deep'n

All the times I've had it out of the water and pulled the plugs to drain it well it was this time when I cleaned the bilge well I forgot to put the damn plugs back in. Water got into carbs I'm sure as it was that deep in hull when I discovered it. Got it out and trailered it back to garage. Pulled battery out then spark plugs, attached battery pack to cables in attempt to blow water out but no action, not even bilge pump reacts when I hit button on handlebar. Help!