2001 Yamaha XL800 issues - PWC Forum: The best hang-out for Personal WaterCraft enthusiasts

Mikeyg2 · 08-07-2011, 03:28 PM

I have two 2001 Yamaha XL800's that I bought a few years ago.

One of them (the wife's) jumps up out of the water and planes out fairly quick when you hit the throttle.

Mine starts to go but just keeps its nose out of the water for a while then eventually the motor revs faster and it jets out of the water and planes out like it should.

Also we have a sandy beach that we ride to and after beaching mine and having the ski rest while we swim, I start it up and the throttle cable seems to stick for a while until the ski revs up and takes off. This happens only after the thing is beached. I tried lubricating the cable but it works fine all the rest of the time and never sticks unless I beach the ski.

Anyone have any possible solutions? Do I need a tune up or something? After it gets going it runs like mad but it definitely takes longer to get on plane then the other ski of the same make and model.

Ernest T · 08-07-2011, 06:58 PM

Sounds like cavitation. Look at the impeller for dings and nicks and too much clearance between it and the wear ring. You may need to rebuild the pump.

Mikeyg2 · 08-08-2011, 08:51 PM

I will look, thank you.

What exactly is cavitation?

The thing runs great once it gets up on plane and sometimes it gets on plane quicker than others. There is no weird vibration either.

I will check out the impeller and see if there is play but what do you think the problem with the throttle could be? It's strange how it only sticks after it has been beached then loosens up as soon as the ski takes off.

Ernest T · 08-09-2011, 06:20 PM

If there is wear on the impeller or wear ring you can get too much clearance. One symptom is that you hit the throttle and nothing happens for a while, then it gradually picks up and goes. That is why I suggested it might be cavitation............you don't always get vibration in this case.

If that is the problem it should happen all the time, not just when you beach it. I can't explain the symptoms after you beach it unless you are picking up lots of sand. You should never run the engine in less than 2 feet of water. If you are going to beach it you head for the beach then kill the engine when you are still deep and let the ski coast in. Then when you start back up, push the ski into deep water before you crank it, or you will quickly destroy the wear ring or impeller.

Mikeyg2 · 10-29-2011, 08:19 AM

I took it to the marina and they told me it was the servo. An easy $750.00 later and I had a working ski again

I asked the guy if there was something I did to cause the servo to fail and he said that it's just a malfunction and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

I have another ski identical to this one, I hope the servo lasts on it.

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Ernest T · 10-29-2011, 12:39 PM

The power valve servo motor is actually a pretty rare failure point, but the valves themselves are much more common to fail.

Glad you got it sorted.