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2005 xlt 1200 water in crankcase

5K views 25 replies 5 participants last post by  Dave in DE 
#1 ·
Here is a pic of what I found when i disassembled a XLT1200 recent acquisition. Waverunner has not run since 2016. Don't know the backstory how the water got in, maybe rolled and continued to run? Crank will not spin for obvious reasons. Cylinders were in great shape.

Few questions,

Is any part of the bottom end salvageable? Case? Crank?

Are the carbs flooded? Salvageable?

I've never split a case, if it is salvagable is it difficult to reseal?

Has the water affected the magneto-electronics etc?

Dunno if this is important, the starter relay is bad also. just info. electronics box looks pristine.

Thank you for your help.

Tom




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#2 ·
Wow, that's going to be a complete build job. How the water got in, could be a multitude of possibilities. Could have even been stored with drain plugs in and the front edge of the seat leaks and it filled up with rain water.
The case will be ok. The crank is trash, but a usable core.
The carbs should be ok, but need a complete rebuild.
The magneto and electrical on the front of the motor are sealed in a separate compartment. so it should be good if it doesn't have a leak. Even if water is in there it may be ok. Just need a good cleaning.
Splitting the case and resealing isn't much harder than what you've just finished. Just need new crank, crank seals and Yamaha bond to seal the case halves back together.
And of course a service manual will be a must have.
Be prepared this will be quite a bit more expensive than the 800. You may want to pice it out before you go further. I wouldn't use SBT for the crank though. Not fond of the way they assemble them or the parts they use. Have seen to many crank failures from them. There's others much better. I'll get you more info as it's getting late for me.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply, and for remembering me from the 800 build. I believe from what I read, towing this craft faster than idle will flood the engine through the exhaust coolant hoses. That's prob what happened when the starter relay failed on the lake years ago and no one knew better (including me)

I've split the case, case looks clean, cylinders are smooth and nikasil intact, power valves in place and functional, carbs need rebuild, I'll probably do reeds too since it's out of the machine, Magneto was clean and looks good.

I've been looking at crankshafts, Can I reuse the pistons if they look good and get new rings?

I really think other than crankshaft, carb rebuild, oil lines, starter relay, I'm in good shape. Ever heard anything about Erickson machine and performance? they have videos on youtube, do a lot of PWC machining. I've emailed them about rebuilding the crank. They responded quickly. Dunno pricing yet.

There was a crank called Hot shot or Hot rod something that got good reviews. reasonable price. Ebay also has some used but IDK whether I want the risk on used.

So, removal of the star looking spindle thing from the crank, unscrew? Press? flywheel? press? I've got gear pullers, impact wrenches etc. If i get a crank are those pieces hard to transfer? I've got a local machine shop with a buddy if I need a ball bearing pressed, but they wouldn't rebuild the whole crank.

Again, you've been a good help. Thanks for the time you volunteer for this.

Tom
 
#4 ·
Yes, towing faster then 5mph or so can flood them.
Hot rods is one of the better/best out there for cranks.
The flywheel you'll need a puller. It's a tapered shaft end with key.
The coupling on the rear screws off. Don't remember if its right or left hand threaded. If you can see threads you'll have to figure it out. Pretty sure it's in the manual though. The hard part will be holding the crank to turn it off. If you order from hotrods they may remove/install it for you when you send yours in for core. You'll have to ask about it.
With all the rust in this I'd definitely do reeds, carbs, Piston, rings, clean up the cyl with scotch Brite. That's assuming that the cyl are ok size wise. But if they still show original cross hatch hone marks you should be good. New crank.
To rebuild one of these cranks is a specialized task. They have to be precisely aligned and welded. Not a job for average shop.
No problem with help Tom. I'm here to share experience and knowledge ?
 
#5 ·
Pulled the reeds to check them, little rust on the cages, there seemed to be a sealant between the plastic piece with the three holes and the metal piece. It may have been silicone based, came right off with fingernail. It was very thin, placed around the intake holes and screw holes, is this something I need to replicate? I've already wiped it all off the black plastic, there are a few remnants on the metal plate to the left of the upper two middle screw holes in this picture
Rust Auto part Metal


I'll keep up to date with you as progress continues, and what I do for a crank.

Do you know any literature or specs for ohm reading on Magneto coil? What is the other piece in the front cover? The small electrical black thing with the two screws? I'd love to verify the electrical components in the front housing work before I reassemble and don't have any spark.
Auto part Engine Clutch


Thanks again.
 
#6 ·
Hoping to catch anyone before an answer,

I checked the starter with a battery, it worked fine, no reason to replace while I have the engine out? it looks to be a bear to change if it failed in the future.

Also, any idea on a quality starter relay? there are several options from $9.00 to $110.00 on Amazon.

Getting excited to have 2(hopefully) running units. Shipped crank out today to Erickson's machine, New Jersey. seems like a nice guy, competent, one man show. $500 for total rebuild. seems reasonable. He's got youtube videos which inspired confidence in me.

Fuel in machine is prolly 4 yrs old. gonna empty tank and get rid of.

Tom
 
#7 ·
Unfortunately I don't have any info on charge coil resistance. The 1200 is different from the 800.
As for the starter relay go with factory yamaha. Get it from either partzilla or Babbittsonline. Both are yamaha direct parts. When it comes to electrical always use Yamaha parts it will save you a ton of headaches.
 
#10 ·
Current status,

Auto part Engine Soil Vehicle
Auto part Engine


engine still apart, Crankshaft at Erickson's performance and machine in NJ (does good youtube videos. One man show, seems exceptionally competent with powersports)

have remainder of components ready to go. Cleaned cylinders and powervalves, pistons were remarkably good, still had all machining marks, rings rusted. top bearings shot, wrist pins ok. I'm thinking under 100 hours on ski but I"ll know when it's reassembled. Case good, ohm-ed out magneto , charging coil, ignition coils, ran starter, needs start relay

If i remember this ski hasn't run for @ four years, the low oil alarm always came up when we started it. had to push a button to clear the alarm. I checked the resistances against spec on the oil sensor floats and they were ok, electical connection was good. dunno why it's alarming, we'll see if it continues.

Carbs were clean, but soaked and redid them anyhow.

Thank you for your interest. This has been fun. From my very limited experience, these two stroke engines seem much less complicated to work on than four stroke. I realize four stroke is the way (maybe even electric) to go with new skis when these blow up again someday, what is your experience with four stroke repairs compared to two stroke? seems like there's more sensors and potential electronic gremlins that might frustrate. Just planning for someday.

I'm looking right at $1000 all done barring unexpected issues. If it runs well for a few years I'm ok with that expenditure.

Do the full size images take too long to load? should I do thumbnails instead?

Let you know when it's done.

Tom
 
#11 ·
Boy do you have your hands full. I only wish I was in there with you. I love to tear them apart and rebuild them. I guess it comes from my Moto cross days. Back then I'd pull it down between heats. Sometimes for rings others for a complete top end. All between races setting in the dirt.

Your pic are fine just as they are.
 
#12 ·
The pictures are great! Living vicariously through you on this. I have pulled down 0.00 2-stroke engines. Used to be an old BMW man back in the day. Pulled those apart like I was eating crab.
what’s the two-stroke oil mix doing out on the table? Nice Makita impact.
If it’s not a secret, tells us what the NJ guy did to the crank and what he charged.
also interested in pics by phase of reassembly.
thanks so much for sharing! Looking forward to seeing the next post!
 
#14 ·
Yes Dave, this is all new to me, it's learning by doing. what's the worst that could happen? I'm a plumber by trade, so dirty hands are normal. Interesting about your motocross, in my early 20's i acquired a barn find (really just been sitting forever) 1974 honda elsinore MT250 two cycle enduro with oil injection. took that thing completely apart too. ran well. did a lot of trail riding with it, until the carb float stuck and ran gas into the flywheel cover and spark ignited and burned it down. oh well, stories from the past.

I'm in Central Ohio.

Lex, thanks for jumping in. this machine and a two cylinder Yamaha gp800r are my first ever jet ski projects. the other machine is done, someone put gasoline in the oil premix tank and the engine ran lean scoring the pistons and cylinders. The two stroke I'm using as assembly lube on the powervalves, pistons, crank... I got some yamalube so I can stay consistent with the two cycle.

I don't have the crank back, but it needed all new everything, main needle bearings, and ball bearings, probably some resurfacing. two rods wouldn't move without force. Necessitating crank disassembly and reassembly. He also is doing seals etc. and will remove and reinstall flywheel and drive coupler. ready to drop in. If you google or facebook his company, Erickson machine, it'll come up. Like i said above, one man show, deal with the owner. youtube too. This is not necessarily an endorsement as I've not had the part returned, but his reviews are all top notch and he assured me OEM quality. Total price parts and labor $520. SBT cranks were $475 with core. I trust Dave when he said not to go SBT on the crank. Who knows what newbie they have doing them? No offense to newbies, as I am one, but you know...
 
#15 ·
Just an note from my teardowns of 2strokes if your reusing pistons, then not sure if your reusing wristpins and the needle cage which were in moist zone. If so make sure there are absolute no rust on needlecage bearings that are used between rod and piston. Any imperfection on those,just like crank bearings is catastrphy!
 
#17 ·

This is the link for Facebook. I don't have a FB account, but I can view the page and see the links.

It doesn't appear there is a website specifically.

There is a youtube channel.

I mailed the Crank to his personal address, I'm guessing he wouldn't want that out there.

Email was ericksonmandp@gmail.com
 
#20 ·
I was tempted to buy a used crank from a seller parting out on Ebay for the 1200, but again, with my limited knowledge, crankshafts are critical to be just right. I guess if I wasn't worried about getting max life out of the engine I might try used.

I'm already mildly concerned about the 800r i just finished top end with a crank with 180 hrs, but the crank spun very well and crankcase had oil and no debris. Hope it's good, cuz that's what I'm running now!
 
#21 ·
  1. You should be good on the 800. My 01 800 at about 125hrs and the guy I bought it from kept running it on a broken oil line till it wouldn't run because of no compression. It had aluminum from Piston all over in chunks and flakes. I cleaned the crank and base out by filling the base full with fuel and turning it over by hand and then sucking out the fuel when all the aluminum was stired up. I did this till it was clean several times. The rod clearance was good so I went for it. Technically I should have replaced it. It's running strong and has been for 4 yrs now. My 02 I bought with 23hrs 3yrs back. it's as pristine as the day it came off the showroom. It has about 70hrs now. I always get complements wherever I ride.
 

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#22 ·
Finally got the crankshaft back from Erickson's Looks to be nicely done. New rods, bearings all the way around.

The Crank seals did not come on the crank, I had to assemble the seals and flywheel and drive coupler, but not a big deal. The three seals would only go on one way. hopefully.

Spent a few hours assembling the cases and stator cover.

Last week I took apart the reed cages and cleaned the reeds and cages. The reeds weren't torn or broken and felt 'normal' to a rookie.

But the middle cage set has the smallest gap at the end of the reed on two petals. less than 1/16" but light will shine through. Do these need replaced? is that gap a big deal affecting starting and throttle response?

Auto part Engine Automotive engine part Vehicle Machine
 
#25 ·
So finally finished assembly, all went smoothly,

If you'd have a minute for a couple quick quesitons, please and thank you,

First off, I redid the GP800r, took apart and did the gasoline turkey baster thing. Maybe 8-10 times. Seems to have done the trick. I could definitely see the fine flakes in the fuel as it was a sunny day. Spray a gasket and all is well.

The XLT1200 fired right up after a tsp of fuel in each plug hole.

Still having the beeping from the console telling me low fuel and low oil. Pushing the mode button silences the beeping. I checked all electrical connections while apart, and checked ohm specs on oil sensing module they're in bounds. Any ideas? It's not critical it works, but still annoying.

Lastly, this is the most concerning,

Started it again today just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. started and ran, then made a sound like a bolt got munched or sheared off. the kind of sound that you know isn't good.

Possible a ring broke got hung up and broke? possible a power valve broke? possible just a noise? It almost sounded like it was from the impeller, like a stick was stuck in it and got sheared off.
Anyhow, the machine still ran normally, no rattling like something was stuck in a cylinder or banging around inside the engine. I've got the idle set low so I can hear.

Haven't checked compression. tomorrow.

Final question, greasing the zirc fittings going to the impeller bearing.. How may pumps? how frequently? Can it be over-greased?

Hope all is well in everyone's world.

Tom
 

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#26 ·
For the alarm, try unplugging each sending unit one at a time and see if it goes away. Then maybe you'll figure witch unit it is. Then we can work that out or leave unplugged.

For the noise. You better look it over good. If you have a bore scope that goes on you phone use it to look at cyl walls. If you don't you may want to. Not very expressive. Pic is one I have. Works well.

For greasing mid shaft, I like to get grease gun hooked up. Start ski put in 2 or 3 easy pumps and shut down. Yes they can be over greased. I grease at beginning of each season. With a top shelf Marine grease.
 

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