96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

Chris' Craft

Cadet
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
19
it will start on ether(only used it a couple times) but that is the only way. it seems there is water in the bottom end and you can clean out the cylinders and the plugs, put them back in and they will be wet again after turning over the engine just a few revolutions(plugs dont smell like gas but actually like body odor or sweat). i have drained and refilled both the oil and fuel tanks and still has the problem. it got sunk a couple of years ago and once was drained and cleaned out in ran ok but not as good as before(top speed and idling). since then the problem has gotten worse til now when it wont start. when its running it still has tons of power and will run at WOT for about 30 seconds and then will start coughing. i have also rebuilt the fuel pump and cleaned the carbs. i know i can pull the engine and drain the bottom end but im wondering how it got there if not from when it got sunk. and how would the problem get worse with time? it hasnt been in the water since last summer so the water thats getting into the cyl cant be from a leak. any ideas?
 

Redneck_Randy

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
183
Re: 96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

Could have a cracked water jacket.
 

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
1,895
Re: 96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

If you're wanting really good information on PWC's, see:

Dunnavant Performance Center
1656 Center Point Pky Birmingham, AL 35215
Tech. Assistance 205.854.3528

He's just NE of the Birmingham Airport, and has dozens and dozens of SeaDoo salvage units--including XP's.

High bred two strokes, like XP's and motorcross motorcycles, start incredibly easy when they're tuned properly.
 

waterx117

Cadet
Joined
Jun 11, 2011
Messages
23
Re: 96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

A bad base gasket or head gasket could cause this as well. Either way it is getting water from the cooling into the cylinders.
 

Dryon

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
86
Re: 96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

it hasnt been in the water since last summer so the water thats getting into the cyl cant be from a leak.

Then where is the water from when running engine? On a hose? Engine running before turning on water hose? Something sounds strange here. Need to provide more details......
 

Chris' Craft

Cadet
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Messages
19
Re: 96 Seadoo XP EXTREMELY hard to start

well it hasnt been ran since it was taken out of the water and hasnt been hooked up to a hose. we removed the eng and performed a leak down test and the only leaks were through the reed valves. so we drained the water out of the bottom end. we did find a cracked water jacket in the head so we replaced the head from a donor boat and we are in the middle of reinstalling the eng and hoping that we have isolated all issues and she runs when back in the saddle.
 
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