test running ski

mattdd

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Messages
102
i'm thinking about buying my first jet ski. its gonna be used so i was wondering if there is any way to start them out of the water. do you need to hook up a hose or just not run them very long? i'm clueless on it.
 

mancho

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
121
Re: test running ski

Most nowdays have a hose hookup on the top of the manifold. It's a 20 plastic part, well, was in my case.

Otherwise, I never ran it more than 1 minute when out of water.

What ski are you looking at? We had skiis for 15 years, they are fun.
 

oldjeep

Admiral
Joined
May 17, 2010
Messages
6,455
Re: test running ski

Depends on the ski. The 4 stroke we just bought has a closed cooling system so you can start it on the trailer as long as you don't go crazy with it. Make sure you water test it - having it run on the trailer under no load doesn't mean a thing.
 

Fireman431

Rear Admiral
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
4,292
Re: test running ski

Make sure you water test it - having it run on the trailer under no load doesn't mean a thing.

+1 on that.

Depending on the ski, there should either be a hose hookup under the seat or in the rear, next to the jet drive. Make sure you start the ski before turning on the water flow and shut off the water before shutting off the ski (opposite of a boat engine). Running the water before the engine starts runs the risk of water pushing thru the exhaust manifold, back into the engine. This will hydrolock the engine, causing roughly $1000 in damage.
 

Ernest T

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 29, 2009
Messages
367
Re: test running ski

having it run on the trailer under no load doesn't mean a thing.

+2

Many skis will start and run great on the trailer with no load.........put the same ski in the water and it bogs and dies. Doing a test ride is a must to really test the engine and pump system. A compression check is another good idea for 2 stroke skis.
 

Dryon

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
86
Re: test running ski

You can do a quick start with a couple of throttle rev's, but don't run longer than 30 seconds. I do this every time I pull out of the lake just to clear out the exhaust of any standing water. This will only tell you that it cranks....The real test comes when it's in the water underload.
 

robcarync

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 19, 2010
Messages
82
Re: test running ski

My first ski was a spur of the moment craigslist ski.....cranked right up on the trailer....didnt run well at all on the water. My second ski i didnt water test....but i very thoroughly ran it on the hose and listened to the entire throttle range....and the previous owner even showed me pictures and a video on his camera that was time stamped from the previous weekend which gained my trust a little bit. But yes....get some sort of proof that it runs on the water.

On a side note....I got suckered into the reasoning on the first ski "well its cosmetically in bad shape but mechanically it seems good"

If its been cosmetically beat up and abused...most likely it has been abused in other ways as well...


of course I only had a 600 dollar budget to work with
 

PSG-1

Seaman
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
50
Re: test running ski

+2

Many skis will start and run great on the trailer with no load.........put the same ski in the water and it bogs and dies. Doing a test ride is a must to really test the engine and pump system. A compression check is another good idea for 2 stroke skis.

+3 on that. I've seen jet skis that were running on 2 out of 3 cylinders run just fine on the trailer, but put them in the water and they bog.

Buy a compression tester and check all cylinders. Typical 2 stroke PWC compression is about 130-160 PSI
 
Top