1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

[Yamahaha1]

1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel. Put new starter in as old had a bit of rust in inner bearing. The starter seems to turn freely but does not engage flywheel or engine. I am stumped Tried charging battery and battery test " OK But need charging" Charge Battery again same result on Battery Test. Lanyard is engaged and start switch "seems to be making starter motor turn. This is a 1997 760cc 3 Carb, I am lost. Any help appreciated want to get it up before season is out.
Curious as to what engages flywheel as this starter is type without pinion gear. Must be something in flywheel cover, near magneto or I simply do not understand How it would ever disengage. Shop manual is useless for diagrams on the 760 as it is 1993-96 Ski is a 1997.
Already crippled the body working on this ...now ready to lose the mind. Thanks for reading and any help,..

 

[V-Tech]

Re: 1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

Many jet skis have a starter drive, or bendix, which is seperate from the starter motor. In fact, many different brand jet skis use the exact same starter drive. If I am right about you having the starter drive seperate from the starter, it is a much more involved repair than just changing the starter motor. If your starter motor is running, but not cranking over the engine, that is very likely your problem.

Basically you probably need a new starter drive/bendix. Good luck!

 

[Yamahaha1]

Re: 1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

Many jet skis have a starter drive, or bendix, which is seperate from the starter motor. In fact, many different brand jet skis use the exact same starter drive. If I am right about you having the starter drive seperate from the starter, it is a much more involved repair than just changing the starter motor. If your starter motor is running, but not cranking over the engine, that is very likely your problem.

Basically you probably need a new starter drive/bendix. Good luck!

Thank You for your response V-Tech. It is my guess that this resides in the front flywheel housing. My shop manual has a blurry diagram and mostly caters to the 500CC Engine. Guess its time to remove gas tank and crack the cover and take a look. Maybe ( If there is one) the return spring is rusted stuck the was evidence of some moisture and rust on the inner starter neck bearing, when I dismantled to rebuild it. Might be a good time to get in there and check for any other water penetration and resolve gasket leak and water infiltration. If anyone has a decent diagram of where this Bendix/Idler Gear... is located, Please post a link or email it.

 

[bigdaddypt]

Re: 1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

The bendix is located in your flywheel housing. If you see the starter and where it goes into the engine, that's where the bendix is.

 

[Yamahaha1]

Re: 1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

TY Big Daddy. Took off the flywheel cover and voila... rust and milky grease in there.. I am fairly certain the Bendix is stuck on pinion shaft. Tried to PB Blaster it. and got sick for a few days... Life as a cripple really sucks. I have been reading posts and it appears I am going to have to take off the flywheel itself to get to the bendix, Is this correct? I cheated the cover off and left gas tank...I also guess I am going to have to go back and remove tank the space is really right for working and I can only see in there with mirror and flashlight. I am up for any advice?
Just to give others and idea of where this project is at:
Ski has been stored since 2 winters ago. It has 100 Hours and I have unwillingly become a bit of a PWC Mechanic.
My Brother in--law ( Pro mechanic from Va.) drained the battery down, when we first bought the ski 7 years ago. ( He had the gas valve shut off... sheesh....well he hooked up jumper cables to get it started and he connected them with the Lanyard Key On-
I would like to pause for a second and recommend to anyone working on a ski... REMOVE the Lanyard key or you will end up as I did with a fried system.
I purchased a complete new electrical system and we got the ski running great.. It has been a fun ski and well worth the time and effort...I also got daring and replaced impeller, Battery, Hoses, Muffler.....
Fast forward to present.....I installed a new starter two years ago ( New Not Refurb) again the ski was fine for awhile, But I noticed it is always taking on water and not bilging it. I finally figured out the Bilge strainer is clogged like crazy.. and the entire hull inside engine compartment has a slime that is part Yamalube and river water. Took ski to Pro repair shop ( The only thing Pro about them is thy charge for service. They filled with water and assured me there was no leakage.. Well it filled with water again. Thus the bilge investigation and discovery of clogged strainer.. If I can get the thing running I am thinking about an automatic pump bilge ( Through hull) with a switch.
Finally this year, I go through spring ritual and remove spark plugs and coat cylinders ( Lightly) Turn shaft to check engine is free and all the other fun stuff.....Charge the battery. Install Prime some gas.. and install lanyard. Hit Start and Only hear spinning...remove starter and disassemble it has gunk wear neck bearing is, I try to clean and replace... decide mid way Just to buy a New Starter. - Install new starter and clean everything up nicely Hit Start button and starter just spins.
You can read above that " We " agree it is most likely Bendix.
Removed cover and confirm it has water penetration, and I am kinda stuck on How to remove the Bendix Gear, To clean and /or replace it. Also noted there is no way to test with flywheel cover off ( I assume this is a safety feature or the magneto is preventing starter operation. Gonna try again to get a better look at things and might as well pull Gas Tank out and clean Hull up while I am at it.
Just had one last thought... Took Battery to Parts store for testing... It charges up kinda strange and drops voltage without load. I am wondering is the battery Bad... though test states " Battery Good Needs charging" I am just wondering if anyone else thinks this might be a contributing problem or the problem itself. Any thoughts?
I do not mind the other work I look at it as maintenance steps, and learning at the " College of PWC". Thanks for your help. It is appreciated. I am going to jump in on some threads to try to pass along my limited knowledge to other members. Have a Great Day!

 

[bigdaddypt]

Re: 1997 Yamaha Wave Venture 760 Starter turns but Does not engage flywheel

Yes, flywheel needs to come off.