carburator

[waterboy84]

Ok so i have a 97 kawasaki1100zxi. Im having trouble getting fuel to fill up in the fuel filter. Any info would be help on why carburator isnt pulling fuel.

 

[eavega]

dunno if this helps, because this was for a SeaDoo, but after a complete rebuild of the carburetors and fuel system. I could not get enough pressure to pull fuel from the tank through the selector, through the filter, and down to the carbs. Since the system is pressurized, I pulled the return line from the carburetor, and blew in it until I got fuel out the return nipple. I re-installed the hose, cleaned up the little bit of spilled fuel, and have not had a problem since then. I suspect some of the valves in the carburetor don't seat well when they are bone dry, so once I got fuel in there, they worked as expected.

Rgds
​eric

 

[waterboy84]

Thats crazy you just sent me this message. This morning i woke up and decided to go out and tinker around with it and see if i could find the problem. Well i took carburators off opened up fuel pump diaphrame and all the other little things on the carbs and all looked nice and clean. I even checked the pulse lines and all was good and even blew into the gas line and yes gas did come out of the return line when i blew in it. After that i put everything back together and she fired up on her own. Didnt have to put gas down the carbs or nothing. Now she starts up and runs on her own. Thank god that was a easy fix.

 

[waterboy84]

And yes tgas tank carbs gas lines and all were all bone dry. Ski been sitting for quite some time.

 

[waterboy84]

Let me ask you something. I posted this issues bout a week ago and a dude told me there isnt really nobody on iboats for pwc. But let me ask you. Is taking out the oil pump and putting the block off kit and going to pre mix a good idea

 

[eavega]

So, yeah. The iboats community does not seem to have a lot of resources for PWC questions. I've had better luck asking questions on other forums (Greenhulk for performance/mods, PWCToday, although they seem to be very Kawasaki-centric, and Seadooforum - as you can guess they are sea-doo centric and have been my greatest source of help). I have limited experience, as the Seadoo I got running was my first venture into the PWC world.
To answer your question about removing the oil pump; there are two schools of thought - 1.They were meant to work with the oil pumps. Those oil pumps meter the oil based on the throttle response, so in the long run they use less oil and cause your ski to smoke less. They also allow you to not have to worry about carrying around extra oil or premixed fuel. THAT HAVING BEEN SAID - 2. f the oil pump (or the feed lines, or the throttle to oil pump cable) fail, your first indication might be your engine seizing. On the seadoo I was working on, I removed the oil pump and oil pump gear, capped off the lines and installed the block plate. Given that the ski was 20 years old, and looked like it had not been well maintained, I wanted to remove as many variables as I could. By premixing fuel, I could run my mix at 32:1 instead of 40:1 for at least a tankful to make sure everything was well lubricated. I could also be assured that the engine was receiving the proper amount of lubrication at all times. There are great debates as to whether to premix or use the oil injection systems on skis. The vast majority of what I have read recommend converting to premix just for peace of mind.

Rgds

Eric

 

[waterboy84]

Well here is the deal on my kawasaki 1100zxi. The oil pump on my ski doesnt have a cable to it. I guess it operates by the shaft that spins when the motor is running. So i guess the fast you go the faster that shaft will spin and thats how the oil is injected. I have been alittle confused becuz i been reading alot about a cable to the oil pump and mine doesnt have a cable to it. I have taken the oil pump off once already and did see that when you install the oil pump theres alittle fitting i guess you could call it that slides on that shaft in the motor which to me makes sense on how this type of oil pump works but i been reading alot on cables to oil pump and theres no spot on this oil pump for a cable. Does having a oil pump like i described make sense to you. This ski is my first ski as well. It was givin to me and ski is in awesome shape. When this old guy gave it to me it was not running. It had about a gallon of oil sitting in the bottom of th hull. All i did was take motor out of ski to get all the oil cleaned out and clean everything that was oily and greasy. I got motor so clean you could eat off it. After cleaning everything i put it all back together and gave spark plugs alittle cleaning put a gallon of mix gas in it becuz oil pump isnt hooked up at the moment and the ski fired right up and seems to run great. This ski was sitting for 3 years in the guys back yard. When i was cleaning all the oil that was sitting in the bottom of the haul i found broken oil lines that went to oil pump to carb. So i need to get new oil lines. But before buying new oil lines i wanted to find out if convering to premix is better then having the oil pump. I think ill just take your advise and leave the oil pump only so it doesnt get smoky. Thats crazy cuz i have a 18ft bowrider boat with a 120hp 2 stroke that runs like new and i pre mix the gas for my boat and it doesnt smoke. But i have read by pre mixing a ski they tend to get smoky so i think ill leave oil pump but does my oil pump as i described that doesnt have a cable sound like thats just the way it was designed

 

[eavega]

My advice to you (as with any boat you intend to work on) is get the OEM shop manual for that ski. There will be a lot of information on how things get put together, PM procedures, etc. Again, I don't know much about how these skis work, but I know the pump I took off of the seadoo has a gear that went into the intake manifold which drove the pump, but there was a cable attached to a roller on the carburetor which controlled how much oil got injected into the mix. Before assuming there is no cable, make sure thats how its supposed to work.
Good luck to you. Take your time. Winter is upon us, and good riding won't be for a few months yet. (at least around these parts)

Rgds

Eric

 

[waterboy84]

Great info thanks alot. Ill deffenently look into getting the manual. Let me ask you one more question. When running the ski in my driveway on the trailer how long can i let me ski run at idle on just the water hose. I read alot about the time limit on running a ski on just a hose. Some say no more then 2 minuetes some say they ran it for 10 minuetes. I mean with my boat i can let it idle all day on the water hose and it doesnt hurt nothing. Whats differents about the time limit of running ur ski. I know giving it throttle isnt good when running it off water hose but i would like to run my ski at idle for a bit to get all the old stuff out of it and get everything circulating again sense its been sitting for 3 years.
Dont know what state you live in but here in tampa florida where i live is good riding year round. Its never cold here. Lol.
Anyways just wanna find out the time limit of letting my ski run on water hose in my driveway at just idle

 

[eavega]

My understanding is no more than 5 minutes on the hose. The engine itself will be fine, as the flushing connection will circulate water through the engine as well as the exhaust. The reason you don't run it on a hose for more than 5 minutes is that there is a thru-hull carbon seal on the shaft that is cooled by actually being in the water. Its not part of the water circulation system at all, so it will only get hotter as you continue to run. Skis don't have a "neutral" gear where the impeller is not turning, so even at idle the impeller shaft turns which will heat it up. The longer you run it, the more it heats. Heating the carbon seal excessively will cause it to become brittle. Eventually you will fracture it which can lead it to disintegrate and cause a misalignment from the drive shaft to the impeller (worst case), or simply start letting water into the hull due to the failed seal (still pretty bad outcome, if you sink your ski).

Ah, Tampa. I grew up in Miami, and living here in Atlanta my family will vacation in Tampa/St. Pete area whenever we get the urge to get some beach time in.

 

[waterboy84]

Lol. O wow. Well sinking my ski out here in the lake i will be spending most of the time riding it wouldnt be so fun due to the lake being infested with alligators

And yes tampa/st pete is a good place for vacation only bad thing over the past few years st pete and clearwater has gotten to be over crowed