Re: 2001 Bombardier 717 slowly died...
That's really crappy that they charged $400 for that job. You could have used automotive fuel lines and with an OEM rebuild it, it would have cost you $100 at most to do the job yourself, probably less.
Anyway, do you know if the dealer, when rebuilding the carb, replaced the needle and seat? If not, ask him. The rebuild kits don't come with them but they should be replaced when rebuilding. I had a similar issue with an old ski I had where I did the fuel lines and carb rebuild and it turned out that I had an air leak that was coming from the fuel/water seperator. The gasket for the bowl was pinched and allowing air to get sucked in the lines. Your fuel lines should hold 10psi for 10 minutes. If you have a tester try it. If it doesn't hold, then you have to figure out where the leak is.
Hey limoman, I have possibly good and bad news for you. First of all, your dealer was right about the fuel lines, especially if they were original grey fuel lines marked "Tempo" on them. But, you overpaid by a ton. bigdaddypt is right, you could have done it with regular automotive fuel line for much cheaper and done it yourself and learned a lot more. The problem is that you are still experiencing the same problems after the trip to the dealer. But fear not, there are definite something you need to check before heading back out on the water: your internal carburetor fuel filter.
Since you did not specify which model you have (GTi, GTS, SPi, Sp, etc...), I can only assume you have a single carburetor which actually makes things easier. First of all, remove the air cleaner assembly. Then you can most likely access the filter I'm talking about by removing the side of the carb that has a vacuum line attached to the crankcases.
Since this all sounds vague, I've included a link to a pdf which shows exactly what I'm talking about. #7 in the illustration.
http://www.mikuni.com/pdf/sbn_rebuild-kit.pdf
You can also
download the service manual for your ski for free by registering over at
www.pwctoday.com Go to the Sea-Doo technical sub-forum and all the manuals on in a sticky at the top of the page.
Now, the bad news. Depending on how bad the original lines deteriorated and allowed junk to collect in the internal carb filter, you may have already caused serious engine damage. The fact that you've stated that the ski has died multiple times on the water has indicated that you may have experienced a lean seizure of your motor. It's only a mater of time before one of your pistons breaks apart and sends debris through the entire motor.
I know you don't know me from Adam, but trust that I've rebuild all three of my Sea-doo's because all three had this problem. The guys over on the other forum I mentioned are very knowledgeable.
People who just ride their 2 stroke sea-doo like it's a car they drive during the week are oblivious to the maintenance that needs to be done. Your ski is approaching 12 years old, it's about time you give the thing a serious inspection before it leaves you or someone else stranded out on the water.
So, in conclusion, pull the carb internal filter. If it's chocked full of gunk, do a compression test on the motor. If compression numbers do not look good, it's time to pull the cylinder head to check for cylinder scoring and possible discoloration due to overheating.
Don't mistake my lengthy explanation for thinking that you have a crap ski, you don't. It's just time to make sure everything is working as it should before it really hits you in the pocketbook. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or find me on the other forum under the same Avatar.
