OIL LINES..

[JC6275]

Looks like I am going to be replacing my oil lines / clamps.. Just checked them, the lines feel ok, but they have the zip ties holding them. So I'm going to replace with new lines and clamps.

 

[Julian]

Good plan!

 

[Bruce]

@ISLANDRACING, do you have instructions for changing the oil lines that you can provide?

Hopefully Island Racing and other members will be able to describe the process of changing the lines. I believe you will need to bleed the system after changing. You may want to run premix fuel for a short time after changing to avoid the possibility of not getting oil to a cylinder due to air in the oil lines.

 

[JC6275]

@ISLANDRACING, do you have instructions for changing the oil lines that you can provide?

Hopefully Island Racing and other members will be able to describe the process of changing the lines. I believe you will need to bleed the system after changing. You may want to run premix fuel for a short time after changing to avoid the possibility of not getting oil to a cylinder due to air in the oil lines.

Thanks Bruce, I was looking at @ISLANDRACING products last night, and I will be ordering the kits soon, I will also be getting the clean out locks as well, after browsing on here and seeing you talking about the plugs. I took mine out last night... "With a lot of cussing" I finally got them out...

 

[Bruce]

I am one of the exceptions but I do not have any locking device in my clean out plugs. I did buy one but never installed it. I am focused on keeping them clean and working easily so that I know they are locked in place.

There are at least three commercial options for clean out plug locks. If you want to add them shop around and decide which one that you feel is best.

 

[Zarrella]

I dont use any locking device either....I keep them clean and I do the nerf football.

 

[JC6275]

OK, Well I changed my mind...LOL, I have decided to get the oil pump block off kits, and switch over to pre mix, I thought about it all day, even with new lines and clamps I think I would be worried about them the whole time I'm on the water. Wondering if everything is working correctly. So at least with pre mix I will know the engines are getting oil. With that said if someone has done this and can walk me through the process I wod appreciate it. I did see where I would need to run them with premix and the injection still hooked up to make sure the lines are clear of straight gas.

 

[4x15mph]

You can have other issues with pre-mix so it is really a toss up. If you don't have the right mix you will start having other symptoms such as carbs. Either way, you definitely need to change the lines and clamps since the zip ties suggest they are original. Very bad.... do this first.

If your boat sat since 2001 and you decide to keep the injection, I would pull out the oil tank and empty it. It could have sludge at the bottom and I would clean it out and start fresh

 

[JC6275]

@4x15mph , that is the odd thing, I have paperwork for the starboard engine being completely rebuilt 08/12 and the same for the port engine 09/13, at a shop in st. Clair shores Michigan , I would have thought the lines would have been replaced at that time. But I guess not, I will think on it some more. Thanks...

 

[Bruce]

Premix will smoke more.

 

[4x15mph]

@JC6275, We read a lot about replacement engines and people saying that they are bad quality (i.e. SBT) but in some cases, the problem that led to the original engine issue may not have been corrected. I am not saying that your lines are not necessarily good but I would make sure that you have metal bands/clamps holding them and that you have slack in every one of them. I don't want to be the one to say don't go pre-mix since it is always a gamble but if you do, save your equipment in case you decide to change back

That said, any one of us can have a problem with these engines at anytime. I am not sure all of the precautions in the world can guarantee anything.

 

[KXCam22]

I think you will be happy with premix. Every oil-injected engine that I have converted to premix has run better, longer, starts better and smokes less. Just pick a quality synthetic oil . Cam

 

[JC6275]

Looks like you have clear plastic lines? Mine are grey, I wonder if they were replaced?

I'm pretty sure mine have been replaced. Both motors have been rebuilt. I haven't replaced them or switched to premix yet. I have looked the lines over very carefully and checked all the zip ties, I have a good amount of slack in the lines and they are very flexible, so I'm going to run it a few more times and check again. It seems the biggest problem is the original lines shrink and become very taught and will pull the lines off of the fittings.. But if the lines have slack and the fittings are secure, I don't see how it will be a problem.

 

[JC6275]

@dordelli , just tagging you in case you haven't seen this or if you didn't know of this problem....

 

[Speedling]

Zip Ties properly installed actually are incredibly strong. I put some 2 stroke fuel line on a nail that I had pushed through a board and zip tied it. My wife could hang from the fuel line. It's the fact that the plastic hardens and cracks from the heat of the engine. I would be wary of a basic steel clamp as well since that can cut into the lines. Whatever you do, check it often.
I personally do NOT recommend premix. Not in the boats anyways. If you DO do the premix route, PLEASE get a primer of SOME sort or every time you are cranking you are waiting for the fuel to work it's way through the lines (fuel line has a tendancy to drain back some on the 2 smokes) and then you are grinding away that metal with no oil.
I had a 2 stroke Exciter 270. No primers, but I replaced all my oil line check valves, all the oil lines, and all new zip ties. I bought the boat with the seized up engines due to no oil and also helped my friend who works on ski's, boats, cars etc. rebuild 2 more. It does the damage QUICK. This is why when you break new motors in you run premix AND the oil injection.

Also, SBT is OK, but not excellent. If you can find a friend or two, the engines are very simple to work on, and SBT actually has a good step by step of pulling the motors out and taking them apart. I would use them for some parts, but not everything. I had very good luck finding things in waverunner graveyards, ebay, and the like. Found some good performance parts that way as well. I needed oversized pistons on all 6 by the time I was done, and they were easily found. Also found new cylinder blocks that had been slightly machined, and fresh new heads that were slightly milled. Don't count on SBT for gaskets. At all. Also, if you get pistons or rotating assemblies from them, check for the washers that space the piston to the connecting rod. I didn't get those with mine and had to outsource things. We put an SBT engine in a ski 2 years ago with the 2 year warranty that they offer, and it's still running great. So take my word for what it's worth, and just make sure it's all done right!

The 270 is a large part of the reason I came up with "speedling". Small, and fast comes to mind. I had that 270 over 60 and hit 65 a couple times with only myself as witness. Load it up with the whole family and a cooler full of stuff and I could do 58 no problem. The problem is waves!!!!

 

[JC6275]

I'm still running zip ties, I just make checking the lines part of my routine.. "SSF" Soft Secure Flexible... I will be giving everything in the engine compartment a thorough going over when I wake the boat up.. checking every clamp, bolt, screw, ziptie, ect..