SLUDGE issue

djkorn1

kidkornfilms
Site Supporter
Location
Cleveland Ohio
Flushed the ski down in Daytona....ran it real good blew it all out.

I get a call from Matt today saying my motor is full of water (WTF??????) and is hydrolocked probably with frozen water (WTFWTF???:eek:mfg:). He gets all the water out, fires it up and it dumps black sludge out of the exhaust all over the place.....(A good half gallon of evil looking black death)

How the hell did it get full of water?
What is the black sludge?

No Rain.
Ran it until it got hot in Daytona after flushing.
No water in hull.

Now I gotta pull the head and check for damage...:pancake:
 
Location
Ohio
Yea that was whacked! My ski and Doobs ski had very little water in them.....and no sludge...

I don't friggin get it!

Did you run it good again when you got her home?

Check your pipe mani for cracks!
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
The sludge is from water setting up in the waterbox, look at it this way, it is all cleaned out!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not, I had an X2 that I worked on for this guy that when I got it the motor was full of water and alot of gas. Looked like gray sludge. Got all the water out, new gas in tank, fired right up. Oh, ZERO Rust on the crank!
 

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
Sure it wasn't premix? I had a friend in Hawaii whose 750 locked up with premix when his bulb primer let gas go straight from the tank to the carbs when the tank pressurized.
 
Location
Ohio
He does not have a primer but it almost seemed that way....like tank pressure filled his carbs and cases! When I pulled his plugs and shot stuff 10 feet in the air it smelled more like fuel than anything else.

1 way valve on gas tank maybe??
 
Location
Ohio
Yea I don't know why I said tank valve....I was sleepy.

It was a gallon of pre-mix, salt water, salt away and soap! All turned in to a sludge.....

This is the same ski that after sitting, and not for long, has a hell of time starting. And it seems to kill plugs....but the plugs look OK....really weird.
 

WaveDemon

Not Dead - Notable Member
Location
Hell, Florida
Yea I don't know why I said tank valve....I was sleepy.

It was a gallon of pre-mix, salt water, salt away and soap! All turned in to a sludge.....

This is the same ski that after sitting, and not for long, has a hell of time starting. And it seems to kill plugs....but the plugs look OK....really weird.

still sounds like needle and seat. get out the pop off tester.
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
Yea I don't know why I said tank valve....I was sleepy.

It was a gallon of pre-mix, salt water, salt away and soap! All turned in to a sludge.....

This is the same ski that after sitting, and not for long, has a hell of time starting. And it seems to kill plugs....but the plugs look OK....really weird.

Remove the flame arrestors. Crank the ski, and look down the throats, see if there is excess gas dribbling out. That is what it sounds like. Needle and seat leaking. Adding too much fuel to the cases making it way to rich to crank. Once it fires off it will burn that extra gas, but at times killing the plugs.
 
Yea I don't know why I said tank valve....I was sleepy.

It was a gallon of pre-mix, salt water, salt away and soap! All turned in to a sludge.....

This is the same ski that after sitting, and not for long, has a hell of time starting. And it seems to kill plugs....but the plugs look OK....really weird.




that totally sounds like needle and seat...double check the mixture screws as well....I have seen a couple of them vibrate themselves into a completely different setting..
 
Sure it wasn't premix? I had a friend in Hawaii whose 750 locked up with premix when his bulb primer let gas go straight from the tank to the carbs when the tank pressurized.

I had this problem with my super jet last summer. Turned out it was the primer bulb leaking fuel into the motor if it sat for more than a day or two. When I would try to start it and it would act like it was hydro locked or it would blow a ton of nasty looking gas/sludge mixture out the of the exhaust.
 
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BruceSki

Formerly Motoman25
Location
Long Island
i had this happen once too it was a similar issue that made it act like a bad needle and seat. I had an aftermarket waterbox that messed with the routing of my long exhaust hose.

It would hold the hose up against the breather holes on the diaphragm side of the carb when you shut the motor off. This would leave the needles open and fill the motor with premix. Took me two times of this happening to figure out what the problem was.

Needless to say I am back to a stock waterbox, and that was just one of the reasons why.

Sounds to me like you need new needles though. Especially if you are changing plugs all the time, it's probably because they are always flooded with fuel. Trim back your plug wires while you are at it. I seem to have to trim mine back about twice a year. An enhancer will eat up wires fast too.
 

djkorn1

kidkornfilms
Site Supporter
Location
Cleveland Ohio
Could the motor have back-filled from the exhaust/waterbox? Sounds weird....

Could be...especially after 1200 miles of sloshing around

possibly a bad needle and seat

Rebuilt the carbs and new needles and seats in the fall...only have a few rides on them.

Trim back your plug wires while you are at it. I seem to have to trim mine back about twice a year. An enhancer will eat up wires fast too.

No enhancer and the coil is only a year old, but I will trim them back. The plugs seem to look fine, but need to be changed everyday in the salt. In fresh water, they last 1/2 a season.
 
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