PWC question

billhurley · 03-15-2006, 09:41 PM

This may sound like a crazy question. I am about to pick up a 2003 Kawasaki STX 12F. It has been stored in a climate controlled warehouse. It has not been winterized. Should I winterize it now or will it be OK?

Thanks in advance Bill

secondcurve · 03-15-2006, 10:15 PM

Bill:

I'm not an expert on wave runners. However, I do know about boat and ski mobile engines. I think you are probably okay without having fogged the cylinders if the engine has truly been free of moisture, climate changes, rain, etc. The question I would have is has the gasoline been stabilized? If it hasn't, it may start to breakdown and this will really screw up the motor. You may want to add some stabilizer to the gas tank. I usually like to add stabilizer and then run the motor for a bit so the stabilzer works through the system. My assumption is that you can't do this unless the machine is in the water. Anyway, those are my comments, but again I am certainly no expert. Can anyone else help??

jrc · 03-15-2006, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billhurley

This may sound like a crazy question. I am about to pick up a 2003 Kawasaki STX 12F. It has been stored in a climate controlled warehouse. It has not been winterized. Should I winterize it now or will it be OK?

Thanks in advance Bill

I don't know much about wave runners, I'm just applying normal small engine rules. First, if there is possibly water in the engine and you will no longer be storing it inside, freezing may be an issue. So if wintering normally entails draining water or adding anti-freeze, you may have to do that. I don't think we are out of frost danger yet.

Next, it depends when you will run it. If it's in the next month I wouldn't bother. If you're going to wait until June to run it, it may be worth the trouble to drain the carbs. But, if the carb bowls were going to dry out and gum up, it may have already happened.

I've completely given up on fuel stabilizer for seasonal storage. As far as I can see it does nothing. No one can explain the magic chemical process it is supposed to cause or prevent. I've stored many engines over many years before making this conclusion.

chipj29 · 03-16-2006, 09:07 AM

It "should" be ok. I store my sled every season without stabilizer, and have never had any probs, so you could be fine. You may want to clean the carbs though, it is possible you have gummed up fuel in there. You can start it out of the water, just don't run it for more than 2 or 3 mins. My Sea Doo has a fitting where you can attach a hose, so you can run it a bit longer. You should check if yours has the same. Make sure to start the motor BEFORE you turn on the hose though! I would pour a small amount of oil into the cylinder via the spark plug holes before you start it up, just to get some lube in there.
Some PWC enthusiasts would have you believe that not fogging the cylinders is the anti-Christ. That your crank will have rusted, and that it is only a matter of time till the motor breaks down. While that is possible, I don't think it is all that likely. The reason for that is usually when one removes a PWC from water, they fire it up and rev it a bit to blow water out of the exhaust. It also spreads the oil/lube in the cylinders. That should be good enough to keep everything safe and sound inside.

billhurley · 03-16-2006, 09:53 AM

Thanks everyone for the help.

Chip I know it has the fitting to hook the hose up. Would that make it worse (moisture left inside) if we get cold weather between now and when I take it out for the first time?

The machine is fuel injected by the way.

Thanks Bill

SIKSUKR · 03-16-2006, 10:55 AM

I store my 1200 in my garage that routinely gets below freezing.I've never fogged the carbs because it's fuel injected and that baby runs sweet the next spring.Reguarding the cooling water,what I like to do is have my pwc on a slope with the rear downhill.After you turn off the hose,rev the engine to 3-4000 rpm maybe 5-6 times(Yamaha suggests not going over this).You will see the water being forced out of the outtake.I do this everytime I pull it out of the water and store it this way in the winter with no problems.Your design might not have the same results I have but I can't imagine they are that different.

chipj29 · 03-16-2006, 01:32 PM

Might as well just wait. I really don't think you are going to have any issues. If you do fire it up, do it for a couple minutes off the hose. Give it a couple short pulls of the throttle. If you see no water come out, then it will be fine. The worst of the cold season is behind us. Even if it does get below freezing at night, there shouldn't be any hard freezes. And if there is no water in there, then you shouldn't have any probs.

03-15-2006, 09:41 PM	#1
billhurley Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: St. Augustine FL. Posts: 86 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	PWC question This may sound like a crazy question. I am about to pick up a 2003 Kawasaki STX 12F. It has been stored in a climate controlled warehouse. It has not been winterized. Should I winterize it now or will it be OK? Thanks in advance Bill

03-16-2006, 10:55 AM	#6
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	I store my 1200 in my garage that routinely gets below freezing.I've never fogged the carbs because it's fuel injected and that baby runs sweet the next spring.Reguarding the cooling water,what I like to do is have my pwc on a slope with the rear downhill.After you turn off the hose,rev the engine to 3-4000 rpm maybe 5-6 times(Yamaha suggests not going over this).You will see the water being forced out of the outtake.I do this everytime I pull it out of the water and store it this way in the winter with no problems.Your design might not have the same results I have but I can't imagine they are that different. __________________ SIKSUKR

03-15-2006, 10:15 PM	#2
secondcurve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,119 Thanks: 1,332 Thanked 559 Times in 288 Posts	Bill: I'm not an expert on wave runners. However, I do know about boat and ski mobile engines. I think you are probably okay without having fogged the cylinders if the engine has truly been free of moisture, climate changes, rain, etc. The question I would have is has the gasoline been stabilized? If it hasn't, it may start to breakdown and this will really screw up the motor. You may want to add some stabilizer to the gas tank. I usually like to add stabilizer and then run the motor for a bit so the stabilzer works through the system. My assumption is that you can't do this unless the machine is in the water. Anyway, those are my comments, but again I am certainly no expert. Can anyone else help??

03-16-2006, 09:07 AM	#4
chipj29 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bow Posts: 1,874 Thanks: 521 Thanked 308 Times in 162 Posts	It "should" be ok. I store my sled every season without stabilizer, and have never had any probs, so you could be fine. You may want to clean the carbs though, it is possible you have gummed up fuel in there. You can start it out of the water, just don't run it for more than 2 or 3 mins. My Sea Doo has a fitting where you can attach a hose, so you can run it a bit longer. You should check if yours has the same. Make sure to start the motor BEFORE you turn on the hose though! I would pour a small amount of oil into the cylinder via the spark plug holes before you start it up, just to get some lube in there. Some PWC enthusiasts would have you believe that not fogging the cylinders is the anti-Christ. That your crank will have rusted, and that it is only a matter of time till the motor breaks down. While that is possible, I don't think it is all that likely. The reason for that is usually when one removes a PWC from water, they fire it up and rev it a bit to blow water out of the exhaust. It also spreads the oil/lube in the cylinders. That should be good enough to keep everything safe and sound inside.

03-16-2006, 09:53 AM	#5
billhurley Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: St. Augustine FL. Posts: 86 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Thanks everyone for the help. Chip I know it has the fitting to hook the hose up. Would that make it worse (moisture left inside) if we get cold weather between now and when I take it out for the first time? The machine is fuel injected by the way. Thanks Bill

03-16-2006, 01:32 PM	#7
chipj29 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bow Posts: 1,874 Thanks: 521 Thanked 308 Times in 162 Posts	Might as well just wait. I really don't think you are going to have any issues. If you do fire it up, do it for a couple minutes off the hose. Give it a couple short pulls of the throttle. If you see no water come out, then it will be fine. The worst of the cold season is behind us. Even if it does get below freezing at night, there shouldn't be any hard freezes. And if there is no water in there, then you shouldn't have any probs.