Oil pump question

[redK]

I'm new to this and I just bought a 96 Kawasaki 1100 xzi. One of my first questions I asked him after he cranked it up was, is there anything I should know about and he said na, just have a baby on the way and looking to sell it. I asked him about the oil and he said yep, that's where the oil goes and that's where the gas goes. So anyways, I knew I had to do a few things to get it going because it is used so I wasn't expecting perfect. First thing I found was a cracked fuel filter, changed that, then when on to the boat ramp and cautiously went threw some testing like leaks, crank up and repeat. Ran for about ten minutes. Water was choppy so I went to another location where it was a little smoother. Ran it for another ten minutes. When I got back to the house, it had oil in the haul. Found that it was coming from apparently looked like short hoses coming the oil pump. This is when I started to think, damn I bet he pre-mixed his own oil. I hope I didn't mess it up. Drug it to the mechanic today so he can do his compression test. My question is, should I go ahead and route lines to the carburetors and crankcase or keep on running pre-mixed?

[nmpeter]

welcome to gh!

you'll find folks on both sides of the fence on the issue of oil injection.

One factor you must investigate is the condition of the oil pump drive bearing, which is part of the stator cover if memory serves. I recall water leaks would ruin those bearing the oil pump would stop and then the engine. You should confirm that the bearing is good. Just pull the stator cover.

obvious your pump is pumping.

The seller needs a stern word or two if the ski was premixed and he didn't mention that. Pointing to the oil tank tells me that he was using injection, and perhaps the ski was repaired and the oil lines not hooked up.

lets see if you hurt the engine first, but connect up all the oil lines. Worse you can do is foul some plugs and create a spectacle on the water with your james bond smoke trail.

if it isn't premixed you'll save the engine that way.

20 minutes without oil however..may mean bad news.

hope to hear good news

[Mr. GP1800]

If it ran for 10-20 minutes I doubt it wasnt getting oil. They seize up fast without oil.

[steve45]

Welcome aboard, redK!

As Peter said, there's a pretty good chance it will need bearings (2) for the oil pump drive coupling. Don't buy them from Kawasaki, they're awfully expensive there. Find a bearing shop and buy (2) 6901 2RS bearings.

It is very likely that the stator cooling chamber, under the oil pump, is plugged up. Try removing one of the hoses and blowing through it. If it's plugged, it would be a really good idea to pull the front cover off the engine, clean the cooling chamber, replace the bearings, and replace the two O-rings under the cooling chamber cover. It can be a royal pain to get the front cover back on the engine because of the O-ring under it.

One more thing--there was a recall for the '96 1100 ZXi. Look at the front part of the hull and see if there is a sort of triangular bowl-shaped plate on it. This was Kawasaki's solution to a stability problem they had whee the 'Ski would just flip over while you were running about 60 MPH on smooth water.

Otherwise, they're a fun 'Ski.

[Myself]

If you keep the oil injection you need to replace the tubing from the tank to the pump AND the 3 tiny ones to the carb. I just rebuilt an 11 that had rotten tubing. Also just went through the fuel system on a 900 and found the tubing cracking and rotted at rear where it hooks to the tank.

[chill824]

I have a 96 zxi 1100 as well. Mine has had the lines plugged and i would really like to go back to oil injection. The guy i got it from bought it like this. How big of a job is it to do away with having to do pre mix?

[steve45]

Not too bad. I would go with the setup from a '99 STX 1100 engine. They had the variable ratio pump. You would need to install a new throttle cable and cable bracket, in addition to the pump.

I bought the parts to convert my '98 STX to match my '99, but I haven't had time to do the swap yet.

[STX11]

Im thinking of doing the same with my 99 stx 1100
My pump is siezed, so will need a new one and some hoses

[steve45]

Your pump seized? Or was it the bearings on the drive coupling?

[STX11]

the arm that the throttle cable actuates is seized, when I say seized, you can still move it, but it take a lot of force
Pump has been running dry from the previous owner, so that's probably why

we r talking oil pump btw