Second 96 GTI

[BeeEl]

Starting a new thread on the second ski (both same models). This was the one that the previous owner told me had filled the hull with oil and also in both cylinders. It was suggested that I have two problems.
1. Leaking tank
2. Inner crank seals
after reading through here I definitely agreed. So I finally got around to starting the fuel line replacement/carb cleaning on it today. I noticed both the supply and return oil lines still had oil in them. That confused me since I would have thought with bad seals that it would have emptied both lines. So I drained them and pinched off the supply line and pressurized the return line with 5 psi thinking that would prove the leaking seals. It held the pressure for as long as I left it there. Puzzling...
Then I moved on to the tank. I cleaned it up, plug the outlets and filled it with used engine oil so I could find the leak. It's been hours now and still nothing.
Any ideas as to what is going on?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

[BeeEl]

anyone?

[hardass]

well i dont think a leaking tank would fill the cylinders so you can x that off your list

[BeeEl]

I think he was referring to the oil in the hull but either way it set overnight and no leak yet.
Anyone know if I should trust those inner seals since they held pressure?

[raptorobbie]

Does the ski run? A slight leak on those inner seals isn't the end of the world - its the same oil the cylinders are going to see anyhow - just more...
If it runs - I would run it, and watch for any changes - chances are you may be doing a full rebuild down run anyhow.

[BeeEl]

I left the tank out of the hull and full of oil for a week. Not even one drop leaked so I have to assume it is good. Again, both the supply and return lines going to the crank gear are full of oil. I would have thought if the seal(s) were leaky then those lines would have bled back down. Again, they also held pressure so I thought the seal(s) should be good enough to at least let it run for a bit.
So, I finished the carb cleaning and tempo replacement. Bolted everything back on and fired it up. Smoked like CRAZY and wouldn't do anything but idle. If I tried to give it a little throttle, it bogged and wanted to die. I let it idle for probably 2 minutes. It bogged down and died. Hasn't started since. I am positive it is getting spark and fuel, but it just would not start. I pulled the plugs and they are both dripping with oil. So I left the plugs out and turned the engine over and over and over. It looked like a geyser. Is it possible my oil pump is causing this as opposed to the seals? That's the next logical place for me to look

[raptorobbie]

Is your oil pump still connected to the throttle cable? If the cable comes loose or falls off, the pump will operate at full capacity (I believe).

You could clean up the geyser mess, remove your oil injection lines at the intake, and see what happens when you crank it without the plugs installed. If you still get a ton of oil its from the seals below...

just my .02 ...

[BeeEl]

That's kinda the direction I was reading. I know the cable is still connected because I just reinstalled the carbs and verified exactly that. I also wanted to be sure the marks are lined up on the oil pump/casing. Is it common for these pumps to go out? or even for them to just WAY over supply?
I thought about just blocking it off and premixing but using tank for crank gear recirculating.

[Myself]

That oil seeped into the cylinders from the rotary cavity by way of the inner seals. You would not notice any dropping of the oil level in that situation cause the case was already full. Prime it with a little fuel or even carb cleaner down the carbs and keep firing it off until it burns out the remaining oil. If the engine gets warm let it sit a cool a while. The pump at wide open can not fill an engine to the point of dripping off the plugs.

[BeeEl]

Oh ok now that's an avenue I hadn't considered. So the crankcase was full enough to stop the lines from draining back? Makes sense.
Now this is the ski that the previous owner had said was full of oil in both cylinders as well as the hull. I did not clean or drain or purge the cylinders so the thought is maybe this is the same oil that has been in there for several years now? (since that's how long it's been since it ran)
There is no way this thing will fire up. It cranks over and over but will never start so burning this out of there doesn't seem to be an option. If the thought is this is just old oil, then I'll try to pump it out with the starter and towels and then put a shutoff valve on the oil line for when not in use.
Is that anywhere close to a decent game plan?