951 EXHAUST/WATER LEAKS SOLVED

O.K. guys. Had it with the 951 exhaust/water leak problems?? Here's the sure-fire solution for this pain in the ass dilemma. It will take a prideful and knowledgeable mechanical mind to do this. You will also have to have access to the following tools: basic hand tools, compressed air, mounted wire wheel, a quality "aluminum friendly" gasket scrapper/cleaning tools, 8x1.25mm bottoming tap, 10x1.50mm bottoming tap, a torque wrench (not mandatory, but helps), and a 15 mm angled head opened-ended Snap-On specialty wrench, part # SVS15M. For supplies you will need: LocTite Red 271, 3 exhaust gaskets (2 of part # 293-250-081, 1 of part # 293-250-080), sealing ring (part # 274-000-511), and Permatex Ultra-Black silicone or an equivalent sealant, a good supply of very clean shop towels, and access to a surfacing table or surfacing device suitable for aluminum gasket mating surfaces.

This is a task that requires extreme attention to detail and patience. If these steps are followed in exacting order, you will be rewarded with a non-leaking, more reliable 951 ! Note: Sea-Doo.net is supplying this information for people to use at their own discretion. We will not be responsible for anyone damaging components or the machine while trying to perform this procedure. If you have any doubts about your ability to perform this task, definitely take it to a pro.

Remove the battery cables, negative cable first. To perform this process you'll want to be working on a clean engine and the entire engine compartment should be clean! If it isn't that clean, make it so! We don't want any contaminants to enter the engine during our work in this area. Then, remove the Flame-Arrestor assy. For most of you, you'll find it much easier to do this procedure with the carbs removed. This allows much easier access to the exhaust header pipe flange fitment, and easier access to the 15mm nut at the underside of the mounting point, near the carburetor rack. As soon as the carbs are removed place a clean cloth in both intake/reed cage holes to keep any foreign objects out. Many times you can leave the cables and fuel lines attached to the carbs and gently lay them to the side or bottom of the hull; they should be wrapped also with a very clean cloth as to protect them from unwanted debris.

Carefully remove the exhaust system, the XPL will come out in one piece if you remove the oil tank straps. The GSXL and GTXL aren't that lucky, it requires removing the large stainless "V-Groove" clamp at the pipes mid-section. With a well-placed blow with a "dead-blow" hammer the 2 pieces will separate. All the while being sure to be careful not to get in a hurry because lets face it, you don't want to scratch any components!! MAKE SURE TO MARK AND OBSERVE THE WATER LINE ROUTING!! Underneath the front header pipe is the exit cooling line, very hidden, but be sure to remove it, and be sure to reinstall it!! After wrestling the exhaust system free of the hull, set it aside. There will be plenty of dealing with it later! Next remove the exhaust manifold, being very cautious about any debris from the gasket material or corrosion debris from those salt-water units. Block exhaust ports with clean cloth. At this point you have most of the main components removed. Now remove the black mounting bracket at the front of the crankcases. Observe the "slightly" slotted shape of the holes, this will be important later, upon reinstallation of the system this is a key area!

There is also another similar bracket under the mono-block cylinder assembly. It also needs to be removed. At this time you should take the 8x1.25 tap and tap all the holes of that size, the two on the underside of the cylinder for the support bracket, and the three at the front support bracket platform on the crankcases. This may seem like overkill, tapping all these holes, but it's the only way to thoroughly clean this area. Use compressed air to blow out these holes (use safety glasses!! it really hurts!!), follow-up with a quality contact cleaner, "flushing" out these holes and blow them out again. That's how you get a good surface for the LocTite to do its job. Tap all 10mm holes also, for the same reason, and there is a lot of them. While going through this whole procedure, be sure there are no open areas as to which any foreign material can enter your engine!! Seen to many get serious damage from simple, sloppy, workmanship!!

There are eight holes for the manifold bolts in the cylinder block. There are two in the exhaust pipe itself. Four more at the header pipe side of the exhaust manifold, after the stud has been removed! You'll need to do this so the manifold can be resurfaced. Remove the stud with a stud remover or the 2 jam-nut method, either will work, and it will be very tight in most cases. Using a propane torch to heat the area around it also helps, just heat it up, don't discolor the paint, that's to much unless you have a severe removal situation. If you work with a lot of salt water units, you learn to deal with the tough removals. If you can't get it out, take it to a qualified person in your area, usually a machine shop. This will happen to very few, if any people, we have seen it though!

Ok, time to grab up all those bolts, remove the washers, get your safety glasses and start cleaning them on the wire wheel. After wire wheeling them, wash them in a good degreasing solution, even Dawn dish soap works great. Just wash them thoroughly! Or use the contact cleaner to clean them. Make sure there is no oil or grease at all!That's the other way we have to get LocTite to do it's job. Super clean preassembly, means trouble free fasteners!!!

Now, time to clean and prep the exhaust manifold. Remove all traces of the gaskets using a gasket scrapping method that is easy on the aluminum gasket-mating surface. It is very easy to get out the old angle grinder here, guys, with the abrasive disc or scotch-brite wheel, if you do, go lightly!! Now resurface both sides of the exhaust manifold. After resurfacing, tap the four 10x1.50 holes in the manifold again.

Before

After

The mono-block cylinder casting has been cast from a different alloy composition and has a very stout machined surface. That explains a rare need to resurface the cylinder gasket-mating area on the cylinder, yet it must be very clean before assembly, be careful when cleaning as not to gouge the surface. After resurfacing the exhaust manifold, and cleaning it very well, use a small amount of the Permatex on the manifold's double gasket side and place the gaskets on the manifolds tacky surface, pushing them lightly into position into the Permatex aligning the bolt holes as you go. While waiting for that to "tack-up" a little, get ready to clean the pipe's critical surfaces. First we'll deal with the header pipe; use a proper gasket scraper and remove all gasket remains and clean well. At the other end you'll have to scrape off the factory orange sealant, and remove the copper sealing ring. Clean this area with a small wire brush and my favorite is an Exacto knife with a square-ended blade….makes it much easier when cleaning all areas when it's down to the fine cleaning.

fine clean up

resurfaced finish!

While cleaning and prepping this area observe the "stepped area" that runs the perimeter of the two pipe sections. This "stepped" area is not very deep, so that makes it a little tougher to insure proper engagement or mating of the two sections, but we've got a way to deal with that also. Clean it spotless both components, and use some of the previously used sealant to place the copper gasket in place with an ample amount to insure a good seal. Push the copper ring down in the groove, let it sit making sure it is evenly installed in the shallow dropped area of the pipe.

Make sure the large "V"clamp is in good condition, it's threads need to be in good condition, as well as the securing nut. If in doubt, replace the questionable component. OK, lets go back to our manifold and apply a little of the sealant to the gasket surfaces that are already secured to the manifold, with the sealant we used to install them earlier. Make sure you get good coverage with the sealer, but not so much as to block the cooling ports when the bolts are torqued down! With the bolts all cleaned and our threaded holes have all been properly cleaned and prepped, it's time to install!! First install the exhaust manifold to the cylinder block. Apply Red LocTite to the exhaust manifold bolts and in an even pattern snug them securely, then torque to 30 ft. pounds. GSXL and GTXL, install the underside support bracket, using Red LocTite on the 2 bolts that secure the support to the block, making sure that the rubber grommet is in good condition and fits tight in the bracket. Start to thread in the 17mm headed bolt for support of the rear exh. cone, run these bolts up snug but not tight, they will need to allow the assembly to shift into a "relaxed" position. Now install the previously removed stud in the correct hole in the manifold, using the red stuff again on the threads as you thread it into the hole, tighten to 30 ft. pounds. Apply a very even coat of the Permatex to the manifold mating-surface, remembering not too much, but enough for good coverage. Then apply more of the same to the header pipe gasket-mating surface. At this time apply the sealant to the large pipe body-mating sections, making sure once again to have good, even coverage. Drop the large"V' clamp on to the lower pipe positioning it so you can get to the bolt portion of the clamp, for ease of threading on the nut. Now you can fit the header pipe to the other pipe section and meet it also at the exhaust manifold. Alright, here's where the order of doing the tightening gets crutial and makes or breaks the whole project!!!! Attach the "V" clamp at the pipes mid-section being sure that the pipe has dropped down into it's stepped area, slightly tighten. Start the three allen bolts and the washer and nut at the manifold, slightly tighten. Install the front support bracket with the three allen bolts, remember the "slotted" bracket, start the large bolt that threads into the pipe body through the rubber damping grommet, it should thread in freely. Ok tighten the "V" clamp, there should be approximately 22-26mm of threaded bolt extending from the clamp bolt, this lets you know that the pipe bodies have seated together properly! Now, back-off on the clamp nut just enough so if the pipe needs to rotate against the other it can. This is very important in this sequence, now make sure your front large mounting bolt is still turning freely, the lower bracket to case bolts shouldn't be tight yet, just snug. Now Tighten the three allen bolts at the manifold along with the nut. Tighten to 15 ft pounds, inspect that the front support bolt is still "relaxed" as well as the rest of the system, then tighten them to 30 ft. pounds. You should see a little sealer protrude from the two mating components, this usually indicates a good seal. Now go to the under cylinder support bracket and thread this bolt in, lightly tightening. Then lightly tighten the two lower support bracket allen bolts, allowing them to "shift" if necessary. Tighten the large clamp now and you should have the protruding 22-26mm of extra clamp bolt, insuring proper exhaust body coupling. Go to the front 17mm headed bolt, it should still be relaxed and easy to turn. Remove it far enough to drop a little LocTite on and snug it up, tighten the lower three allen bolts, and now tighten the 17mm headed bolts, the one below also, then the two allens below, they should be torqued to 18 ft pounds, all of them, five total. Reinstall the carbs. etc. and let the sealer cure for a few hours before you start it. Go riding in about 6 hours, the sealant will have cured by then. Once again make sure all your hoses are secured and correctly routed, don't forget the one under the header pipe! I hope this helps some people out there that have had bad experiences with there 951's. We service so many units with the 951, I have to admit, we have fixed a lot of leaks at this area. One thing we have noticed is most of them had been apart before, in most cases it was in a dealership for warranty service. Service that required the exhaust be removed. It is a very time consuming process to install it the way we described here. Not making excuses for the dealer net-work, there are some prideful technicians at some dealerships that would make sure this procedure was done properly. We have these units performing at very high levels of performance as well as stock levels of performance, and all reliably. Let us know if we can help.

Ride safe and responsible. protect our Sport

tech: Glen Perry