My starter clutch is going out on my jet ski. I called Kawasaki and they said they will prob have to pull the engine, but they said they would have to pull the engine to replace the starter too and I did that w/ out pulling the engine. Anyone know how to work on a jet ski. Willing to replace the clutch cheap? I'm not 100% sure its the clutch, but when i go to crank the ski, the starter just spins w/ out turning over the engine. If I keep doing it then it eventually will turn over the engine.

4/22/2006 11:44:01 AM

dude i highly suggest pulling the starter off yourself and seeing if its some common motorcycle starter or something along those lines. Kawasaki is going to assrape you on that. The trim motor died in mine a few yrs back, was 400 dollars to replace. I pull it out and its a damn honda window regulator motor!! (with a bunch of other shit but still).

I guarentee you can fix this thing on your own much cheaper than they'll want...

4/22/2006 12:22:10 PM

I went ahead and replaced the starter myself, but it didnt make a difference. Thats why it must be the starter clutch. The starter is spinning, but not turning the engine.

4/22/2006 12:29:47 PM

ah, well damn, i got nothing for ya....

4/22/2006 12:31:34 PM

I read online if the clutch aka bendix gets stuck then you can turn the engine backwards and it should disengauge...I just tried it and it cranked a few times, but now its stuck again and thats not working...if i keep trying it will eventually work again, but its getting worse and annoying

4/22/2006 2:54:58 PM

^ oh, thats the same thing we have to do with our forklift. most of the time we have to take the starter loose to free up the bendix...

Im not 100% on how clutches work on these things though...

4/22/2006 4:29:12 PM

what year/modell/engine is it? and is it in raliegh? if so i have a lot of jet-ski, sea-doo, and waverunner parts laying around, and if you could bring it by the house sometime this week, i could probably fix it for you in about 30 min. if it is the one i'm thinking about, its a denso marine starter, that has a rubber thrust washer that is supposed to grab and kick the bendix back when it starts, but when it gets old and hard, it doesnt work. i don't think i have one here, but if thats what it is, most kawasaki places stock that for for about $15

4/23/2006 3:33:22 PM

Its a 1996 Kawasaki zxi 1100. I am in raleigh and I can bring it by anytime. When this started sticking I thought it was a bad starter, so I replaced it with a new one, but the same issue occured. I see some starters have the bendix directly on them, but I dont think mine is.

The starter looks like this:

4/24/2006 8:35:26 AM

Any more Ideas?

4/24/2006 3:18:19 PM

You can usually get starters and bendix gears on eBay fairly cheap. I've ordered a couple of starters from http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=dbelectrical for my jet ski and 4 wheeler.

4/24/2006 5:24:08 PM

the part thats messed up is 13101, if you can bring it by tomorrow evening i can look at it, i will be putting in a retaining wall after class in the afternoon, but i should be done by 5 or 6. shoot me a pm with your cell# and i'll give you a call when i get home

4/24/2006 5:53:26 PM

I'm not too mechanical savy, but if I couldnt replace the bendix w/ out removing the engine. Couldnt I remove the starter and spray some kinda lubricant in where the bendix is?

4/25/2006 10:54:08 AM

you can remove it, its easy to do and hard to explain, you cant really see it under there, you have to do it by feel

4/25/2006 11:53:22 AM