'99 OX 66 "Spring Tuning"

[johnnyboy]

Hey guys its been a while since i've posted but thought this would be a topic everyone would like to review and give comment on.

Went to my local yamaha parts store and picked up some items:

Thermostats for both engines: He claimed they should be changed ever 3 years, so purchasing the boat last year, not knowing how long they've been changed, I decided I am going to change them.

Poppit valve: I wasnt even aware of doing anything with that, but he gave me some gaskets to put on the mount when im done cleaning it. (MIND ALL OF YOU: IVE NEVER DONE ANY OF THESE ITEMS BEFORE =)

Steering wheel hydraulic fluid: Should I bleed the system or just fill up and take it from there?

Lower unit oil: He gave me the oil as well as the mechanism to shoot the oil in. He explained removing the bottom bolt first, then removing the top. Let it drain, then put the top bolt in and fill from the bottom till you see it come out and quickly install the bottom bolt.

Last year i've changed the fuel pumps on both motors so thats done as well as oil and fuel filters.

As per the filter in the vst; he claims if you dont have any issues with it, dont change it.

I installed a new fuel gauge last year and am not getting a reading, any ideas why not?

Also with one of my engine tachs, Im not getting the trim level on it, it worked prior, any ideas?

Other items I need to work on are getting my anchor to retrieve, replacing the search light which seems damaged caust it wont go up or done just left to right and other things I can't think of but will post soon.

Also:

I have an 99 sail fish, what do you guys use to polish the boat, hull and deck? Is there such a thing as over polishing if I hire someone and they can screw up my gel coat?

Also the rails around the pilot house, how do you guys polish them?

AM I MISSING ANYTHING ON THE SPRING TUNING???

THANKS A MILLION GUYS, CANT WAIT FOR THE SEASON raise

 

[ahill]

I have a '98 Sailfish.
Usually if the fuel gauge doesn't read its the sending unit. Do both tanks not register? If so it might be the gauge. There are ohm readings for the sender that will tell you.

"The ohm range would be 240 to 33.
We hope this information will be helpful and let us know if we may be of
further assistance.
Best regards,
Eddie Rowe
Customer Relations
Grady-White Boats"

The tilt gauge could be a stuck sender. Tilt the motors all the way up look for the sender & spray PB Blaster on it then trim up & down a few times, that usualy works.
If your speedo quits there is a small hole on the front of the lower unit that picks up water pressure. Ream it out by hand with a 1/8" drill bit. Mine got painted over on a recent bottom job.

 

[seasick]

I will address one are you mentioned and some you didn't.
For the lower unit oil, you must replace the gaskets. Don't reuse the old ones ( true for the fiber gaskets)
To refill, both plugs out, fill from bottom until oil comes out of top. THEN replace top plug, remove filler fitting from bottom and replace bottom plug. Clean oil from hands

Since you don't know the previous maintenance history, you may need to replace the water pump. If the pee stream is strong, you probably can wait. I replace spark plugs every season, they are fairly cheap.
Make sure the secondary oil tank pumps oil at a decent rate. There is a screen in that system than can get plugged. You can check flow using the manual oil pump switch on the motor.

Oil pump synchronisation should be checked. The check is simple but you probably need a manual.
And finally, you may want to check the O2 sensor. I don't recommend excessive maintenance unless a problem is suspected. There are ways to test the sensor without taking it off the motor. Again, you need a service manual. Pulling you spark plugs and examining them can tell allot about, the O2 and oil pump adjustment.

Good luck

By the way, open the access cover over the sender, pull the pink or purple wire off of the sender. Connect that wire to a good ground and see if the fuel gauge reads full. It should. When the wire is disconnected, the gauge should read empty. If both test work and the gauge doesn't read correctly when connected, you most likely have a bad sender or a bad ground.

 

[johnnyboy]

Thanks for responses!!! I changed my spark plugs last year, so that was done. As per the lower unit when you say to put the filler fitting?, you just mean putting a rag or something to keep the oil from coming out?

I will take your other items and look at the issues that way.

Thanks a million for all those who help! :goodjob

 

[ahill]

The best fuel sending unit comes from WEMA. http://www.wemausa.com/tank-sensors/

 

[johnnyboy]

Polishing? What do you guys o both for gel coat and aluminum

 

[seasick]

Thanks for responses!!! I changed my spark plugs last year, so that was done. As per the lower unit when you say to put the filler fitting?, you just mean putting a rag or something to keep the oil from coming out?

I will take your other items and look at the issues that way.

Thanks a million for all those who help! :goodjob

If you use the screw in filler pump which I suppose you will use, it has to be unscrewed before replacing the filler plug. Even with the top plug in which slows down the flow of leaking oil, you will still have some leakage. If you figure out how to get that bottom pug in without some leakage, let us know!
FYI. The two plugs are different in that the bottom one has a small magnetic tip that collects metal shavings. Take a look at it, some metal is normal. Clean it up and make sure it goes into the bottom hole

I use the hand pump that screws into the one quart oil bottle. It takes about 200 pumps to fill the lower unit. After a while yo swear it isn't working. It just takes a lot of pumps. Yami LUs take a tad over a quart, so have a second bottle handy.

 

[Tucker]

I'm living the same thing johnny. Got the boat in late August last year and just ran it. Now doing the 100+ hr service. Doing several other things. Gotta disagree about the VST.
1) Clean VST filter
2) Change out 10-micron Fuel Water Sep with 2-micron Racor (Do this and you should never have to clean the VST filter)
3) Flush hyd steering with new fluid
4) Remove engine oil tank and flush with diesel (I removed my oiler and premix)
5) Replace boat side oil tank filters (good lucking getting to those) (think this was mentioned)
6) Check TPS adjustment (need a test harness, about $22)
7) Remove and clean the 02 sensor. Book says do it every year or 200hrs. Check O2 output voltage (need a test harness, about $45)
8) Decarb engine
9) I replaced the poppit valve (PRV valve) with the new style that doesn't seize open.
10) Remove check valve between fuel filter and low pressure fuel pumps. The valve comes apart, just throw away the guts.

It's a major PIA but once it's done you should have to do most of this again.

 

[johnnyboy]

Thanks for the information:

I heave heard from different people that you should only change lower unit oil if when you remove the bottom drain plug, water comes out. They say that unit is always in water and the oil stays cool thus not burning.

As for the steering system, where do you flush it from?

Also the thermostats, are those easy to replace?

So much fun for the weekend lol.

:-|

 

[seasick]

Thanks for the information:

I heave heard from different people that you should only change lower unit oil if when you remove the bottom drain plug, water comes out. They say that unit is always in water and the oil stays cool thus not burning.

As for the steering system, where do you flush it from?

Also the thermostats, are those easy to replace?

So much fun for the weekend lol.

:-|

Change the LU oil as recommended or once a season, preferable before storage. The oil gets broken down and it's a lot cheaper to replace than the LU itself. Many times if there is water, you will not see water draining first but will see more of a milky looking oil. Iyt helps to drain the old oil into a clean container or pan so that you can examine it for color and smell. You also need to look for particles which can indicate several issues.
T-stats are easy to replace as long as the bolts come out. You need to replace the gaskets too. That said, t-stats last a lot longer than a lot of people think. When I start my motor for the first time, I feel both sides of the heads ( cowling off) and then re-feel at 5 minutes, 7 minutes etc. You should feel the head near the t-stats as cold when first started and then gradually warm up. Both sides should warm up the same and not get super hot to the touch. If they warm up and don't get real hot, the t-stats are OK. If you don't know when they were last changed, you can change them so that you know where you stand. Take a look inside the housing and on the t-stat for corrosion or salt buildup. You are more likely to find that than a bad t-stat.
When replacing the housings, go easy. Tighten the two bolts in two steps and use a torque wrench if you have one. You don't want to over tighten the bolts.

 

[Grog]

Be VERY careful changing the t-stats. It's very easy to snap one of the bolts on the housing, been there done that.

 

[Tucker]

Be VERY careful changing the t-stats. It's very easy to snap one of the bolts on the housing, been there done that.

Yep, "once bitten twice shy babe" That's why I use 1/4" drive ratchet on everything except LU bolts and prop bolt.

 

[johnnyboy]

Thanks a lot for the replies and help. As for the T-STATS, is it true if you break the housing or something along those lines you could need a new engine? Somewhere in this forum I seen a post dont remember where, that if a part was replaced improperly and the housing was broken, your screwed. Any other recommendations on taking the tstat out, also I saw someone saying they dont use a torque wrench for it.

Also crazy question, replacing the thermostats give the tach a better reading of engine temps?>

 

[johnnyboy]

Oh crap I totally forgot to ask this, again my first year out of the water with it, anyone know which and where the zincs go on the sailfish? Spanks!

 

[seasick]

Thanks a lot for the replies and help. As for the T-STATS, is it true if you break the housing or something along those lines you could need a new engine? Somewhere in this forum I seen a post dont remember where, that if a part was replaced improperly and the housing was broken, your screwed. Any other recommendations on taking the tstat out, also I saw someone saying they dont use a torque wrench for it.

Also crazy question, replacing the thermostats give the tach a better reading of engine temps?>

Once you get a feel for the correct torque with a torque wrench, it is easier to tighten without one. The t-stats bolts don't get tightened to a high torque. If you break a bolt, the motor is not shot. The broken bolt can usually be drilled and extracted or drilled out and a new thread inserted. Anti-seize is recommended for those bolts. If the bolt seems tight and doesn't want to loosen, try turning it a bit in the tighten direction. That often helps break the seal.
Will new stats make the temp gauge work better.NO. In addition, do you have temp gauge or just overheat alarm?
Which zinks are you referring too, exterior outboard zincs or the motor internal anodes?

 

[johnnyboy]

All zincs for that matter.

 

[seasick]

There is one anode , the trim anode bolted to the cavitation plate above the prop. It usually wears out the fastest. It needs to be set at a specific angle, so make a note of where it set and copy that setting ( assuming it is set correctly). To remove, you pull a rubber plug on the top rear of the cavitation plate, insert a 10MM socket and loosen the bolt. Hopefully is comes out.
The second anode in under the motor bracket on the bottom up against the transom or bracket. It is bigger and looks like a miniature radiator. It has four bolts and a ground wire. Breaking bolts are a common issue. Do not paint it and make sure that the surface it bolts too is not painted and the ground wire is reconnected. This anode lasts a few seasons depending on conditions.
The last anodes for the motor are internal and are accessed by removing the cylinder head covers. I forget how many there are, six or eight I think. You can't tell if they are shot unless you remove the head covers. I have not looked at mine in a long time. I really don't know how long thay last.

What you should invest in is a factory service manual. It will detail all of these maintenance items and a lot more.