Maintenance guilt

[Fishtales]

I'm probably the minority here, but I fully service my motor yearly. Change out impeller, plugs, thermostats, oil, filter, gear lube, fuel filter and separator, grease fittings. I've done it this way for years, motor is always fresh and ready to go in the spring.

agree, I do the t-stats every 3 but the same on everything else. why chisel out?

 

[trapper]

Hi Ky, What is the reason behind changing impeller, plugs and thermostat every year? Do you put on a lot of hours? Yes I do fuel filter and separator and "All grease fittings" (which never seemed to get done when I went to a dealer). Remove prop and grease the prop shaft. Changed my impeller after 5 seasons but it was still working fine just a little memory in the rubber. Check my thermostat every spring and all is fine so have not changed it yet. Changed my plugs once in 6 years and probably due for another change. I do between 80 and 100 hours a year. Is this a Yamaha maintenance schedule you follow or just one you are comfortable with? Anyway good for you, It is your boat and motor one would want to purchase in looking for a well cared for ride. Maybe I should step up my maintenance program!

 

[Ky Grady]

Trapper,
Mostly personal preference on my part on plugs. I sandbar hop when in Florida so I sometimes get shallow and stir up and suck up sand and I just change everything yearly. To me, it's no big deal to change it all, I do my own service so no labor costs. Have always done it this way, to old to change now.

 

[Doc Stressor]

The black oil has something to do with the additive yamaha uses. The shearing of the oil causes it to become black. Wspitler, your assumption is likely true.
Where's Doc Stressor? He likely could give us the best answer.

I was up on Vancouver Island all week and had no cell phone or WiFi access. That was nice!

I have never drained a dual powered boat without noticing that the lube from lower unit with the counter-rotating prop was always darker. The dark color is the result of a higher amount of oil oxidation, which occurs at a higher rate with increasing temperature. It might have something to do with a sharper hypoid gear angle in the CR lower unit. Gear oil always darkens to some degree with usage. How much is too much? You would have to get the lube analyzed to know for sure. But 100 hr does not seem to be too long. Synthetic gear lubes tend to stay lighter in color because the base oil is more oxidation resistant than conventional stock.

The color of virgin gear oil depends on the additive package. Molybdenum anti-wear additives give a dark color.

You generally want to use a GL4 rated lube in Yamaha lower units except for the high performance models. They contain soft metal bushings that can be corroded by the anti-wear and extreme pressure additives in GL5 lubes. This is a slow process and some synthetic GL5 lubes claim to have inhibitors that protect soft metals. So little harm is done by using GL5 lube for a while. It's always best to use what the manufacturer recommends, however.

I've had a few water pumps fail over my 60+ years of boating. Interestingly, they were always on engines that were only used infrequently. What happens is that the plasticizer in the synthetic rubber impeller blades doesn't get re-distributed without use and the blades become brittle. I lost a blade on the 40 hp Suzuki on my skiff after only one year. I change the impellor on the skiff (which sucks a lot of sand) annually and on the Grady (only used offshore) every 2 years. I inspect the plate and housing and change them if there is any indication of abrasive wear.

It's a good idea to drop those lower units every year as folks are suggesting. If you don't, things can seize up bad. I remember taking a month to get the lower unit off of a 135 hp Johnson on my old 204C. The boat was only used during the summers up north and stored dry over the winter. So I figured that I could go for a long time without checking the water pump. After bringing the boat down to Florida, I tried to take a look at the impellor. The process took hammers, pullers, and finally a torch to remove that lower unit.

 

[Heyspike]

I'm probably the minority here, but I fully service my motor yearly. Change out impeller, plugs, thermostats, oil, filter, gear lube, fuel filter and separator, grease fittings. I've done it this way for years, motor is always fresh and ready to go in the spring.

KY,
What lower unit oil are you using? I have a 2006 225HP. Actually we have the same motors, how about a parts list?

 

[Bdsp1234]

I've heard that it is as much to ensure the lower unit CAN come off when service is required than it is about changing pump/impeller annually. But once the work to drop the LU is done, why not do the impeller while in there?

Yamaha recommends changing pump every year. Not so much for the pump, but for the exact reason you mentioned. They use titanium screws, which can corrode and get stuck. If they crack you can’t get them out unless you titanium rods and can heliarc weld. Then it’s a new lower unit.

 

[seasick]

Like I said. 9 years, without removing the LU and it then came right off. It was harder the first time I did it way back when. I feel that the secret is using the antisieze compound when reassembling.

 

[Ky Grady]

KY,
What lower unit oil are you using? I have a 2006 225HP. Actually we have the same motors, how about a parts list?

Let me get home this evening and I'll get a pic of what I just bought for my service regiment.

Here's the gear lube.

 

[g0tagrip]

Maybe I am too cautious but I stick to the recommended hours to do the preventive maintenance. So every 100 hours I change:
Oil
Oil filters
fuel filters
fuel water seperators
lower unit oils
grease all zerts
CRC inside of engines
At 200 hours in addition to the above:
spark plugs
empellers
at 300 hours in addition to all the above:
VST filters
and at 1000 hours I have the timing belts changed.
I do all my own preventive maintenance less the timing belts.
Maybe I am putting more hours on my engines than you guys, my 2007 Marlin has 1763 hours on it......yes I do not have to winterize as if the temp drops below 70 that is winter for us down here, and I put up the side curtains........
So I guess my recommendation is to move South?

 

[Heyspike]

This is my first year with the Seafarer, so I try to do everything I can to keep it running. The motor has 1086 hours on it. It runs like a top and the compression is good. I'm working on replacing the seals in the Seastar steering system and then the fogging, lower unit oil and fuel stabilizer.
It hard to find all the Yamaha oils to use around here, so I have to order everything from Amazon.

 

[Doc Stressor]

The maintenance schedule on the Yamaha website is misleading. They obviously want to sell parts and don't indicate whether the indicated service is inspection/adjustment or replacement.

Website Service Schedule

The one in the shop manual is different and indicates that some of the parts only need inspection at 100 hr. That would include spark plugs and the water pump/impeller.

Shop Manual Service Schedule

You should easily get 300-500 hr on a set of plugs in a good running engine.

 

[seasick]

If the plugs do not have caked up carbon and the center porcelain is brownish grey, I just check the gap and continue to use for 2, sometimes 3 seasons. Some seasons, I only run about 25 motor hours.
If all the plugs are caked up , you need to find out why. Likewise if one or two are very different from the others, there is a problem and changing the plugs is not going to fix it.

 

[leeccoll]

This is my first year with the Seafarer, so I try to do everything I can to keep it running. The motor has 1086 hours on it. It runs like a top and the compression is good. I'm working on replacing the seals in the Seastar steering system and then the fogging, lower unit oil and fuel stabilizer.
It hard to find all the Yamaha oils to use around here, so I have to order everything from Amazon.

FYI about doing the Seastar seals, having replaced mine this season.
When you remove the 2 end bolts that hold the cylinder rod in place, it might be frozen stuck, as mine was. I used a hammer on one end to free it up and in the process damaged the thread on the tip and couldn't get the screw on again. I should have used a nail punch with the hammer. After trying to unsuccessfully repair it I eventually had to cut off the damaged part with a dremmel, and jimmy rig a new bolt on.
I was too inpatient (or should I say Bam Bam) and it was preventable if I just slowed down.
I also bought a bubble purge kit to bleed the system and add fliud by my lonesome.
That was well worth it!

 

[Fishtales]

Maybe I am too cautious but I stick to the recommended hours to do the preventive maintenance. So every 100 hours I change:
Oil
Oil filters
fuel filters
fuel water seperators
lower unit oils
grease all zerts
CRC inside of engines
At 200 hours in addition to the above:
spark plugs
empellers
at 300 hours in addition to all the above:
VST filters
and at 1000 hours I have the timing belts changed.
I do all my own preventive maintenance less the timing belts.
Maybe I am putting more hours on my engines than you guys, my 2007 Marlin has 1763 hours on it......yes I do not have to winterize as if the temp drops below 70 that is winter for us down here, and I put up the side curtains........
So I guess my recommendation is to move South?

Sounds close to what the dealer does to my boat every year. I do the plugs every year and the empeller and tstats every 3.