100 hours between outboard maintenance service?

D

Doryman

New member
This was posted on the Rosborough list and I thought it was of sufficient interest to share with you.

We have a pair of the same motors. I suspect that the suspended
solids in the water would influence the impeller wear.

We had some warranty work done on our port motor last year at 800
hours. We asked that they change the zinc and change the impeller
while they had the lower unit off. We were told that the impeller was
changed but hadn't needed changing yet. The starboard impeller is the
original (900 hrs).

With two motors we have the luxury of continuing with one only if
there is a problem. I find that I need to keep a pipe cleaner
(tobacco pipe) in the motor's piss hole (don't know what else to call
it) to keep insects from building nests and clogging them. First time
when no water came out I shut down in panic.

Some of the Yamaha maintenance recommendations are ultra conservative.
The 100 hr oil change is based on the average boater's 50-100 hrs per
year. We have run 500 hrs in two years. I had my oil analyzed after
200 hrs last year and it was "pristine". I have discussed this with a
Yamaha service rep who agreed with a once a year oil change if not
pushing the motor extra hard (bass boat style: start, immediate full
throttle, off with no cool down).

I have been unable to find a mechanic who says it is worthwhile to
check valve clearance at the recommended interval. "Very expensive
and never needs adjustment."

Barry found illustrated water pump replacement instructions on
www.thehulltruth.com and a link is under Links, General
Boating-Maintenance. I plan to follow those when I replace my
starboard impeller. [I see Barry posted a response while I was
typing. He makes a good point about lower unit bolts.]

I do as much maintenance as possible myself (boat & vehicle). I am a
firm believer in changing motor fluids, but 100 hrs seems excessive
with my use pattern.

Reed & Judy
Cary, NC
Click to expand...

Warren
 
I think you're right about the oil change interval.We were 20 hours over the 100 and the oil looked great on our Honda. What's your opinion on the lower unit lube interval?Ours looked pretty dark after 120.I would think that replacing fuel filters at regular intervals might be more important.We are on an extended trip so to service the outboard we have to have the boat hauled which is a pain. In St Augustine FL the Honda dealer wanted almost 800 to haul it and do the 300 hour service which we thought was absurd.We cruised another 20 hours and had it done for240 in St simon GA at Cabretta Marine.I doubt the extra 20 hours was a big deal.
Good cruising. Alan

Follow our Great LOOP blog
HTTP;//voyageofsimplicity.blogspot.com
 
Brats,

I find that I need to keep a pipe cleaner
(tobacco pipe) in the motor's piss hole (don't know what else to call it)
Click to expand...

In polite company you can refer to it as the "water check pipe/hole" or "check tube", but all the mechanics I know call it "piss tube".

Putting a pipe cleaner in the tube/hole is a really good idea, just leave a couple inches showing.
 
I have the Johnson 90 which others have said is the same as the Suzuki. I have done all my own maintenance. The one thing I have no done is the valve clearance check/adjustment.

The manual says to do this every 200hrs or biannually. Has anyone else done this on one of these motors? If so did you need to change any shims?

The repair manual I have seems to indicate that you need to use a sealer when you replace the valve cover. I think the cover has a rubber re-useable type of gasket. I don't know why you would need to use a sealer - any thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve
 
Hi Steve (Seabran),

Yes, I did my own valve measurement at about 250 hours, no shim changes needed fortunately, the measurements all fell within specs. I have Yamaha's, don't know the differences to Johnson's, but mine were quite easy to measure once the valve covers, etc were off.

I have pictures in my album (under "maintenance") on the vacuum gauge adapters I fabbed to avoid the $600 plus Yamaha set (outragious).

My write up is here.
 
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