South of Heaven
New member
I'm feeling better because I finally ran the motor for about 10 minutes or so!
As some of you may recall I bought this boat basically sight unseen. I drove down to NY, bought it and drove home. Lol. No sea trial, no survey, no anything! SO, needless to say I've been waiting for this day for A LONG TIME.
I had a mobile mechanic come and do a complete spring commissioning, tune up and some other engine related things. Going forward I'll be doing all the minor maintenance on the motor but I had a big laundry list today and didn't even wanna attempt some of the tasks.
I have a 2003 Yamaha F80, 4 stroke, carb'd motor.
What we did was: Changed the engine oil and filter, changed the lower unit oil, replaced the internal fuel filter and the external Racor, replaced the water pump and the housing (entire kit), changed all 4 spark plugs, replaced the anode from the skeg area and the long strip anode from near the base of motor mount area.
Then we drained both of the fuel tanks and I added 4 gallons of fresh 93 Octane in each tank (I had to go to the gas station twice and fill up my only "clean" jug). I then stabilized the fuel and added Yamaha Ring-Free additive as well.
Moment of truth time....we connected the muffs and I started the motor. It turned over but no ignition. I then cranked it for like 3 or 4 seconds. Still nothing. The next attempt it fired but was sluggish. Then it warmed up.....I was getting nervous because no water was coming from the telltale and it had been running for like 20 seconds or so. The mechanic then fiddled around with the muffs and got a better connection and a little water came out. He kept fiddling with the muffs and eventually it was a steady stream. I'm still upset though because for a good 20 seconds or more there was no water at all.....
But anyway, after about 1 or 2 minutes of a warmup she ran great and sounded great! Even the warmup sound didn't sound bad; Just warming up, hard to describe it I guess. I chock it up to a motor that has been sitting all winter. I do however wish I had checked the compression. I forgot to ask the mechanic to do it.
I actually have another part that I'm gonna install this week, the thermostat. The dealer didn't have it in stock and PROMISED it to me by last Friday. Then Friday came along and they said "oh, you'll have it by Monday". Gee, thanks. I needed it today.
Alls well that ends well. I'm just happy my engine started. LOL! Next up is actually getting her in the water. I've got a while before that happens though. My next step is a new 24 group starting battery and a 27 deep cycle with a switch and combiner.
Then it's on to the VHF radio, bluetooth radio, speakers, LED lights, VHF antenna, detailing the exterior and interior, tinting the windows, attaching the new boat name and C Dory decals and then prepping the floor for the PlasDeck faux teak. I can't wait to get the product; it's already been measured and ordered.
As some of you may recall I bought this boat basically sight unseen. I drove down to NY, bought it and drove home. Lol. No sea trial, no survey, no anything! SO, needless to say I've been waiting for this day for A LONG TIME.
I had a mobile mechanic come and do a complete spring commissioning, tune up and some other engine related things. Going forward I'll be doing all the minor maintenance on the motor but I had a big laundry list today and didn't even wanna attempt some of the tasks.
I have a 2003 Yamaha F80, 4 stroke, carb'd motor.
What we did was: Changed the engine oil and filter, changed the lower unit oil, replaced the internal fuel filter and the external Racor, replaced the water pump and the housing (entire kit), changed all 4 spark plugs, replaced the anode from the skeg area and the long strip anode from near the base of motor mount area.
Then we drained both of the fuel tanks and I added 4 gallons of fresh 93 Octane in each tank (I had to go to the gas station twice and fill up my only "clean" jug). I then stabilized the fuel and added Yamaha Ring-Free additive as well.
Moment of truth time....we connected the muffs and I started the motor. It turned over but no ignition. I then cranked it for like 3 or 4 seconds. Still nothing. The next attempt it fired but was sluggish. Then it warmed up.....I was getting nervous because no water was coming from the telltale and it had been running for like 20 seconds or so. The mechanic then fiddled around with the muffs and got a better connection and a little water came out. He kept fiddling with the muffs and eventually it was a steady stream. I'm still upset though because for a good 20 seconds or more there was no water at all.....
But anyway, after about 1 or 2 minutes of a warmup she ran great and sounded great! Even the warmup sound didn't sound bad; Just warming up, hard to describe it I guess. I chock it up to a motor that has been sitting all winter. I do however wish I had checked the compression. I forgot to ask the mechanic to do it.
I actually have another part that I'm gonna install this week, the thermostat. The dealer didn't have it in stock and PROMISED it to me by last Friday. Then Friday came along and they said "oh, you'll have it by Monday". Gee, thanks. I needed it today.
Alls well that ends well. I'm just happy my engine started. LOL! Next up is actually getting her in the water. I've got a while before that happens though. My next step is a new 24 group starting battery and a 27 deep cycle with a switch and combiner.
Then it's on to the VHF radio, bluetooth radio, speakers, LED lights, VHF antenna, detailing the exterior and interior, tinting the windows, attaching the new boat name and C Dory decals and then prepping the floor for the PlasDeck faux teak. I can't wait to get the product; it's already been measured and ordered.