DIY outboard service

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squidge

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Hi a friend of mine has just paid £80 + vat to have his 1year old outboard serviced.
What can they do to a new outboard as it had only been used for a few hours?
Not a lot .They "checked" the spark plugs, "looked"at the control cables and ran it in an oil drum for an hour with fresh water than 1/2 hour in the drum with "soluble oil" to remove any salt build up and lubricate the impellor.

I am thinking of buying some "soluble oil"from my local engineering company , have a "look" myself and save myself £60+ what do you think?
 
Yep, I agree. It's exactly what I do each year! I bought a couple of litres (a full large Coke bottle) of emulsifying oil from a local boatyard about 5 years ago, and still got enough left for the end of this seasons lay-up. i also use it to run through my raw water cooled Bukh 20 diesel. Didn't cost much either. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Checking a little outboard is simplicity itself (so's doing any work on them!) and, like you, I'm damned if I can see what the charges made by outboard 'specialists' are for. Frankly, if you can change an impeller on most of the little 'egg whisk' type engines (Yam 2, Merc 2, Mariner 2.5 and even the larger ones etc etc) you can do anything to them.

For example, I've just changed the impeller in my Yam 2 ready for the season in less than 50 minutes including running the engine afterwards for a few minutes. OK, I've been repairing/servicing mine and other's outboards for many years, so have a fair bit of experience, but it's certainly within the capabilities of most. Most of the problems with O/B's stem from the difficulty of getting the damned things apart, so when you re-assemble, make sure you grease all the bolts (and especially the shaft at the motor end) then next itme it's eezy peezy!!!

Do have a go, it's very satisfying anyway, never mind the cash saving!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers Jerry
 
Is there a workshop manual for teh Yamaha 2hp that you use? if so where can I buy one.
I have just bought a "hardly used" but 5yo one and would like to change the impellor and any othe rrelevant parts- as you say getting it apart may be the challenge. (Getting my Bukh 20 apart wasn't too difficult though!!)
 
Amongst the paperwork, when I bought my boat, was a recent receipt for £65 for the outboard to have the cooling system checked and repaired. Needless to say the cooling did not work. When I stripped the engine there was not one blade on the impellor. What they had done for that money is beyond me!

Have a go and do your own servicing. Not only will you save money, but if something goes wrong with the engine when you are miles from anywhere, you stand a good chance of fixing it yourself.
 
Andrew,

If you are used to working on mechanical things, you don't really need a manual for the Yamaha 2 (or identical older type Marina 2). It all comes apart quite logically. The only point to be aware of is that to get access to get to the impeller you need to remove the circlip from the bottom end of the drive shaft (where it retains the bevel drive gear).

Last time I bought a complete pump overhall kit (impeller, casing, cover, top seal, etc) it was £17 plus VAT, but that was around 6 years ago. Annoyingly, the kit does not include the lower shaft seal which goes in the gearbox casing, and I would recommend you get one at the same time as a kit.

Vic
 
If you are dubious about your engineering expertise find out if your local college runs a "marine engine course". I did a one day course recently at the Selsey AEC for a cost of approx £25 (own spare parts extra!). With the help of an excellent instructor I dismantled a 2.5 Suzuki, cleaned out all the water passages, fitted a new head gasket and, to echo Jerryat's comments, greased all the bolts with alloy grease and bobs your uncle. Best and most satisfying course I have done in a long time!
-------------
Rgds, Nigel
 
Hi asj1,

No, I've never had a workshop manual for the littl'un's and you don't really need one. As Vic says, one of the 'must do's' is to remove the circlip that is located at the bottom of the drive shaft. This is readily accessed by removing th prop, then sliding the gearbox cover (two bolts) which has an 'o' ring seal along the propshaft and off. There are 6 bolts on the underside of the engine (nearest the leg) to be removed. Then comes the difficult bit - getting the leg off (or lifting the engine)!

The usual problem if it's not been removed and greased before, is that the drive shaft rusts solidly to the square crankshaft end and this may need some brute force to shift it. Once achieved though, the rest is pretty straightforward. Remove the two bolts at the leg base to remove the cavity plate and impeller housing, making sure you remove the drive gear AND it's spacer shims and put them to one side. You will now be able to undo the two small bolts that hold the top pump plate in positon, ease it off the pump and so get access to the impeller.

Be careful to remove the little s/s pin that engages in the impeller as it's only a push fit in the drive shaft. Clean out all the waterways exposed by all this work, including the copper water feed tube that pushes into the rubber grommet on the pump. This INCLUDES ensuring that ALL impeller remnants are accounted for (assuming the impeller has been damaged/disintegrated). Then reassemble making sure you grease the bolts as mentioned earlier.

This very much a precis of the operation, but if you have a go and get stuck, bung me a PM and I'll do what I can to help with the problem. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers Jerry
 
Re: DIY outboard service - New Casing needed

I have just bought an old Yamaha 2B and managed to dismantle from the "6 bolts" downwards. I have used formic acid kettle descaler to thoroughly (I hope) clean out the passages round the cylinder head as I am loath to disturb the head gasket etc. The problem I inherited from the previous owner was the peehole was not discharging water - this was caused by the water passages (revealed by removal of the aforementioned 6 bolts) being full of salt where sea water had remained and subsequently dried out on the "horizontal" surfaces. What I have also found is serious corrosion to the water pump housing to the extent of a significant piece of the housing actually becoming detached. Also the two bolts securing the pump housing to the casing have corroded the threads in the casing badly. I think I shall need a new casing but where do I get one from?
Oddly enough the impellor itself was in perfect condition.
If only Yamaha had used some Duralac when they built the engine and if only the previous owner had flushed the engine through with fresh water at the end of each season!
 
Re: DIY outboard service - New Casing needed

Sounds like you need to go to a Boat Jumble. I'm not sure though whether you need to buy an old casing or to sell the old engine. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: DIY outboard service - New Casing needed

No, a boat jumble is precisely what I don't want!
My point is that the lower casing is an inherently weak component and all Yamaha 2Bs more than 10 years old will probably have this problem unless previous owners have been meticulous in fresh water flushing.
 
Re: DIY outboard service - New Casing needed

Hi Mike,

You are quite correct, the damage that occurs to the waterpump/lower casing is, IMHO, the only bad bit of design on these engines. As you say, regular (more than once a season I think) flushing with fresh water will hugely extend the motors life. My previous 2hp, a Mariner, was still working beautifully after 17 years when i sold it, and that was only because we were off long term cruising and wanted a new engine to set off with.
I know flushing can be a pain, but years ago I made up a simple outboard stand (a few bits of angle iron and a wooden pad) that the engine is clamped to with it's leg stuck in a small plastic dustbin of water. To set it all up, flush, empty and put away takes around 20 minutes, so not a great deal of time when it extends the life so much. I do this about once a month during the season (my 2hp goes home in the boot each time as we're on a swinging mooring) then is flushed through with emulsifying oil at the seasons end as described earlier.

Cheer Jerry
 
Re: DIY outboard service - New Casing needed

I do exactly the same as Jerry, in fact I flush after every use ever since having the pain of cleaning out the corrosion out of the engine water passages. Fortunately the gearbox casting was not significantly damaged at that stage.

Vic
 
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