Storing a Yamaha F4 Outboard

[shelak]

I have a Yamaha F4 outboard which came with the boat I bought last year, but there is no documentation with it. I don't have space to store it upright, therefore it goes in the hold but I am not sure which is the correct way to lay it down - I know there is a right and wrong way, but not sure which. Any tips?

 

[cliff]

On the tiller side - i.e. tiller side down, shift side up and don't let the prop come above the level of the engine.

Better though is do what I did - sell it off and buy a 3.3/3.5 merc/Tohatsu two stroke or the like while you can still get them.
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[shelak]

/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gifaah...it seems mine has been lying the other way down for the past 6-8 weeks. I checked it over this morning and it seemed ok - started alright and worked fine.

what's the problem if you store it the wrong way?

 

[tritonofnor]

Storing it the wrong way can lead to hydraulic lock as sump oil gets into the cylinder, leading to a bent conrod ! Ouch! Problem can be sorted by removing sparkplug - clean it in fresh petrol while you've got it out - and turning over a few times to get oil out of the cylinder. Check oil in sump, refit plug and away you go...

 

[shelak]

ok, so do I need to do this before I use it again or since it all seems ok now, do I just make damn sure I store it correctly from now on?

 

[theforeman]

just make sure you store it correctly from now on.
my honda 5hp 4str has two lugs on the side which is the lower side when it is laid down on its side. i would imagine the yamaha has something similar.
as said above keep the propellor lower than the top of the engine ( keeps the oil in the sump ).

 

[Lakesailor]

Nope. The Yamaha doesn't have such lugs. It does have a sticker on the tillerhandle telling you how to store the motor, but if it's gone, you lay it (as has been said already) on the tiller handle so the gearchange lever is uppermost.
(it's port side, if you're feeling nautical)

 

[theforeman]

the honda and the manual are on the boat. the only thing i have here is the memory ( which aint what it used to be ). i can, however, say that the tiller/throttle and the f/n/r lever are on opposite sides of the honda /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[shelak]

on the Yamaha, the tiller is definately on the port side and the gearshift on the starboard.
I have now stowed the thing tiller down and gearshift up and made sure that the engine is higher than the prop, so fingers crossed we should be ok. Sticker on tillerhandle has definately disappeared, which is suprising as I reckon the thing had only been used about once before.

 

[Lakesailor]

There you are. Lay it on the port side.

 

[shelak]

that's the one!! port side from now on!

p.s. bloody good engines - go like a dream.

 

[Lakesailor]

Yup, we chugged about at near tickover around the moorings up and down the lake for about 3 hours* the other day and it never missed a beat. Starts 2nd pull (If I remember to put the kill-cord on)

*(For less than a litre of fuel.)

 

[neale]

We had one of these. For the last four years it has been stored at the bottom of the English Channel between the Needles and Cherbourg. Not sue what way up it is. Do you think we may have caused it some damage?????