Yamaha F4a tell tale

[mattnj]

who has a Yamaha F4a 4hp 4 stroke please and how much comes out the tell tale when cold?
a Yamaha dealer is telling me they are known for having poor tell tales unless fully hot, if I take out the thermostat completely the water hammers out....seems wrong that there is no flow until the thermostat is open, the manual says it should have good flow all the time...impeller etc is all fine. Think i may just drill ahole in the thermostat so it always passes some water, woudl rather have it run cold, that fry the engine.

 

[asteven221]

I am 99% certain water comes out mine all the time. I assume that a "tell tale" is the cooling water circulating through the system. If not, then sorry I have not got a clue!

 

[mattnj]

yep, the "tell tale" is the stream of water that comes out the block at the back...
spoke to the yamaha man again, who says it is the early ones that suffer from this...wonder how old yours is?

 

[Firefly]

Bought mine in 2003 (its up for sale if anyone is interested!) always produced a good stream out the back - never noticed any difference between hot and cold.

 

[Lakesailor]

My F4a had a good stream from cold. That's it at tickover behind the leg.

 

[mattnj]

...i have just modified the thermostat so that it always passes some water (by putting a hole in it) and now it seems fine, also did a vinegar flush, hopefully thats it ok now, just hoping something is not blocked somewhere else, anyone taken one of these apart....how much of a job is it? Could do with a service manual if anyone has it on pdf...