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Last week my motors seemed to be running rough- in fact the starboard one shut down about 1/2 mile from the ramp.Today I met Ed Miller ( great mobile Yamaha mechanic) 410 375-1638 at Truxton park boat ramp to see if he could figure out the problem.
I can not thank Ed enough for his help - he even answered his cell phone Sunday at the Ravens game to address one more question I had.He walked me through alot of trouble shooting/testing but I still had no luck getting the motors to run smooth.I changed all three filters and ran a fuel pressure check.Even though it was raining this morning-Ed and his helper (Matt) met me at the ramp.He knows how badly I want to go fishing.Ed uses a lap top computer and a very special test prop to diagnosis problems.We pulled the prop and found a nickel size piece of metal jammed in the hub :eek2:.
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At first I thought it was a sinker that somehow got pulled in but once I felt it- realized it was aluminum and from the motor.Ed was certain it was a piece of a piston and once the plugs were pulled- he saw one spark plug was broken, clear indiction of a busted piston.This is not good but the addict in me figured I could still go with one motor until the end of the year- just have to fish close to the ramp and pick good weather days.Ed got the port motor running and did not like the way it was idling.His mechanic's ear could tell something was not quite right so he shut her down and Matt and I pulled the plugs in a steady drizzle.Two plugs showed tiny metal filings :eek2: - a sure sign of piston damage.No way to even think about using the port motor- my season came crashing to an abrupt end.
It is very likely Yamaha will cover the repairs under warranty-which is a blessing- won't know for a day or two.Ed's laptop downloaded all sorts of info that will go to Yamaha so they can see if the motors were abused or ran at very high RPM's and caused the damage- which is not the case.It was funny to see the amount of hours under 1,000 RPM that were on the motors from trolling so much.The computer print out showed everything -including a total of 905 hours.
Ed's best guess on the failure is that internal filters got clogged and allowed a piston to run lean and run too hot.My last trip I opened the motors up to WOT and this most likely caused the failure.The clogged filters did not allow enough fuel/oil into the lower pistons.
It sucks to miss the last two weeks of our Rock season - there is a very small chance everything could be done just before the 31st - I got my fingers crossed.If not - it was a great season.
FYI: Ed strongly recommends changing the main boat filter every 50 hours if cruising alot and no more then 75 hours if cruise/trolling.The E-10 fuel is causing crud to get into the filters deep inside the motors and changing the main often is the first line of defense.The secondary and VST should be changed around 300 hours or so.
The motors were designed before E-10 was a problem and the only way to avoid trouble is by using 10 micron filters.Even then - like in my case - you still might have troubles.
I can not thank Ed enough for his help - he even answered his cell phone Sunday at the Ravens game to address one more question I had.He walked me through alot of trouble shooting/testing but I still had no luck getting the motors to run smooth.I changed all three filters and ran a fuel pressure check.Even though it was raining this morning-Ed and his helper (Matt) met me at the ramp.He knows how badly I want to go fishing.Ed uses a lap top computer and a very special test prop to diagnosis problems.We pulled the prop and found a nickel size piece of metal jammed in the hub :eek2:.
At first I thought it was a sinker that somehow got pulled in but once I felt it- realized it was aluminum and from the motor.Ed was certain it was a piece of a piston and once the plugs were pulled- he saw one spark plug was broken, clear indiction of a busted piston.This is not good but the addict in me figured I could still go with one motor until the end of the year- just have to fish close to the ramp and pick good weather days.Ed got the port motor running and did not like the way it was idling.His mechanic's ear could tell something was not quite right so he shut her down and Matt and I pulled the plugs in a steady drizzle.Two plugs showed tiny metal filings :eek2: - a sure sign of piston damage.No way to even think about using the port motor- my season came crashing to an abrupt end.
It is very likely Yamaha will cover the repairs under warranty-which is a blessing- won't know for a day or two.Ed's laptop downloaded all sorts of info that will go to Yamaha so they can see if the motors were abused or ran at very high RPM's and caused the damage- which is not the case.It was funny to see the amount of hours under 1,000 RPM that were on the motors from trolling so much.The computer print out showed everything -including a total of 905 hours.
Ed's best guess on the failure is that internal filters got clogged and allowed a piston to run lean and run too hot.My last trip I opened the motors up to WOT and this most likely caused the failure.The clogged filters did not allow enough fuel/oil into the lower pistons.
It sucks to miss the last two weeks of our Rock season - there is a very small chance everything could be done just before the 31st - I got my fingers crossed.If not - it was a great season.
FYI: Ed strongly recommends changing the main boat filter every 50 hours if cruising alot and no more then 75 hours if cruise/trolling.The E-10 fuel is causing crud to get into the filters deep inside the motors and changing the main often is the first line of defense.The secondary and VST should be changed around 300 hours or so.
The motors were designed before E-10 was a problem and the only way to avoid trouble is by using 10 micron filters.Even then - like in my case - you still might have troubles.
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