I have read with great interest lots of good advice on DIY repairs for outboards and I am inspired to work more on my own. I am pretty handy and do some maintenance myself, but I have a few problems that might be beyond me. Lately my shade tree mechanic has failed me so I am on my own!
My boat has a pair of counter rotating 1991 Yamaha 130 hp motors, Model#130ETX each with about 1200 hours on them. They are used in salt water. They both have been very reliable motors often taking me far off shore. I have a few problems resulting from age and I am afraid that they are becoming too far gone to cost effectively repair. Still, I love these motors and would like to keep them running as long as I can. My major concerns are:
1) The steering tillers on the motors (where the steering rams attach to the motor) are completely rotten and invaded by rust. I have been trying to treat this condition for years but it has gotten critical where now only 20% or less of the metal remains in some places along the tiller arm. Can these be easily replaced or is this too major (and integral) a part of the motor? My mechanic says too much work, live with it. I do not want my steering to fail 40 miles off shore and therefore must replace the steering arms or the motors. Can this be a DIY project? Are the parts hard to come by?
2) the trailer locks for locking the motors in the raised position also finally rusted to the point of freezing and thus I cannot lock the motors up. This seems to be unsafe for long trailer runs, and is also a concern because one motor has a slow tilt leak that causes the motor to drop into the water over a week or so of non-use. Can they be easily replaced?
3) The lower unit cases of both motors are very beat up with large portions of the skegs missing and a crack in one case from the back of the prop back towards the bow of the boat, about 1" into the case. Is this moving to a critical area? when will it reach the gear case? I have had it welded once and it reopened, but recently I have had better luck with JB weld. Should the skegs be repaired?
4) In the last few years I have had a problem where the carbs get plugged; or more specifically I am told the high RPM jets get clogged. This has happened twice now with both motors pugging up within a few hours use of the other. The engines start and run fine but top out at @ 4400 rpm (where normal WOT is @5200 RPM). The first time this happened my mechanic removed the carbs and cleaned the HI jets. The motors ran well for about 14 months (@ 75+ hours). This recently happened again, and this time the mechanic told me a 'complete' carb rebuild and cleaning was in order and I am guessing this meant floats, jets and seals. He found parts of a deteriorating gasket in the carb. This cost a bit but I figured it was time. (a cracked water pump housing was also replaced) Upon getting the boat back both motors ran perfectly for about 1 hour each and then they plugged again! The mechanic took the boat back and claimed to have fixed it, but I went a step further and replaced the worn and crumbling fuel lines myself. I also replaced the spark plugs. Now one motor still does not get to high RPM's but the problem seems different. The motor will rev higher than before (up to 4900 RPM) and is now suffering from a 200-400 RPM surge or fluctuation at all ranges of throttle. What should I check first? How can I check for a fuel line air leak? Is there a way to eliminate the carb HI jets as part of the problem? Has my mechanic been improperly diagnosing another problem?
Sorry this sounds like a lot of problems for "good engines I want to keep" but I think they could last hundreds of hours more if I could just fix these few problems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
My boat has a pair of counter rotating 1991 Yamaha 130 hp motors, Model#130ETX each with about 1200 hours on them. They are used in salt water. They both have been very reliable motors often taking me far off shore. I have a few problems resulting from age and I am afraid that they are becoming too far gone to cost effectively repair. Still, I love these motors and would like to keep them running as long as I can. My major concerns are:
1) The steering tillers on the motors (where the steering rams attach to the motor) are completely rotten and invaded by rust. I have been trying to treat this condition for years but it has gotten critical where now only 20% or less of the metal remains in some places along the tiller arm. Can these be easily replaced or is this too major (and integral) a part of the motor? My mechanic says too much work, live with it. I do not want my steering to fail 40 miles off shore and therefore must replace the steering arms or the motors. Can this be a DIY project? Are the parts hard to come by?
2) the trailer locks for locking the motors in the raised position also finally rusted to the point of freezing and thus I cannot lock the motors up. This seems to be unsafe for long trailer runs, and is also a concern because one motor has a slow tilt leak that causes the motor to drop into the water over a week or so of non-use. Can they be easily replaced?
3) The lower unit cases of both motors are very beat up with large portions of the skegs missing and a crack in one case from the back of the prop back towards the bow of the boat, about 1" into the case. Is this moving to a critical area? when will it reach the gear case? I have had it welded once and it reopened, but recently I have had better luck with JB weld. Should the skegs be repaired?
4) In the last few years I have had a problem where the carbs get plugged; or more specifically I am told the high RPM jets get clogged. This has happened twice now with both motors pugging up within a few hours use of the other. The engines start and run fine but top out at @ 4400 rpm (where normal WOT is @5200 RPM). The first time this happened my mechanic removed the carbs and cleaned the HI jets. The motors ran well for about 14 months (@ 75+ hours). This recently happened again, and this time the mechanic told me a 'complete' carb rebuild and cleaning was in order and I am guessing this meant floats, jets and seals. He found parts of a deteriorating gasket in the carb. This cost a bit but I figured it was time. (a cracked water pump housing was also replaced) Upon getting the boat back both motors ran perfectly for about 1 hour each and then they plugged again! The mechanic took the boat back and claimed to have fixed it, but I went a step further and replaced the worn and crumbling fuel lines myself. I also replaced the spark plugs. Now one motor still does not get to high RPM's but the problem seems different. The motor will rev higher than before (up to 4900 RPM) and is now suffering from a 200-400 RPM surge or fluctuation at all ranges of throttle. What should I check first? How can I check for a fuel line air leak? Is there a way to eliminate the carb HI jets as part of the problem? Has my mechanic been improperly diagnosing another problem?
Sorry this sounds like a lot of problems for "good engines I want to keep" but I think they could last hundreds of hours more if I could just fix these few problems. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!