Re: Delta water - outboard motor corrosion problems?
Posted by Mike Q on 2013-02-08 17:14:51
in reply to Delta water - outboard motor corrosion problems? posted by Dan Blanton on 2013-02-08 12:27:13
I'd recommend that you check with your mechanic about new fuel lines that are approved for ethanol. There have been cases reported of them causing deterioration of the fuel lines clogging injectors, etc. I met a guy over at Orwood who was testing his boat after replacing both his fuel and oil lines. In his case, the fuel damaged his fuel line causing a leak that then damaged his 2-stroke oil line. Luckily he caught it immediately or he would have blown his motor. After talking to him, I finally changed my lines over. Inspection of my old lines showed delamination of the inner liner inside the fuel line. This was shortly after California required ethanol fuel.
I'm pretty sure most Yamaha guys run separator filters but I'd still run the treatment. Seems like cheap insurance to me. I add ethanol treatment with every gallon of gas. Since I have a Mercury Optimax, I'm using Mercury Quikcare.
I'm not sure if this next issue is important for Yamaha owners. It definitely is for Mercury owners. My engine will sound an alarm for overheat. What it won't do, is tell me if it has warmed up properly. What often happens is that the thermostats on the Merc's get very small particles stuck in them when running in dirty water. This doesn't allow them to seat correctly. Instead of the motors warming properly (120* for prior to 2002 model year or 130* for 2003 - newer), they run much cooler. With the tight tolerances (piston to cylinder wall), you can get increased wear even to the point of 'cold seize'. Only way to know for sure on my motor is to monitor the temp. gauge.
Hope this info helps.
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