94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

[jdish84]

Hi, I recently acquired a Renken 200 classic that has a Yamaha 4.3 V6 I/O that is locked up, I removed the heads and it appears that the motor would have to be rebuilt. I am wondering about doing a V8 swap and wondered if anyone has done one or would it be just as easy to just rebuild the 4.3. Thanks for any input.

 

[Don S]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

First of all, if you went to a V8, you would have to change gear ratio's in the outdrive. Second. There is almost no support, parts, techs or anything else for a Yamaha outdrive here in the states. Except maybe Capt. Ken you may hear from shortly.
If you want a V8, look for a complete Mercruiser or Volvo SX style engine and drive from a doner boat and replace the whole thing.

 

[jdish84]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

Thanks! It appears to be a GM 4.3 block, I have noticed that there is not much support for Yamaha which makes me wonder, but if I can rebuild it, it may be cheaper than swapping everything out.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

Ayuh,...

Yamaha used Chevy base motors,.. Just like Merc,+ Volvo...

The problems start with Any,+ All of the Yammy parts bolted onto them...

Capt. Ken is your Best bet,.. He either has a line on the parts, or knows which Merc. parts can be substituted,+ where...
This is his Website,....
You can contact him through there...

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

First determine why it locked up. Is the manifolds bad? How about the risers? If its just the engine, you can get a reman 4.3 without the balance shaft and just replace the engine. You cannot put a V8 ahead of that V6 drive unless you are planning on replacing the drive soon.

 

[jdish84]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

Thanks so much! I have not been able to find any cracks and the gaskets did not look blown but there was water in the pistons, on each side, there was of course rust, in the heads, in the intake, even in the carb. With the heads removed I tried to rotate the motor with no luck. There appears to be no water in the oil but I have not pulled the motor out of the boat yet. Where are the weak spots I should look for? Thanks again!

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: 94 Renken I/O Yamaha 4.3 Conversion

You can pull that engine/drive out in one day. Like Don says you could get another set up. That's what I'm doing right now.