Noise

Guys please help. My 2001 4 stroke yammie sounds to me like it needs the valves adjusted. how often is it needed? Please respond. Thanks

Re: Noise

by ther book every 400hrs or two years

Re: Noise

Redtech, Thank you!
I did ordered the manual and I will check the vales. Is it possible the noise is caused by poor lubrication? Since it does become noisier sooner on warmer days? I asked for 10 or 20-40 yamalube from the dealer but does not carry it. I thought I try switching oil if the problem does not go away with the valve clearances checked. Again, Thank you for the reply.

Re: Noise

as far as lubricant gos i feel as long as it's a factory name (yamaha, evanrude, mercury, honda) on the oil you will be fine most of these are 10-30w.
as for switching oil to a heavier oil i don't believe it's going to help just mask the problem

Re: Noise

How would valves sound out of adjustment, are they pretty loud? My 1999 F100 just started "tapping". I fired it up to run out the other day and once we got out of the harbor I put the throttle down and she got right up. About two hundred yards it started making the loud "wacking" noise; I backed off the throttle and idled back to the dock at low rpm to keep from tearing it up. It is consistent with rpm higher than idle. At cold idle after starting it up you can't hear it. After I rev it a little it starts and when I get it back down to idle it kind of comes and goes. It's almost like its an oscillating noise at low rpm, but consistent and loud with throttle applied. It is hard to pin down where exactly it is coming from but it sounds like it is generally in the top of the block up near and slightly behind the fly wheel. Any ideas? I want the mechanic at the shop to listen to it before I tear it apart to check the valves. It kind of worries me since it was such a sudden onset though. I've never performed a valve adjustment so it's new to me I'll take it on if it sounds like the problem though.

Re: Noise

Redtech,
Thanks, again! for the reply, I didn't think changing oils would help, as a matter of fact a friend who is a boater and an automotive mechanic sugested that a lighter oil would give better lubrication not heavier. He also asked me if I have ever goten water in the rengine, which I supose is not imposiible to do with the engine off and at anchor or adrift.Water can get in from the exaust outlet, But then again the oil is perfectly clear.

Agent 37 make sure you did not get water in your engine. The noise you describe is diferent than the one I had and suposedly caused by an out of balance krang shaft. That noise was coming from deep nside the engine furthest away from the flywheel and I was able to hear it only at Idle, when thottle was applied other noises masked it. I am afraid I don't have any ideas I would use a stethescope to try and pin-point where the noise is coming from. I hate it when you baby engines and give you trouble, yet others who don't care about maintenanace seem to be doing just as well or better.

Thanks to the both of you for your input.

Re: Noise

I tried to pinpoint the noise on my F100 further and seemed to isolate it enough where I might have a good idea what's wrong. I am going to take it in to the shop in the morning and get another opinion but it seems to me that the bolt on the tensioner pulley gets really hot and a lot faster than any of the other hardware. It also feels like it has a little play in it, even with the tension of the belt on it. And another thing that I noticed is a short "squeal" when I first start it up that goes away in a moment. It's hard to pinpoint though since it doesn't last long and only happens when when it's cold. I am hoping that it is just that bearing, I guess that I'll find out.

Re: Noise

I also took the motor down for a couple of my fellow coasties who have been to Honda school to listen to it. I haven't run into enough of these problems to be familiar enough to diagnose; I work on aircraft electrical systems, not outboard power trains. They think that it sounds like something external on the power head because of the particular way that the noise sounds, like something is loose and striking the outside of the head. The pulley bearing or possibly a loose magnet was what they suggested but leaned more towards the pulley because the motor is running so smoothly. Has anyone heard of a pulley bearing making that kind of racket?

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About water in the engine.... I got this motor a couple of weeks ago and have been working on one thing at a time. It has a lot of hours on it and was neglected. All of the fluids were clean and clear when I received it though. Once I got it going and did a couple of test runs the oil was turning milky on me. I changed out the thermostat since the oil that was in it wasn't watered when I got it, there was condensation on the oil cap and the water was coming out a little colder than I thought it should. I've changed out the oil five times since and it's getting cleared up as the new oil washes out the old. I don't think that it had much water in it because the oil level did not change. And I didn't run it for more that an hour on each oil change. There was also no water separated out of the oil after it sat cold over night when I drained it. I put about half a gallon of diesel in with a remaining quart of oil and ran it for about 15 seconds at idle to flush it out. It helped a lot but I was really scared when I heard the noise a couple of days after. I really think that it's generated outside of the power head now though so I'm not too worried about it anymore. I'll get it figured out. It's only better to get all of the bugs to come out and show themselves before getting out in the open ocean here on the Oregon coast. I don't think that I've ever learned so much about a motor in such a short time as I have in the last couple of weeks. Did you get your motor fixed? Was it the crank shaft out of balance that caused the noise? My noise definitely doesn't sound like it's coming from deep inside the engine. It does hurt to listen to it though. Tell me about putting some time and care in an outboard.... 2 weeks= 2 new fuel pumps/ fuel filter/ carb tear down and cleaning/ thermostat/ prop/ 7 engine oil changes/ 2 gear lube changes/ new cowling/ and now this noise. We are getting there though. It runs awesome now; where it wouldn't run before and lacks no power. I'm pretty happy with it even with all of the work that I've been putting in to it. I got a good deal on it. Thanks for the feedback

Re: Noise

Yes,
I just droped the engine at the dealer to check out the noise trouble. I ramain hopeful. It sounds like you found the source of your noise and I hope I find mine too. I am also having him replace the water pump, eventhough all is well, but then again it has never been changed in 6 years, since the engine was new. Good luck and happy boating to all.