2004 Yamaha F225 exhaust problems

[georgemjr]

I just did exhaust on my 2 F250's (07 boat, 06 manufacture date). One was perfect, the other exhaust tube was shot, go figure. There is little rhyme or reason to what motors it will happen to. It spans all years, most motors, an inherent problem with this dry exhaust and, IMO, Yamahas materials and/or coatings of them. Either way, the price climbs due to the fact that you are likely going to have to replace all motor mount bolts/nuts/spacers, possibly the motor mounts (this alone is well north of 500/motor), plus anything else that is discovered along the way. The quote is probably just for the kit and install. What about changing the oil pumps while that deep (it is recommended and over 300/motor). How about a speedy sleeve for the oil pump seal - also a known weak point for leaks? The point is, 2k/ motor is the beginning, buckle up and get ready for the ride. Also, a scope or look into the mid after removing the lower unit only tells part of the story. It certainly can show you if there is a problem, but it doesn't guarantee that there isn't. The only way to do that is to pull the powerhead.

 

[Gonso]

I dealt with this issue about4 years ago.At first Yamaha was dealing with it as a warranty issue but then as the number of claims continued to climb they refused to cover it under warranty. By the time the problem surfaced , especially on recreational boats, all the engines had over 600 hours and were way past warranty. Yamaha won in court because they claimed the problem happened because we started putting ethanol in the gas and it burned hotter , burning off the original coatings which were perfectly fine for gas without ethanol. So not their fault. It is nice of them to sell the parts at cost but the labor can cost up to 2 k depending on the shop or mechanics rate because you must pull the power head to do the repair. And yes $200 more to change out the oil pump because you’re already deep in there.

 

[seasick]

Also, a scope or look into the mid after removing the lower unit only tells part of the story. It certainly can show you if there is a problem, but it doesn't guarantee that there isn't. The only way to do that is to pull the powerhead.

That is an important observation that is often not considered. Pull the power head and drop the oil pan.

 

[Automated14]

Around here it’s 3k-4K to have the exhausts done. That’s what I paid for my 08 Robalo with 200’s in 2019. Of course the bill was more like 10k because “hey, while we are in there….” This makes me call BS the whole “it’s only certain years that corrode

i also call BS on Yamaha upgrading the coatings. Before I bought the above Robalo in 2019, I was in contract on an a different 04 boat with 225’s. Engines had 1000 hours on them. Exhausts had been done in 2010 at 650 hours (I saw the receipts ) I had the engines scoped by a Yamaha mechanic and they needed to be replaced again.

The mechanic that did the work on my 200’s told me that all years of 3.3L 200/225/250 are suspect and need to be checked. He also said that idling them a ton and generally babying them also causes them to rot. This matched up with hours reports I had on both the above boats with more than 1/2 the hours on each under 3000 rpm.

My experiences are prob anecdotal at best but so are everyone else’s I guess. Real numbers would be nice to finally determine the exact cause but I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for Yamaha to provide that on out of production engines

 

[bullymadison]

cost me $2700.00 on Cape Cod two years ago - fortunately, I negotiated it into the purchase price of the boat as we discovered it before the deal was made.