On a recent outing into the Atlantic Ocean my twin 1986 yamaha 150 outboards didn't sound right plus the power seemed a little off. When we got back to the marinia i removed the engine cowls and found some of the plug wires weren't tight on the sparkplugs. Most likely from taking a slight beating getting out of the inlet. The last time it happened i squeezed the metal clips in the boots tighter that seemed to work for a little while. Can they be glued on?
Best way to keep spark plug boots on a 1986 yamaha 150 outboard?
- Thread starter lime4x4
- Start date
They really shouldn't bounce off. Chances are they are just old and tired.
You could try some bellows adhesive - or maybe even just a zip tie.
You could try some bellows adhesive - or maybe even just a zip tie.
I'm sure there the original wire yet. I looked at getting new ones but there only part of the coil. They didn't come completely off but i was able to push them 1/4" onto the plugs. Thought about zip tieing them but i'm thinking the zip tie will eventually cut thru the boot. Might just replace the plugs and use some adhesive to them. It never fails everytime we go out the indian river inlet we always seem to go thru a few rollers. I try to time it when it's calm but it seems the moment we get past the point of no return the rollers come out of now where..lol
It's funny how those things can creep up on you, for sure!
I wouldn't worry about the zip ties - plug boots are plenty thick. Be sparing with the adhesive.
Typically the problem with boots is they get heat stuck on there so we put a little dielectric grease on the inside to help make removal easier (and the obvious reason of insulating against moisture intrusion).
I wouldn't worry about the zip ties - plug boots are plenty thick. Be sparing with the adhesive.
Typically the problem with boots is they get heat stuck on there so we put a little dielectric grease on the inside to help make removal easier (and the obvious reason of insulating against moisture intrusion).
If I was going through rollers I wouldn't rely on some adhesive, i would buy new wires/coil if money permits (plus if your misfiring because of bad spark that can stress your engine).
If you are referring to the boots that screw into the plug wire, if you have a little slack, you can cut off a quarter inch of the wire using a very sharp razor and then rescrew the boot into the cable core. If the clamp that connects to the plug is coming off and squeezing it a bit doesn't help or doesn't last, you probably could use a new wire set. You could add a little adhesive to the inside rim of the boot, it won't hurt but it shouldn't be needed normally.
I may has misinterpreted what the issue is. If the plug connectors are coming off of the actual spark plugs, the first approach would be to squeeze the boot near where the metal circular clamp is and re attach. The plug should not rely on the rubber of the boot holding the connection tight. If tightening doesn't help, you need new boots and as I mentioned.
The boot is there to keep water out and in fact the motor would run perfectly well with no boot and just the connector pushed on but over time, moisture will start corrosion and if the connection and plug were to get too wet, arcing from the connector to ground could occur and in effect kill your spark.
It is amazing how often I hear of plug wires coming loose. I suspect that they were either not pushed on all the way or they have lost their gripping ability.
When removing plug wires, pull straight out and try not to wiggle the boot to get it off (twisting is OK ). That just opens up the internal clip.
The boot is there to keep water out and in fact the motor would run perfectly well with no boot and just the connector pushed on but over time, moisture will start corrosion and if the connection and plug were to get too wet, arcing from the connector to ground could occur and in effect kill your spark.
It is amazing how often I hear of plug wires coming loose. I suspect that they were either not pushed on all the way or they have lost their gripping ability.
When removing plug wires, pull straight out and try not to wiggle the boot to get it off (twisting is OK ). That just opens up the internal clip.