Hi all, This is unfortunately another Yamaha issue. Corrosion at the T-stat housing. I have a pair of 2004 F225, 600 hrs. I was "fortunate" in that during my winterization this Nov, the shop I have do my work - knows to look for this. They probe the T-stat housing for corrosion. If the wall is permeable - they pull the powerhead and weld a sleeve in the Block of the T-stat housing. If not permeable, they apply an aluminum infused epoxy to the T-stat housing. It now becomes an annual inspection (an extra cost - because you have to pull a lot of stuff out of the way to get to the T-stats). I did the mid sections 2 years ago. I do flush after every use (engine warm) and change all the anodes. These motors are professionally serviced and maintained. Very disappointing. The motors run great. Now that I have done the mid sections, new oil pan, oil pumps, seals (the complete mid section job) due to corrosion and now the T-stat housing. I can only hope I can manage the corrosion "disease" to get a few more years out of these.
My understanding is the T-stat housing corrosion is not limited to the V6's four strokes, but has presented itself in all HP's of that genre. I suggest to all - inspect and take correction action. Maybe even pro-active application of the aluminum epoxy in the T-stat housing. What happens on the V-6's (I am only familiar with the V-6's) - if the T-stat housing is permeated, salt water blows out and gets sucked in the air intake - water in cylinders - hydraulic locked up, the motor is junk, and/or salt water is sprayed all over by the flywheel, motor soon be junk. This happened to a friend of mine this past summer.
OceanBean
2004 GW 282 F225's
Long Island, NY