What if I went past 20 hours, say 30

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Greetings:
It has been wet here the Smokies which means cool weather too. Grey skies and rain when I am available to boat. I have just over 5 hours on my new motor. I had tentative plans to go to Fla to fish next week. I think my spring early summer trip will be canceled .

I have concerns about going offshore before I can get the 20 hour service completed. I don't want Yamaha to come back and say , nope not covering xyz part because you went past 20 hours. On average we will put 10hours on the motor while fishing. Most of it trolling around 1500 RPM. So in two days of fishing I am over 20 right there and typically I will go and fish 3-4 days . I fish out of Brevard County ,Fla and I honestly can't see a dealer there doing my service in a single day turn around. So, I am thinking of not going to Fla and getting the 20 here on the lake. Should have bought that Etec ...lol. no worries for 300 hours they claim. No break in period either they say.

 

[Finest Kind]

...... Should have bought that Etec ...lol. no worries for 300 hours they claim. No break in period either they say.

Dunno what to say about your Yamaha required service schedule dilemma, other than it sounds like their service requirements are limiting your freedom to enjoy your boat.

But I can confirm that the new Etec G2's do not have ANY break-in requirements....go to full throttle right after launching if you want.
AND they call for the first service at 500 hours or 5 years...whichever comes first.
AND they currently come with a 8 year full warranty.

(mine came with a 10 year warranty and free SS props they offered for a limited time as a special promotion during the Palm Beach Boat Show)

 

[DennisG01]

Is the engine brand new? Is that why it's requiring a 20-hour service? For most engines, that's usually just a "break-in" time frame, and then the subsequent time frame is typically at least 100 hours. Granted, I'm not familiar with the F-series maintenance schedule, but that sounds awful excessive if it's the normal schedule.

 

[Fishtales]

I would not sweat it. It isn't an exact science. Get it done before 30 and you will be fine.
Take comfort in knowing they are not going to cover jack anyway. Use your boat.....

 

[Doc Stressor]

Don't sweat it.

The main reason for the 20 hr service is to check for problems and to change the lube in the lower unit. Since there is no filter in there, metal fragments from the initial break in can cause accelerated wear or actually cause the clutch dog to jam. So if you are paranoid, just change the lower unit lube after you put 10 hr or so on it.

Changing the engine oil is not as important. The oil filter will remove any break in metal particles that are large enough to cause damage. Cars and trucks have pretty much done away with the early first oil change protocol.

As long as you keep the receipts for any fluids that you change yourself, you'll be fine as far as the warranty goes.

 

[Parthery]

Go to FL and go fishing....drop it off at Mid-Carolina on the way back.

If you have 25 or 28 hours, it won't hurt a thing.

Have a great time...let us know how the trailer does.

 

[wspitler]

Concur with Doc Stressor! Do it early and keep receipts. Unless the fluids are very dirty, my experience is that Yamaha doesn't ask questions, they just cover it. I've had excellent experiences with our local Homosassa Marine guys. Make sure to use the proper lower unit lube based on the manual. GL-5 isn't a substitute for GL-4 in most cases. I'd use Yamaha brand, at least until the warranty is out. Good luck!

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Thanks Gentlemen. This is a new motor and Yammy calls for a 20 hour service then every 100 hours.

 

[ROBERTH]

Yikes, every 100 hours? Maybe that is stuff you can do on your own? That would mean I would be taking in at least once per season!