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Author Topic:   Are 1989 Yamaha 200 hp engines durable?

Eagleman posted 04-23-2001 04:23 PM ET (US)
How many hours of operation can one expect to get out of a pair of fresh water 1989 Yamaha 200 hp outboards?
I'm looking at a WHaler that has a set, and I have no experience with Yamaha's.
Thanks,
Eagleman
OutrageMan posted 04-24-2001 12:04 PM ET (US)
Russ,
You have seen first hand how well my 91 250 V-x performs. It starts great, is strong, minimal smoke, nearly no vibration, and doesnt go "TING."
Brian
Anchor7 posted 04-24-2001 09:02 PM ET (US)
On motors that old, I would want a qualified Yamaha mechanic to check out those engines on land AND during the in-water test. When I bought a boat with a 5 year old Yamaha 225, I was fortunate to have an very thorough INDEPENDENT Yamaha mechanic do the engine inspection (Steve Romeo, Romeo Marine Southold, NY). His inspection included borescoping (looking inside cylinders), even hanging out by the engine during the in water run, checking power balance (done by removing plug wires sequentially), engine temps, etc. This engine checked out okay, execpt for needing new thermostats (common on Yamahas). He did the best inspection I've ever seen.
Another example of why these tests are so important. Two years ago I sold my '89 Whaler with '89 175 Johnson to, of all people, a salesman at a Whaler dealership. The engine had good compression. etc., ran fine in the water, but they did not inspect cylinder walls. Six months later the engine broke down, requiring a complete rebuild, determined to be caused by gradual corrosion in one cylinder, which a cylinder wall inspection would have revealed. So even though this guy had a whole dept. of mechanics at his disposal, he wasn't thorough enough.
Since you say these are fresh water motors, you are probably safe from the "corroding shift shaft" problem which hear affects Yamahas of that vintage. Apparently not corrosion resistant, the shift shaft is very expensive to replace, requiring powerhead removal, which usually involves sheared bolts, etc. If you are staying in fresh water you are probable OK, if you think you may use them in salt water, beware.
lhg posted 04-24-2001 10:07 PM ET (US)
Along the lines of Anchor 7's comments, the earlier Yamahas, pre Saltwater II series, did not hold up well in saltwater, especially tropical saltwater, conditions. The paint jobs went first, and I was told (by a BW & Yamaha Dealer!) that they used a cheap grade of aluminium on their 80's motors, with poor salt corrosion resistance. There was joke around that the aluminium came from re-cycled Kirin beer cans! Neither Yamaha or OMC used the EDP paint process back then, nor a highly resistant aluminium alloy, and in the tropical sun and salt, and from what I saw, the colors peeled right off of these engines after only 3 or 4 years of exposure! In fresh water, northern applications, they seem to do much better.
Mercury scooped both of these manufacturers back in 1984-1985 with the introduction of the EDP paint process, corrosion resistant aluminium alloys, and aluminium (instead of zinc) anodes.

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Author	Topic: Are 1989 Yamaha 200 hp engines durable?
Eagleman	posted 04-23-2001 04:23 PM ET (US) How many hours of operation can one expect to get out of a pair of fresh water 1989 Yamaha 200 hp outboards? I'm looking at a WHaler that has a set, and I have no experience with Yamaha's. Thanks, Eagleman
OutrageMan	posted 04-24-2001 12:04 PM ET (US) Russ, You have seen first hand how well my 91 250 V-x performs. It starts great, is strong, minimal smoke, nearly no vibration, and doesnt go "TING." Brian
Anchor7	posted 04-24-2001 09:02 PM ET (US) On motors that old, I would want a qualified Yamaha mechanic to check out those engines on land AND during the in-water test. When I bought a boat with a 5 year old Yamaha 225, I was fortunate to have an very thorough INDEPENDENT Yamaha mechanic do the engine inspection (Steve Romeo, Romeo Marine Southold, NY). His inspection included borescoping (looking inside cylinders), even hanging out by the engine during the in water run, checking power balance (done by removing plug wires sequentially), engine temps, etc. This engine checked out okay, execpt for needing new thermostats (common on Yamahas). He did the best inspection I've ever seen. Another example of why these tests are so important. Two years ago I sold my '89 Whaler with '89 175 Johnson to, of all people, a salesman at a Whaler dealership. The engine had good compression. etc., ran fine in the water, but they did not inspect cylinder walls. Six months later the engine broke down, requiring a complete rebuild, determined to be caused by gradual corrosion in one cylinder, which a cylinder wall inspection would have revealed. So even though this guy had a whole dept. of mechanics at his disposal, he wasn't thorough enough. Since you say these are fresh water motors, you are probably safe from the "corroding shift shaft" problem which hear affects Yamahas of that vintage. Apparently not corrosion resistant, the shift shaft is very expensive to replace, requiring powerhead removal, which usually involves sheared bolts, etc. If you are staying in fresh water you are probable OK, if you think you may use them in salt water, beware.
lhg	posted 04-24-2001 10:07 PM ET (US) Along the lines of Anchor 7's comments, the earlier Yamahas, pre Saltwater II series, did not hold up well in saltwater, especially tropical saltwater, conditions. The paint jobs went first, and I was told (by a BW & Yamaha Dealer!) that they used a cheap grade of aluminium on their 80's motors, with poor salt corrosion resistance. There was joke around that the aluminium came from re-cycled Kirin beer cans! Neither Yamaha or OMC used the EDP paint process back then, nor a highly resistant aluminium alloy, and in the tropical sun and salt, and from what I saw, the colors peeled right off of these engines after only 3 or 4 years of exposure! In fresh water, northern applications, they seem to do much better. Mercury scooped both of these manufacturers back in 1984-1985 with the introduction of the EDP paint process, corrosion resistant aluminium alloys, and aluminium (instead of zinc) anodes.