Yamaha HPDI Motor Mount Slop

[wbrown]

So I've been researching bad lower motor mounts on this engine for a while, but never have found what i think is a clear solution. It started when i noticed my motor bouncing up and down pretty violently and when pulling up and down on the lower unit there was a lot of slop. I had my motor worked on and bushings inside the steering column were damaged. They were replaced along with new motor mounts (from what my mechanic tells me.) When I got the motor back it was better, but still a little bounce. I removed the plates covering the lower mounts and inspected the movement and it appears it is not coming from worn out mounts themselves, but the slot that the mount goes in. The rigid part of the mount moves back and forth within the slot. It's almost as if the previous worn damper mounts bounced back and forth and reamed out the slot maybe 1/16" - 1/8" wider? I uploaded a video to youtube to show the movement.



I have seen the suggestions of the solid motor mounts and have been prepared to buy them... but now looking at my motor and thinking about how everything connects, I'm not sure that the solid motor mounts don't actually put even more stress on the bushings inside the column. And if the solid mounts are the same size as the OEM mounts then wouldn't there still be slop in between the mount and the slot it fits in? It seems solid motor mounts would transfer all of the stress to inside the column and the bushings in it, while the OEM mount with the rubber ends is designed to absorb some of the shock.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? I've thought about making some type of washer to take up the gap in between the mount and the slot it fits in.

[Rich Z]

Inspect and see if a lot of the movement is in the pins that hold tilt/trim unit. We will have machined new bushing very soon and available for sale

[wbrown]

I'm not even sure what you mean. How does the tilt/trim unit have anything to do with the movement I'm seeing? All of the movement is right there where the video shows. The gap in between the housing for the motor mount and the mount itself. Maybe it's hard to tell in the video? There are gaps here:


IMG_4814.jpg

[Rich Z]

I see, those are worn badly. Now put your finger on top and then bottom pin of the trim unit and lift the motor. Those bushings are probably junk also. They are easy to replace but I wouldn't use new oem. They have way too much clearance and won't eliminate any movement. Solid motor mounts are much tighter and should solve that problem. Call Bob's machine shop about the motor mounts. There is an easy way to replace the bottom mounts without removing the power head.

[Brianmoore25]

It needs a new upper casing. The part the mounts go into.

[wbrown]

Returned to say that I decided to cut the bolts off and shim the lower motor mounts with some custom washers I had made. Tightened them up pretty good and removed alot of slop. I don't seem to have too much play in the trim pins, but there's a little play in the steering column.

[chipper]

I had mine done last summer the mechanic that done it said the same thing , he didn't think the mounts would cure the problem as he thought is was the same as you mentioned but he put the mounts in ( OEM ) factory rubber mounts and it took all that bouncing slop out of it , You can cut the bolts off with a cutoff wheel and not have to pull power head

[champ210]

Mine has some slop also. Gonna have it looked at soon. Only 200 hr on out board but many,many miles trailering. Wonder if my Rite-hite motor holder is to blame or just rough hwys. A lot of those miles are in Mich on 75 and 94. Rough,rough rough!!
Is there a video or link showing how to replace or maybe just the cutting the head off part.

[wbrown]

There's no video or instructions out there. It was cake though.

Take the acorn nuts off the end of the bolts, slide the bolt in so there is a gap between the head of it and the mount, take a 3" cuttoff wheel and cut the head off. Pull the bolt out and put the new mount in and new bolt the opposite direction. Cut one side out and put the new one it before you remove the other side so that the motor is still supported. You'll need new bolts, some washers, lock washers, and regular nuts. My mount had worn out and made the slot wider where it fits in the casing. So i had custom washers/shims made to take up the space and it helped alot.

IMO yes, your motor holder sped the process up of it wearing out. Rich Z has always said these things that rest on the steering column causes this, and I believe he's right. I use a 2x10" that I cut to length and correct width to fit the inside of the trim area to the lower unit and can't believe how good it works. Much better option than any of those motor supports out there.

[Rich Z]

There's no video or instructions out there. It was cake though.

Take the acorn nuts off the end of the bolts, slide the bolt in so there is a gap between the head of it and the mount, take a 3" cuttoff wheel and cut the head off. Pull the bolt out and put the new mount in and new bolt the opposite direction. Cut one side out and put the new one it before you remove the other side so that the motor is still supported. You'll need new bolts, some washers, lock washers, and regular nuts. My mount had worn out and made the slot wider where it fits in the casing. So i had custom washers/shims made to take up the space and it helped alot.

IMO yes, your motor holder sped the process up of it wearing out. Rich Z has always said these things that rest on the steering column causes this, and I believe he's right. I use a 2x10" that I cut to length and correct width to fit the inside of the trim area to the lower unit and can't believe how good it works. Much better option than any of those motor supports out there.

Ya, whatever motor support is used it needs to be in contact with lower unit. All these new style motor supports do nothing to save motor mounts and all bushings on lower bracket.

[champ210]

Id like to see a pic of that 2x10 in use.
Are motor mates just as bad?

[javelin90]

+1 My Yamaha mechanic said same thing on no support. I experienced same issue when I got the boat and had to replace the trim/tilt tube bushings. I like keeping paint looking good on lower unit but question the end result of bushings needing replacement.

[bassinman215]

Worried about this myself. I use a Lock-n-Haul. Should I move to a more traditional transom saver?

[champ210]

I always felt like the traditional saver sent way more vibration and road shock to the motors. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe its a bad design by Yamaha. All I know is that they shouldn't be wearing out like that. These motors should be able to hang from the boat with no saver and never have a problem with motor mounts. There are way to many companys making newer style savers for them to be causing problems with our motors. Id think the outboard manufactures would be screaming bloody murder if they were paying warranty repairs caused by this type of saver but then again maybe it doesn't rear its ugly head until warranty is out.

[javelin90]

When i replaced the orig. plastic trim bushings on mine it seems the plastic bushings could have been better designed with a metal one instead. Was hoping that Rich would be able to get them produced and sold on BBC...

[GClark519]

This post has me concerned! My HPDI seems to have a lot of slop in it. Took the cover off and noticed much like in the previous pictures the slop comes from the casting area, like it is worn out. Help me again with how to fix this? Does someone sell parts? Thanks Greg

[champ210]

After looking more closely at mine it seems all of my movement is coming from the steering joint just to the right of your motor mount pic. You might look at yours too.

[Rich Z]

Yamaha has used this designed for way too long. It needs to change. Jethro1 needs to call his buddy it ATL and tell him that we are fed up with this BS. New motors should have better stiffer mounts, bushings and much needed and improved tilt trim system.

[GClark519]

Rich Z, did you say you had a fix for this? I understand taking the acorn nut off and then cutting off the head of the bolt, but how do you get the new one in? Greg

[wbrown]

You just put it in the opposite direction. And instead of using the acorn nut use a regular nut and lock washer from a hardware store. I keep looking at this thing and wondering what the hell Yamaha was thinking when they put it in that way. Probably just to make it a pain in the ass to service.