Cowl moves while trailering

[1080tommy]

I noticed what seemed like my motor moving quite a bit while I was trailering. It actualky produced a little ding on the cowl because it moved so much. I got a motormate and noticed the same thing only the motor itself was not moving at all. It was the cowl. It seems there are some bushings on the bottom part of the cowl that are worn. Has anyone ever replaced these??? I need the cowl to stop moving so much so I don’t damage the cowl anymore. I searched the forum and didn’t see any posts on this issue. Thanks in advance for any help!

[flatstick]

what year and size is the motor ?

[1080tommy]

Crap I forgot to put that in the post. Would probably be helpful. Sorry about that. It is a 1998 Yamaha 200 OX66 and it's on a 1998 Skeeter ZX195C. I think I can see the bushings on the bottom part of the cowl but I don't really see a good way to get to them. I'm hoping I don't have to take off the powerhead but if I need to, I will. I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this and replaced them. Thanks again.

[flatstick]

Crap I forgot to put that in the post. Would probably be helpful. Sorry about that. It is a 1998 Yamaha 200 OX66 and it's on a 1998 Skeeter ZX195C. I think I can see the bushings on the bottom part of the cowl but I don't really see a good way to get to them. I'm hoping I don't have to take off the powerhead but if I need to, I will. I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this and replaced them. Thanks again.

Thanks for the info. you have the exact same motor and boat that I do .
have not had the problem with my cowl.
I am sure somebody else with the OX66 will chime in with some ideas .
Curious abut this one as well .

[StrokerSmoker]

might be the lower pan could have the attachment ears broken off and if it is .....you have to pull the power head to replace....I have had to do it before.....

[1080tommy]

Thanks. It looks like there are three bushings on the bottom pan. There are two in front and one I see in the back. The whole cowl moves really easy and it caused a ding on the top of the cowl. Thanks for the info so far!

[201pro]

Are the wings that have the little rubber “hats” on the bottom of the cowling still there? They sit in the round “cups” on the lower pan. Mine have tried to break off. I had to modify mine to keep them in place.

[1080tommy]

I think they are broke off. It looks like there should be bushings under the nuts that are on the bottoms. How did you modify them???
i need to do something but I can’t find these parts anywhere. Kind of lost.

[201pro]

Mine were still there, just broken. So I drilled thru them and the base. Then epoxied a small stainless rod in them to hold them in line again. Won’t work of they are missing.

You might post a couple pics of what you found broken.

[OverTimeAgain]

Hello Tommy!

Good to see you on some more forums.



Personally I don't use the motormate, I prefer to use the old fashioned stick that goes from the lower unit to the trailer. I bought one with a pretty robust spring in it and my motor hardly ever moves around.

[1080tommy]

I finally got this problem fixed!!! I was relieved to say the lease. I used rubber grommets and used the existing bolt. I did not have to pull the power head and it was a pretty easy fix. The thing is rock solid now. I just cut the grommet to fit around the existing bolt hole so that when the bolt is tightened, it takes the place of the original grommets. I can see this being a very difficult problem to fix. I am going to put up a video too on my youtube channel so if anyone else has this problem they can fix it too!!!! Thanks for all the feedback! I really appreciate it!!!

[1080tommy]

Here is the fix for this problem. Again, I have a 1998 OX66 and the cowl was loose. So loose that there was too much play and the cowl hit the head causing that ding from the inside out. I know the absolute right way to do it is to remove the powerhead and replace the bushings from the top but I did not have the time or money at this point to do it that way. I put the video up on my youtube channel. I will include the link here for you guys to check out. I hope that's not against the rules. Please let me know if that is not appropriate and I will put up some pics. It came out great and the cowl now does not move at all. I am trailering the boat in a couple weeks and will update the status of the repair. Seems to be very strong now and it's a lot less time and money then removing the powerhead.

Here's the link to my youtube so you can check it out if ya have the same issue.