Blown SHO Update

[Chuck D]

Guys, I don't like writing this any more than any of you SHO owners will like reading it but I told you I'd give you the honest outcome and not bias it in any way shape or form so here are the facts.

My motor is down due to the failure of the rings which caused the extensive damage to the cylinder walls which we all understand.

What we don't know is "why" did the components fail? Neither does Yamaha apparently. We can ascertain that it's defective by looking at the damage that's right in front of us. That part is easy. What we can't do is explain how or why it took place which does nothing to help you guys avoid this from happening as I followed the break in to the letter and was not ever abusive to my equipment.

The solution I was hoping for is a fully dressed power head. This is traced back to oil/gas not playing nice together thanks to the rings not doing their job. We don't know if they played a part or not but guess who's going to get to find out? Yeah, that would be me.

So what did we learn here? Not much other than Yamaha's strategy is to send a box full of parts, have the tech here at my dealer tear this motor apart, put exact copies of the same parts that failed back on the motor and "hope" it does not happen again.

2 things are really wrong with that (actually there's more than 2 but here are the main 2 things in my mind)

1) It takes 2 full days to do that job vs. "bolting on" a new power head and getting me back on the road doing Phoenix/SHO demos and representing the brands as I've loyally done.

2) Yamaha loses money on this deal by having to pay all of the shop hours for warranty work. What do I care about that right? Plenty, it means that my motor is a guinea pig and we'll try the same stuff and hope it does not happen again but we now have a new benchmark of 62 hours before the first one blew.

Am I angry because it happened? No, not really because I'm reasonable and I know that things break.

Took a chance on new technology, it failed - that happens, but the engineers have no solution other than send the same stuff out to the field and hope it does not happen again. Tell me I'm off base here in my low confidence on this one.




Modified by lknbassman at 8:21 PM 8/9/2011

[edgewood2]

How are they going to repair the scarring on the cylinder walls? The only reason I ask is alot of people claim you cannot repair the cylinder walls because of the way they are built. I am kind of surprised they aren't sending a fully dressed powerhead, a few of my friends burned up HPDI's and they recieved a fully dressed powerhead as a waranty replacement.

[nellayor]

I don't like hearing it, but I am glad you are sharing it. I have a SHO that I've had for 1 week. So the more information the better.
I know reading what I have on this board has shaken my confidence in the motor a bit.
I guess that's what we have warranty for, but warranty can never cover the down time.
Good luck and please keep us posted.

[gasbasser]

Dropping mine off tomorrow afternoon. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but as long as they are making it right. I realize there is more than one way to make it right, but it is still a business and they are going to fix "this" problem the most economical way they can. I have all my "extra" oil bottled up for them to test and then we will see what they want to do with me. I SHO hope they handle this well, cause this could be the SHO stopper! I still have no regrets, but reserve the right to change my feeling.

SHO-nuff concerned,

Britt

[Chuck D]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by J. Wright &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">My Dealer claims its the early production models 1-500 that are having issues, but then he told me my production number was 547 </td></tr></table>

Mine is #1,127......

[Meleagris1]

Hope all goes well. Mine is running great so far, and its number 44. I've had a squeak every once in a while after long runs but otherwise its been running strong and has about 90 hours.

It may have been simply a defective part. If the motor in my Chevy blew, I would expect them to replace it, and that's pretty much it, and it sounds like that is what Yamaha is going to do here. Unless they are having significant numbers coming in with the same issue, then they probably won't re-engineer anything. Keep us posted on how it goes and good luck.

[Charlie206]

Chuck, I think you will be OK. If it were an injector issue it will show on the pistons and the tech will see it. Yamaha doesn't want to buy you a new engine twice, so I take they are convinced it is solely ring failure, that problem which some factory rep told a poster here about 3 weeks ago that he had never heard of. Now suddenly they have oil tester kits to send to their dealers. But I digress. If the tech does a good job you will have a good engine. Here's the real issue, is it the same rings, without modification, that just failed? I don't know and no one knows and no one with Yamaha is going to say. Such is business. Keep your spirits up.

[beebow]

Wow. I am in Oklahoma and am ready to buy a boat now from right where you have your boat now. I have price and ready to get it. I see this and even others that all have exact same issue. I am thinking 100% of these motors may all be broke and no one knows it because I wouldn't even think about checking my oil after break in. I would break it in and run it till 20 hrs and take it in for service as required then change it once a year. I bet most are doing just that and I bet motors may start blowing up after some point if they all do have this problem. Man I am ready to get my boat now and cannot pull the trigger. If this motor flops the value of this motor is bad and nobody will want to buy a used SHO boat. Man I wish Yamaha would come out and say they have a fix and everyone will be fixed up.

[Chuck D]

Me too... I never saw this coming. Had heard they would really look after you which technically they are doing the "fix". The issue is that they are putting the same exact failed parts back in spec wise that failed so what's going to make them not fail again?

If nothing changes, nothing changes. That's my whole point in a nutshell.

[microsalmo]

... because the vast majority eventually seat in time, they are clearly confident this one will do the same.

[Chuck D]

Hope is not a strategy.....

[Rich Z]

Chuck, are you saying that the only thing they changing is the block without the rotating assembly? IMO you should be getting completely new fully dressed power head.

[Rich Z]

Are you kidding…are they putting the same pistons and rings back in it? That is totally unacceptable.

[Meleagris1]

Maybe I am completely out of touch with reality, but wouldn't it be reasonable to let them rebuild the engine, and then give it a fair shot before crucifying Yamaha and their CS department? It seems like you are completely writing off the very real possibility that your engine will run like a champ after the repair? I feel your pain, and am not trying to slight your situation in any way, but I think you may want to just take a small step back for a moment, let your dealer and Yamaha do their thing, and then see how it goes, before passing final judgment and burning bridges.

[leo13]

I'm sure they will replace the rings, bearings , seals etc. and any worn components. Its still a field rebuild. I would not be satisfied with this solution. It seems to me that it will be more expensive for Yamaha in the end and more liability.

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Rich Z &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Are you kidding…are they putting the same pistons and rings back in it? That is totally unacceptable.
</td></tr></table>


Modified by leo13 at 1:35 PM 8/5/2011

[Tx 201]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by microsalmo &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">... because the vast majority eventually seat in time, they are clearly confident this one will do the same. </td></tr></table>

Has anyone wondered why our fuel injected truck and car motors are able to get 200k or more out of the motor when the carb motors were pretty well done at 100K? It isn't improved oil, but the fact that the injectors don't leak gas into the cylinder while sitting there like the carbs did, allowing fuel to get into oil and reducing the life of the motor. Did it cause immediate failure? Obviously not, but shortened the life of the motor and was out of warranty at the time the motor was worn out. Gas in oil is bad, everytime!

I think it is great if you can buy a new boat every couple of years and stay in warranty, but what about the guy that purchases these boats three four years from now? The block can't be machined, so not only are you looking at a rebuild, but a very expensive rebuild if you have to buy a new block from Yamaha.

I think I am going to wait this one out before jumping on the four stroke band wagon. Is it the way of the future, I am quite sure it is, are we there yet? I think I'll hang with my two stroke and my money for awhile longer. And yes, I have rebuilt it twice, once a part failure, second time a mechanic's failure to put it together right.

[woppercatcher]

Tx 201..

Most if not all four stroke motors do not have any "making oil" issues. Mine is still going strong after two years and never made a drop of oil. Not a SHO just Yamaha four stroke. So if there really is a "making oil" and blown motors because if it so far it seems to only be for SHO motors...at least on this forum cuz you will be hard pressed to find evidence anywhere else.

[Tx 201]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by woppercatcher &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Tx 201..

Most if not all four stroke motors do not have any "making oil" issues. Mine is still going strong after two years and never made a drop of oil. Not a SHO just Yamaha four stroke. So if there really is a "making oil" and blown motors because if it so far it seems to only be for SHO motors...at least on this forum cuz you will be hard pressed to find evidence anywhere else. </td></tr></table>

Yes sir, I understand what you are saying. I was just talking about the SHO since the weight to power issue, and throttle response is competitive with 2 strokes. Very impressed with my fishing partner's 250 SHO as far as power, great low end and strong mid range with a good top end. He may not have wound it up while I was fishing with him so can't tell you for sure if it is better than good on top.

However, he is on his third powerhead in less than a year. I had been thinking that I would run my current setup for another two to three years and then pick up a nice used boat with a SHO on it, but after following his issues and some of these posts I think I am going to wait for later models just to be sure the situation is resolved. The boat I buy will likely be out of warranty so any motor issues will be on my dime. The current four stroke offerings that have been out for awhile are very reliable, but I am addicted to the rush of acceleration of two strokes.

Now if I can just get these next two kids out of college, I should be in the market for a brand new boat and full warranties.

[SHOboat719]

I gotta tell ya guys, I am extremely disappointed at this point!
To date, my engine is not giving me any problems and at last check it was not "making oil" but, IF Yamaha is saying what I hear people say they are saying it is sad.
"A quart and a half of additional oil in 2hrs of engine time is perfectly acceptable."?? WTF!
"Stop checking your level and run the crap out of it"??
"Drain out the excess oil"??
Come on! If they don't get a handle on this quick and I do mean QUICK, this engine will be in the same doghouse as the FICHT! And people like me are going to be left holding the bag!

Yamaha, I chose you because I have confidence in your product and feel you stand behind you engines. Don't let us down!


Tightlines,
Eric

[PAL]

I too have concerns but I also have a five year warranty that keeps them in check. I believe Yamaha will fix the issues at hand. Keep an eye on the oil and go fishing, that’s what I’m going to do. Thanks for the posts and keep them coming, you can bet Yamaha is watching.