Yamaha F115 Making oil revisited

[WIF]

Just an update on the making oil situation with these motors. I had a problem with it last year (1st year with a 2002 model). Dipstick showed too much, oil was grayish in color, smelled like gasoline, etc.. After consulting this board, and the dealer mechanic, I chose to take the advice of change out the bad oil, put in another 4.8 quarts of 10w-30 and "run it hard". Fortunately, I was able to take a trip to Rainy Lake in late Sept last year with my motor containing a fresh batch of oil. I ran the socks off of the motor. Put on at least 120 miles running a minimum of 4500 RPMs - (mostly at WOT 5800 RPMs). Zero trolling with big motor. When I returned home, the oil looked great - right at the fill line, no gas smell and good color. I figured problem was solved. Just to be safe, I changed it out again prior to winter storage in early November.

Fast forward to this spring. Several small trips to small local lakes, one March trip to Red Wing and one May trip to Devils Lake. Checked the oil the other day - dipstick read 1" over, oil was off-color (not as bad as last year), and smelled of gasoline. The only thing I can determine is that I did do some trolling with the big motor at Devils Lake (about 3 hours worth). Both air temp and water temp were cool (48 F). I am no mechanic, but it seems the motor will not run hot enough when trolling, which must allow fuel to sneak past the rings. As a side note, I do have a T8 kicker - oil has never been a problem with it, and I rarely am over 1/4 throttle with it. I plan to change the oil again and avoid any excessive low RPM use with it and see what happens.

[Shep]

Did your dealer put in the hotter thermostat? I have a friend with the same motor, and that helped his.

Tight Lines All,

Shep

[TTT]

I am going to agree with you. I have just got done running a F-100 with shock treatment of ring free. Seems ok for now but I have not trolled with it yet. My T-8 was doing the same so it got to drink the ring free also. So far the oil level is ok in it but did have the rpms fairly high trolling this time. Hope they are both cured. Both motors seem to add alot of gas to the crank case when the water temp in lower. Can a hotter thermostat help???? Anybody know if I can put a hotter thermostat in??

[The Bullhead]

I own an F100.....Has over 575 hrs on it, most of which are trolling hours. Zero problems with gas in oil.

[hooky]

I ran the snot out of my 115 last week and it did not make any difference. My dip stick still showed one half inch over the full mark. I am becoming a dissatisfied customer. I should be able to go fishing with this motor. If I wanted a speed boat , I would of bought one.

[T-Mac]

You should be able to troll with your motor and not make oil. It would be pretty bogus to not be able to do that. Plenty of other folks are doing it with out problem.

Has a hotter thermostat been put in?

Stay after them, this is not normal and it is not right and a heck of a bunch of other folks are NOT having this problem !! AND...you shouldn't either.

[Stonehead]

I have the same problem with mine. Maybe if we could E-mail Yamaha to
could get an answer. Does anyone have the E-mail address?
Just a thought.

[WIF]

T-mac

As I said, I am no mechanic. So, in regards to your comment about a hotter thermostat, what does that mean? I infer that a thermostat is set to regulate the operating temperature of the motor. What are the different temperature levels thermostats have? What is the standard installed currently in my motor? How expensive is it to replace? Is this a warranty item? Can I do it myself? Thanks in advance for your information. By the way, I always read your stuff on this board, between you and REW, I think I have learned more about boats/motors than I could have in years through trial and error. Thanks.

[TTT]

I'v got a lot of hours on my F-100 and my dealer says they will stand behind it. So on that note I can't complain at all. I am going to give this shock treatment a little more time. I have run it hard for over 5 hours. The service manager says that should be plenty. I will know more after this weekend how both the F-100 and the new T-8 are doing. I wrote down the hours on both motors to keep a track record for the service manager so he will also get some information. Really tired of this problem, other than that I really like both engines.

[dawalleye]

I am having the same problem with my 115. My dealer is inferring that it is my fault for not running hard enough. This is bogus. Has anyone had any personal contact with Yamaha?

[Wiley Walleye]

After following this on this site, I checked mine (Yam 115) and sure enough it was high.
Just yesterday I called dealer of purchase. Only sharing what I was told. You should not register that high on the stick. Pump excess out. They are aware of the 4.8 but only put in 4.5. I thought maybe some workers would just finish off the 5th quart and that is why I was high.
.02
Joe

[MDT]

Team,
Following this Making Oil problem is an exercise in how to manage frustrations. The problem itself is extremely inconsistent not only from engine to engine but also within just a single engine. I have twin 2000 F115’s and I find the problem comes and goes on both. At the end of last season, I “had” the problem…in both. This spring I was ready to go with a Ring Free shock treatment but decided to wait until the problem re-introduced itself. I am still waiting. It is August, well into Salmon season, both OB’s have been run hard and idled for extended times, and neither dipstick shows any change in oil volume. You go figure. I am still running stock thermostats. Aside from having the oil pump in the Starboard unit replaced this March (warranty), I have done nothing different other than buy only Chevron gas. In prior years, I purchased what ever had best price. I may be reaching here but right now, but, I “do not” have the problem. As for frustrations, I gave up letting it get to me. I change the oil when the problem occurrs and keep on fishing. Pinks are fun to catch but a King will make the day.
MDT

[TTT]

After having run the snot out of my F-100 for over 5 hours with shock treatment, I still have a problem. Just changed oil at 800 hours and put in 10-40 weight oil instead of 10-30. Went trolling a couple of times and have about 30 hours on the 10-40 oil. Stick is one inch over full. Never had it that high before. And I did not troll dead idle, trolled at about 1200 to 1300 rpms. T-mac, was told by the dealers service manager that there is only ONE thermostat for this engine. Looked at the parts on line for it and only one is listed. Can you tell me where to get another?? Is it a yamaha product?

[MDT]

I tried the oil approach and it did not work. Be prepared for the Yamaha mark-up factor on the thermostat. I replaced both of mine (stock with stock) and they were ~$75 each.
MDT

[deehawk]

I have a 2002 Merc 115 4 Stroke. It was "making oil" last year. I was told I needed to run it hard for 3 or so hours. Did that last fall. Been monitoring it this summer. The level has slowly been rising on the dipstick. Today when I checked it it was an inch over the full mark and reeks of gas. Now waiting to see what my dealer has to say. Sure do love the motor but something has to be done about this problem.

Deehawk

[hooky]

I am wondering if you have to put the dipstick in all the way to check the oil. There is a rubber part at the handle that stops the stick until it is pushed in. If I put the stick in till it meets that point , then the oil is on its mark. If I shove it in all the way, then it is an inch over full. Can anyone comment on this?

[joepa]

I have a 2002 Yamaha 115 4 stroke that does the same thing. My question is:

WHY AREN'T WE HEARING FROM SOME FACTORY REPS. ON THIS?

[Wiley Walleye]

My dealer of purchase said you should put the stick down all the way, just like you do in a car. Nice thought since it is the diff on the stick.
He briefly noted that the walls and pistons have more tolerance than cars. A car will run around 1500RPM and we run our motors at 5-6000RPM. If too tight we would burn them up. Thus there is some seepage.
Only another theory. But check and remove excess.
Joe

[TTT]

Darn good question. Yamaha should address this, if they know. Going on a fishing vacation for a week and am concerned about my engine. I should NOT have a bad feeling about this engine. Am thinking about a trade. But for what. Really like the 4-strokes but---. Is this a problem only in Yamaha and Merc motors. Any input from Honda and Suzuki owners. I had a 75 honda and really liked it. No gas in the crank case either!!

[RDJ]

Count me in!! I have an '03 F-200. Changed the oil after 10 hours break in and about a month later checked it before heading to the next tournament and it too was about 1/2"-3/4" high on the dip stick. I waited to dump any as I thought maybe checking it shortly after comming off the water it might give a different read before all the oil settled from around the moving parts. I checked it about 1/2 hour after trailering and it was same amount high on stick so we drained a bit until it was just short of the "full" line.
A couple of weeks ago I checked it again and guess what, back up to over full on the stick. I did not have a chance to drain it on that trip as it was in the water for the whole time, I will check it this weekend and if it still reads over I guess I'll drain some more. I didn't notice a gas smell however that some of you mentioned but I'll pay closer attention this time.
My questions are this, (1) will it create damage by being a bit over full? it didn't take much draining to get it back down when I did and (2) how much can one dump out and still have good oil in there. At this rate 1/2 of my original fill will be dumped out by the time I'm ready for my 100 hour change cycle!! If anyone gets info, please pass it along. RJ in Montana..

[T-Mac]

I was referring to F-115's on the thermostat...Yamaha regional tech rep told us to put in a NEW thermostat (the one in there wasn't heating it enough up and keeping the temp. constant, the computer showed us that). Bad thermostats aren't uncommon. Sorry for confusion.

On F-100 (F-90, now called) we have had none make oil..? Only seen the problem on F-115, and only one of those.
On that one... we did change thermostat and we also did the shock treatment and ...and...so far, so good.

FRUSTRATING! Frustrating.

[another OMC]

Honda had a problem with their outboards, told the consumer, fixed all of them, and everyone is happy!!!, yamaha will not even acknowledge a problem!....who do you think will be in business longer?? i used to have great respect for YAMAHA...perhaps bombardier will purchase them also :^)

[kliph]

Can anyone come up with an E-mail address for YAMAHA?
Once we find one we can ALL send them a message.
Lets look.

[kliph]

This is the best I could find. Long address.

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/scripts/RightNowDB.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=VS1KtTQg&p_lva=&p_faqid=45&p_created=993754271&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9OTMmc F9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

Yamaha is not accepting e-mail at this time.

Contact Yamaha Customer Relations by calling toll-free (800) 962-7926, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific time.

Mail written correspondence to:

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
Customer Relations
P.O. Box 6555
Cypress, CA 90630

[TTT]

Just finished pulling excess oil/gas whatever out of my F-100 crank case. It was a inch over full. Wanted to know how many ounces over that would be. Service man said oh, probally only 2 oz. Well it was 10 ounces. Engine had 58 hours on it when this was done. I wonder how many ounces I would have drained if I would have let it go the full 100 hours. Am taking the excess to the dealer today and see what they say. I think I might send it in to a private company and had it analyzed.

[joepa]

I have tried to contact Yamaho Corp for the last three days about this. All you get is the telephone go-around and a busy signal. They are on Pacific time so I know I called when they were supposed to be there.
I also called several PA Yamaha dealers. They said they haven't heard about this problem before. That can't be since I called them myself and they were su[pposed to get back to me. They never did.
I have a feeling that the Yamaha Corp and the Yamaha reps are trying to avoid this problem. One dealer said to "bring it in, that is a very serious problem." When I asked what they would do to correct the problem, they said "probably just change the fuel pump." Can that be the problem?

I love the Yamaha 4-stroke but if this is the way that the company reponds or doesn't respond, then the Yamahas aren't worth a plug nickel.

[joepa]

Just got a message from a Merc owner that was having the same problem.
His dealer told him that it was almost impossible to get all the oil out when changing oil. He said that he was advised to raise motor all the way up and turn it sideways. This tactic however, doesn't get all the oil out either.
*** He said his dealer sucks out ALL the oil out with a turkey baster type gadget and he hasn't had any trouble since. Possibility???

[hooky]

I agree, Everyone should call Yamaha directly because the dealers seem to be avoiding the problem. They were going to charge me to look at mine because there was no recall on the problem and it is a 2002!!

[joepa]

Hooky:

You can't contact Yamaha directly. The number they give is constantly busy with no one on the line. You can't email them either!

Suggestion: I JUST FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU.
IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT WE ALL DO THE SAME! YOU CAN DO THIS BY EMAIL. JUST TYPE IN "BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU" AND SCROLL DOWN TO FILING A COMPLAINT ON-LINE.

[Mark Klossner]

???

[josedominicanrepublic]

Hi all of you! I am dominican and live in the dominican republic. I purshased 2 Yamaha f115 Four Strokes in Miami on January 2006 and imported them in to my country. I was very very Happy because I thought i had done a good decision in buying these two motors. I installed both of them on to my old 1989 23.5 foot Trophy. I took it the first day out for it's first cruise. Then the two motors where "coughfing.....ugh.ughugh.....and were not idle" ...so I started to wonder what was wrong.... Well to make a very long story short. I took it to my long time mechanic and explained what was hapening. He stayed with the boat for two full weeks.

He came to the following hipothesis:

1)"Gasoline can come in to the crankcase through the rings"
He said it is a posibility but we will not disassemble the motor this would be our last very last thing to try ...DISCARDED


2) "Gasoline can come in to the crankcase through the fuel pump"
To narrow down the hipothesis 1 he explained that the fuel pump installed on the motor is a low pressure pump that is mechaniclly driven by a small shaft and its main function is only to fill up the pressure chamber where the real important high pressure pump is. This high pressure pump pumps fuel at very high pressure so that the gasoline is injected by the injectors in a spray form.
He took off the pump and tested them and said they had nothing wrong.
But we decided to not use this pump. We installed it in place and just not connected the 3/8 fuel line to it. We bought a normal car 12volt lower pressure diapram fuel pump and installed it on the hull of the boat. We installed a hose from the tank to the fuel pump and from the fuel pump to the water separator then it goes to the pressure chamber. The electrical instalation was made that when I open the key switch it starts the pump , which is great because it is a self priming, and fills the fuel line system.
This discards any possibilities that gasoline would enter the motor through the pump.

3)"Gasoline can come in to the crankcase through the presure chamber"
The presure chamber receives the gasoline from the pump previoslly installed and when full the float inside it stops the entering to the chamber of more gasoline.
This high pressure pump pumps fuel at very high pressure so that the gasoline is injected by the injectors in a spray form.
AJA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This freaking pressure chamber has a little frakin #$%%^^%%&^ hose that connects to the AIR INTAKE OF THE MOTOR.
He explained well Jose in turbo deisel motors there is a hose that has the same or similar function as this hose and it is there to let "VAPORS" out of the system but in turbo diesel occurs a problem and it is that the hose is connected to the intake and the pressure from the turbo gulping in air at high pressure also sucks oil from the motor and into the turbo resulting in shortening its life and burning diesel and oil at the same time and burning the blood of the motor which is the oil.
He said that something similar could be hapening but with the gasoline entering the intake and furthermore entering the crankcase.
He said it is not supose to but we have to get rid of anything that could give us a reason of doubt!

The little hose is visible when you take off the hood and it is right there under the flywheel.
To test his theory we put new plugs changed oil and oil filter and unpluged the little hose from the RH motor and left it plugged on the left hand motor. I used the boat for 3 weekeds straight at low rpms and 1 weekend at high rpms (pulling banana boat) . Well the LH motor started to cough again and it had gas in the crankcase the RH motor which had the little hose unplugged was perfet! no gas , oil level perfect and oil viscosity perfect.

So then I changed oil , oil filter and unplugged THE LITTLE FREAKING HOSE ON BOTH MOTORS.
I HAVE USED MY BOAT for 3 months @ 20 hrs a week in both low and high rpms and have had the time of my life. NO PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only change oil every 100 hours

Any one interested in contacting me can call me at
(809) 635-0789
or email
jmbb@matasa.com

jose manuel

[Focker]

The last post Mar 23 2008 by Forex course, I'm not able to view. This topic being 6 years old, I'll be I'm not the only one who wanted to see that response. soooo TTT

[KHedquist]

>The last post Mar 23 2008 by Forex course, I'm not able to
>view. This topic being 6 years old, I'll be I'm not the only
>one who wanted to see that response. soooo TTT



Just a FYI that post by Forex was a spam post, not trying to hide anything


NPAA # 292 All fisherman are liers except for me and you, and I'm not so sure about you?
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