Another oil cooler bolt sheared

[JDSCHMOO]

Took my nephew with me for the first run of the season, quick rip up the lake to the no wake area to check oil levels. Port side oil cooler, 3rd bolt down, gone. Not a ton of oil leaking, but clearly needs to be fixed. I'm out of warranty, I'll be calling the dealer tomorrow to see what they can do.

 

[pagekl]

@JDSCHMOO, if your boat is out of warranty, I wouldn't bother calling the dealer. Yamaha, at least from my experience with them won't do much to help with your cooler bolt issue. Like many members on here who have had cooler issues, I fixed my cooler myself. If the cooler is not cracked, you can bore out the broken bolt and replace it. I took my cooler apart, cleaned it up and changed the seal and replaced with all new bolts. So far no problems. The dealer where I got my boat contacted Yamaha to see if they would do a good faith repair since my boat was only two years old when the head sheared off the bolt and Yamaha refused to fix it. After doing the repair myself, I called the dealer about the torque setting for the bolts and they had me bring the boat in to look things over. My boat has been at the dealer for almost a month now for spider cracks, that Yamaha hull warranty does not cover. So long story short, if you don't have a warranty of some sort on your boat and are not the handy type, be prepared to cough up some money when you take it to the dealer.

 

[dan144k]

That is awful, I am always checking that mine are OK,
Kinda Paranoid about loosing all my oil.
I had one of mine loose a bolt and dealer just replaced the bolt,
(not how I expected to fix the problem), since they have a revised/upgraded oil cooler design with different part number.

I hope Mother Yamaha recalls this engineering flaw. Corporate Yamaha and Dealer's are known to be monitoring this website.

Edit 5/2017
@Blazin14

Yamaha did replace both my coolers while it was still under warranty. Guessing in 2014.

If they had not I would have bought the part and changed them myself for piece of mind.

However, if I had to purchase myself due to denied warranty claim. I would have approached the service manager and asked for help to get special pricing for the parts, if possible.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@JDSCHMOO Which engine and how man hours? My port side went bad with the previous owner and was replaced. Starboard engine is still original. 200 hours. Just curious. Thanks.

 

[JDSCHMOO]

It was my port side engine with about 150 hours on it.

 

[Geiger41]

Can some one post pictures as to where this part is located.

 

[Ronnie]

It was my port side engine with about 150 hours on it.

Check your other engine's oil cooler for leaks as well. I brought mine to the dealer around October thinking only one cooler was leaking (about a quart per weekend) as I could see the crack starting at the 3rd bolt hole down and extending across the face of the cooler 2 to 3 inches. As it turns out the other cooler was leaking as well, it was warped so I couldn't see it but my dealer verified it was warped with a straight edge and sent my warranty company proof of the same via a few pics. When I asked him why they suspected both coolers were leaking he said they simply felt the edges of each cooler and found oil on each.

 

[Ronnie]

Can some one post pictures as to where this part is located.

Geiger, I'll try and take and post a pic later but if assuming your engine configuration is the same as mine. Look for a silver box about the size of an ipad mini on the port side of your engine, near the top, that should be your oil cooler. I have not read about anyone other than those with a 2010 or 2011 1.8L engine (and older cooler) having this problem, so you are probably fine.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Check your other engine's oil cooler for leaks as well. I brought mine to the dealer around October thinking only one cooler was leaking (about a quart per weekend) as I could see the crack starting at the 3rd bolt hole down and extending across the face of the cooler 2 to 3 inches. As it turns out the other cooler was leaking as well, it was warped so I couldn't see it but my dealer verified it was warped with a straight edge and sent my warranty company proof of the same via a few pics. When I asked him why they suspected both coolers were leaking he said they simply felt the edges of each cooler and found oil on each.

thanks @Ronnie thats what I was worried about. One cooler was replaced at 100 hours but not the other. The boat is pushing 220 hours and was not sure what to look for. Only one year of warranty left!!

 

[Ronnie]

@GiddYupJoe , no problem.

On a semi related note, I'm going to go back to using (non synthetic) Yamalube oil as well. This is what he previous owner did for the first 100 hours without issue. I put 100 more on after I got it and after replacing the oil with Mobil synthetic oil. My problems started between 150 and 200 hours. Coincidence? Maybe but I doubt it. My dealer hasn't seen this problem before me but expects that if it is widespread that they will see more as the 2010 boats reach the 200 hour mark.

 

[Ronnie]

For context, here are some pics I took a while back. The first shot is of the interior of the cooler backs and you can see the seal as well. The second pic is of the cooler faces. The last one is of a cooler while it is still attached to the (starboard) engine. The infamous bolt is the second one down in the pic (the one with the oil around it, that cooler developed a crack at that point, the other warped but hey, all the bolts were intact so ... the glass is half full right? Actually, I bought the boat used and it came with 2 to 3 years left on a third party extended warranty. My cost to transfer the warranty was $40, I think the deductible was $50, the warranty covered all the parts and labor except the oil and filters which are considered, "perishables", kind of like lights and tires on cars. Still, that first $40 may have been the best boating money I've ever spent. By the way on the new coolers that bolt (3rd one down on the cooler, 2nd one down in the last pic) has a rounded head and I've been told it is thicker as well.

 

[JDSCHMOO]

Yahoo! Called the dealer, and I am still under warranty! I thought it ran out last year, runs out next year! Previous owner had 5 years of coverage transferred to me. Both oil coolers getting replaced on Yamaha! Super excited.

 

[Jump Right In]

That's better than a Christmas present... nothing better than finding out you have warranty, well other than using it at the same time

 

[txav8r]

There has been a clear change in policy the last year or so from Yamaha. They have stepped up on a number of issues they previously denied. I think this is a good move on their part. Glad your getting it covered and both coolers replaced. Does anyone know at what point the oil cooler design was changed? I have heard it was changed for 2011, but I too remember reading about some 2011 boats that had issues. We may be talking about 2 different issues too. It may be a bolt problem, and also a cooler problem. And they may go hand in hand due to over torquing the cooler bolts and stress fractures on the cooler itself. I don't know for sure, does anyone?

 

[jawsf16]

I think Yamaha should be issuing a recall to fix these. Kind of a foul that a poorly designed part is left up to the owners to deal with.

 

[motorboater]

I think Yamaha should be issuing a recall to fix these. Kind of a foul that a poorly designed part is left up to the owners to deal with.

Totally agree. These are failing well before any definition of "lifetime" can be applied to the part. One of the few reasons that stick with me and make me consider another brand when I get a new boat.

 

[Boat Crazy]

Yahoo! Called the dealer, and I am still under warranty! I thought it ran out last year, runs out next year! Previous owner had 5 years of coverage transferred to me. Both oil coolers getting replaced on Yamaha! Super excited.

Great news! Really happy for you it is still under warranty. Saved you some large cash in parts and labor.

 

[JDW-]

They changed the coolers in 2012. The fix for the bolt was a larger bolt, but it is still a grade 10 bolt. My take on the situation is that this bolt sits in the hottest point on the cooler and it expands more than the other bolts. In this case it would make sense to use a larger bolt with the same expansion characteristics rather than going to a stronger less expansive bolt.

I was lucky because my bolt broke off but it never leaked. My current fix is a bolt with the same strength, but I have it tightened barely past finger tight.

 

[SCSTWG]

If you aren't under warranty and have to cover replacement yourself, what is the cost?

 

[motorboater]

Oil Cooler assembly retails for $619 at Yamahasportsplaza. Plus oil filter. Assembly might include bolts, seals, etc but not sure. If done at the dealer I wouldnt expect anything less than $1k.