Greasing the drive shafts - how in sam #ell?!

[GoVols01]

Dove into the engine compartment in my '17 212X last night to locate the grease zerks for the main drive shafts. At first, I thought the bearings were sealed because I couldn't find the zerks. Before I gave up, I literally laid across the engines on my stomach and put my head far down into the hull upside-down. At that point, I finally saw a single zerk on top of each shaft with barely any clearance to get to them. I had to contort my body to simply see them! I can't imagine what it'll take to get back there to fit the grease gun onto the zerks and then operate the gun. Good Lord!

So I ask: how in God's name are you guys lubricating these things?!

 

[justason]

I dug up a thread on this from the past. there should be a zerk fitting in tha back left corner of the engines with a hose attached. top of sheet 2 of this thread reflects a pump count to push the grease thru. let em know if this helps,


https://jetboaters.net/threads/10-hr-service-how-much-grease-for-the-bearing-housing.2066/page-2#post-34678

 

[Andy S]

I dug up a thread on this from the past. there should be a zerk fitting in tha back left corner of the engines with a hose attached. top of sheet 2 of this thread reflects a pump count to push the grease thru. let em know if this helps,


https://jetboaters.net/threads/10-hr-service-how-much-grease-for-the-bearing-housing.2066/page-2#post-34678

View attachment 68017

I'm pretty sure the newer 1.8l motors don't have that easy access zerk fitting. Like @GoVols01 mentioned the zerk fitting is down on the bearing.

Other than a flexible hose on your grease gun instead of rigid pipe, I'm not sure how to get a grease gun on the fitting.

 

[GoVols01]

My '17 with the 1.8s doesn't look like this. There's a single zerk on top of the bearing housing. I'll take a picture of it and post it tomorrow. Hell, even getting the camera down there to snap a picture requires some contorting of the body and arms. Very poor ergonomics design for PM!

 

[Andy S]

Found this in the FAQ section, https://jetboaters.net/faq/what-needs-greasing-in-the-drive-train-on-my-yamaha-jet-boat.9/

 

[haknslash]

Mine is just a zero fitting on the housing. I think they stopped doing the long hose several years ago. I bought a grease gun with a long hose so I don't have to fight with the gun and zerk fitting. I still have to lay over the engine but I remove the plastic cover so I won't crack it. Thankfully you don't have to do this often. Just to check you did calculate how many pumps you would need per the specs of your grease gun? IIRC you're better having too little than too much. Is this your 100 hour or did the dealer do your first service?

 

[Scottintexas]

the grease is for water a water barrier not to lubricate the rollers. Don't over fill it and blow the seal out, with as many as never get oiled and we don't hear about them being a problem I would say be cautious,

 

[GoVols01]

I think I have around 65 hours on the boat now and I haven't greased them yet, so this needs to be done before she hits the water again. I changed the engine oil myself at the proper interval already - 10 hours.

I'll have to buy a new grease gun with a long hose on it to get to those zerks. Those things have about 2" between the top of the zerks and the bottom of the plastic electrical panel directly above them. Horrible.

 

[haknslash]

I think I have around 65 hours on the boat now and I haven't greased them yet, so this needs to be done before she hits the water again. I changed the engine oil myself at the proper interval already - 10 hours.

I'll have to buy a new grease gun with a long hose on it to get to those zerks. Those things have about 2" between the top of the zerks and the bottom of the plastic electrical panel directly above them. Horrible.

This should have been done at your break-in/first service >20 hours or so. I can't recall the exact amount to pump but I know it's much less grease required at the next major service which I think is at 100 hours.

You ran into the same issue I ran into when I bought my grease gun which originally only had a straight metal pipe. You can buy a whip hose for it as that's what I ended up doing. More was in this thread of mine https://jetboaters.net/threads/question-about-bearing-grease-for-10-hr.10977/#post-187831. I bought an 18" whip and it made life easier. Just be sure to calculate the amount of pumps and err on the side of caution. You don't want to pump too much and blow out the seal as then water will intrude.

 

[adrianp89]

After first service, when does this need to be done again?

 

[Matt Phillips]

my '17 242x has zirks on the top near the back of the engines. They are covered with black covers in the same location @justason indicated above.

When I first tried to grease mine, there was no way I was going to be able to get back there with a grease gun. Then I noticed a black flexible tube running out of the bearing housing and followed it to the top rear of the engine.

I'd offer to take a pic of it, but my boat is in storage 2+ hours away.

 

[GoVols01]

I'll crawl back into the engine compartment tonight and look for this tube. I sure hope there's one!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Interesting thread I guess every year this comes up What I have discovered is don't put grease in it using a grease gun as it can blow out the seals there is no VENT so people damage their seals if they over pressurize that bearing. Been there done that bought the t shirt.
I have over 550 hours on my bearings in salt water I remove the fitting and use a piece of plastic string for a weed eater to get a look at the grease, sort of making a dip stick to check the grease and it's condition. I also purchased a basting syringe that I can put grease in , put the needle in the fitting hole and insert some grease in there with no pressure build up then replace the fitting. I have not had an issue with those bearings since I started doing this. other people will have a different idea like pump grease in with the engine running all sorts of tips but I do it the way I just said because changing that bearing is a real pain in the ass. Been there and done that also.
The first picture with the toot picks shows how over greasing will cause the rubber to delaminate from the housing and let me tell you the amount of water that comes in when you are anchored is just amazing. The bearings are mounted in a vibration dampener for obvious reasons and that part is attached to the metal housing but the hydraulic pressure of pumping in grease will get between the rubber and the housing and separate those as shown in the picture
.

 

[haknslash]

I will add that when I pump I will do it very slowly in fear of what Jeff described. Don't go in there like Rambo thinking you're greasing a tractor or Bearing Buddy. If you're going to use a gun, go slow and stop either when you feel any hint of back pressure or have reached the required amount. I stopped just shy by a few pumps the second I noticed any pressure or resistance just to be on the safe side. There is no telling the amount that was put in at the factory, if much at all.

 

[GoVols01]

I just dove back into the engine and there’s no hose leading to the bearing housing at all. The zerk is covered by a black cap in this picture and there’s little clearance to get to it.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That is correct the fitting is directly on the housing on the newer ones.

 

[GoVols01]

I finally found a 90 degree coupler for my grease gun at AutoZone so I can complete this job over the last weekend. I had to lay myself across the engines and contort myself in all sorts of directions in order to reach the grease zerks on those 2 housings. In the end, I pumped the grease gun 20 times into each housing and paid very careful attention to any resistance I felt through the gun. I also used my wife's make-up mirrors to see the zerks as I performed this to ensure the grease was entering the housing and not making a huge mess of the area. What a PITA, but I don't have to do this for another ~70 hours or 2 more seasons, I'm guessing.

 

[the MfM]

20 times?!!?

That seems...excessive.


You can get grease fitting relocating/extension kits. Which is pretty much what came standard on my ls2000. I wonder if it can be ordered as a replacement part... seems a PIA without one.

Quick google search

https://locknlube.com/products/grease-fitting-relocation-kit?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&creative=111324567509&keyword=&matchtype=&gclid=CjwKCAiAoNTUBRBUEiwAWje2lvGOagJnQZpNhb5ViYsj-xUbPYqQB9Tzh_OtEmmu-yOxKa8EBZm9CRoCcakQAvD_BwE

 

[GoVols01]

20 times?!!? That seems...excessive.

You can get grease fitting relocating/extension kits. Which is pretty much what came standard on my ls2000. I wonder if it can be ordered as a replacement part... seems a PIA without one.

If you follow some of the links within this thread, it leads to another post where someone calculated their grease gun's output in order to get 1.5oz. I simply followed the same math to arrive at that number. In fact, I calculated 24 pumps, but only did 20 to be sure not to blowout the seals.

Regarding the extension, someone else pulled their extension tube off their housing to see what was inside of it. What they found was the grease was old, dried up, looked like crap and hose had lots of air bubbles in it. Maybe that's why Yamaha removed those extensions......

 

[the MfM]

If you follow some of the links within this thread, it leads to another post where someone calculated their grease gun's output in order to get 1.5oz. I simply followed the same math to arrive at that number. In fact, I calculated 24 pumps, but only did 20 to be sure not to blowout the seals.

Regarding the extension, someone else pulled their extension tube off their housing to see what was inside of it. What they found was the grease was old, dried up, looked like crap and hose had lots of air bubbles in it. Maybe that's why Yamaha removed those extensions......

My service manual calls for 1.2 oz after 10 hours and .2-3 oz every hundred hours afterwards. I was under the impression that the extension hose was empty from the factory. So the initial service called for more grease to fill the hose. :dunno: But since you don’t have the hose I would have assumed .2 oz which is more like two to three pumps on a standard grease gun. I could be totally wrong. Or maybe your boat has a different service requirement.


I could see how extension hose could cause problems if no one greased the bearing for years. In fact when I got my boat I took the hoses off and pumped fresh grease through them because I did not know the history.