Have you had a 1.8 timing chain failure, was it in warranty and how has Yamaha handled it?

[Neutron]

I did not need to see this a day before we leave for Bimini...

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I am not sure of the exact number of failures but it isnt every 14/15 engine. The percentage is lower than you think or it would be considered a recall.
Have a great time, dont think about it.

 

[haknslash]

I did not need to see this a day before we leave for Bimini...

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I wouldn't worry over that post with the 2017 that broke one. Most likely a modded/race ski. Time will tell if the upgraded parts from 2016+ are the cure but so far seems like a better track record than previous years. Enjoy your trip to the Bamahas. I'm jealous and would trade places with you lol!

 

[0627Devildog]

There will be something. Just effing wait.--

Like towers collapsing and bashing people in the head? (Sorry, too soon?)

 

[0627Devildog]

So why don't we casually ask our dealer if they have replaced/fixed any timing chains? Then report your findings back to this forum.

Somehow I doubt we would all get truthful answers. . . . . Dealers are going to want to downplay the issue so as to not tarnish the brand they are selling.

 

[0627Devildog]

what the hell is this ? I was just sent this link can't read it but seems related or maybe not
http://yamahajetboaters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=239&t=69207

Interesting. . . . there were never any updates to that post.

 

[0627Devildog]

Once I started reading reports about non supercharged engines Haivng timing chains break I started reading / rereading all related threads a lot more closely.

That is exactly why I am back in this thread. . . . . I started reading it because I was looking at a 2012 FX Cruiser HO, and wondering if this would be a concern on that ski.

 

[0627Devildog]

These stories are troubling. A brand new engine failing in such a catastrophic way is bad enough, but Yamaha's handling of the matter is very disappointing. Our boating season here is only 2-3 (4 TOPS) months, so if that happened to someone at the start of the season, it would basically mean the whole season was shot. Payments are still being made despite the boat being out of commission. Very sad indeed, and another reason I will be babying my MR1s.

Anyone else think Yamaha should EXTEND the warranty for an equal amount of time the boat is out of commission, for ANY boat that is being repaired under said warranty?

i.e. If it takes them 3 months to fix and you can't use your boat, your warranty should be extended for 3 months. . . . .

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well it's a crap shoot I had a 2010 supercharged S H O ski 1800 engine with 650 hours no problem with the chain. Had a 2014 1800 non supercharged F X H O Cruiser with 250 hours before it was totaled on the interstate, well it was raining pretty hard and I wanted to jump the overpasses , any way no chain issues with that one.
I now have two 2014 fx ho cruisers with close to 500 hours 1800 non supercharged , one blew the chain at around 350ish hours and the other has still not blown the chain although I use these all year long 2 or 3 times a week and I get nervous hitting the gulf of Mexico riding the one that still has not hatched and I also get nervous doing some of my magic tricks on that ski But like I said it's a crap shoot you just don't know if it has one of the bad chains or not, some people had chains blow under 50 hours .
That and the nano hulls make me a bit concerned but compared to the other skies available I still hang in there with Yamaha however I doubt I want to play with the new 3 cylinder engine. One thing I will never ever do is buy another KAWASAKI that was my worst ski in every way, they just can't deal with salt water use. I Paid the price for a new one and I dealt with the thing being broken more than it ran. Their warranty people were crap in my opinion and the thing was super unreliable, So in comparison the issues with Yamaha I can deal with, I know how to reinforce my nano hull and I get the 5 year warranty, Yamaha did my timing chain under warranty and I now have about 130 hours on it since they fixed it.

 

[0627Devildog]

I know how to reinforce my nano hull

Is there more info on this somewhere?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I use a special non talcum powder fiberglass cloth sewn to fiberglass mat with a special epoxy and I glass over it in the front center sort of like a keel guard and that may work also if they were inclined to make it for skies.

 

[Brad Meeuwse]

i have a 2016 242 limited s e series. the engine block ID tags say the engines were manufactured on 7/15, so should i be worried about the cam chain, or did they incorporate the larger chain during 7/15? any way to tell what size the cam chain is for sure besides opening it up?

 

[Evil Sports]

This was a short term issue and not wide spread. I asked my Yamaha tech this summer and he said it's pretty rare these days

 

[Brad Meeuwse]

i hope so! not much i can do about it anyway i guess. is there any place to purchase a spare engine at a reasonable price? might not be bad to have one i stand by... (for me anyway)

 

[Evil Sports]

Bro, enjoy your boat and stop worrying.

 

[Brad Meeuwse]

well, i live in seattle, so i am waiting for those three days of sunshine we get in august. until then i get to tinker and worry..... . actually, i wasn't even worried until i found this forum page. i just got the boat, so going through it bow to stern. lots of things to do, last thing i want is to rebuild an engine in the middle of my three days of sunshine. lol. i will do it, but id rather do it now if its really a problem. i don't want it to happen out on the water with the family aboard. i don't mind spending the money or the time to do it now if i need to. thats all. so the $6k question.....should i rebuild the engines now or should i just go boating? im pretty sure i know Evil Sports answer given your last post . but i also like your slogan, "success is not by chance, its by choice". not sure if i wanna chance it. i own an engine shop (2000 hp engines), so its not a big deal to split these little guys apart. id rather do it before i have to replace a bunch of other parts too. but, i don't wanna spend money if i don't really have to. so, what should i do eh? go boating... i get it. lol

 

[swatski]

so the $6k question.....should i rebuild the engines now or should i just go boating?

Go boating!

The timing chain issue is real, and while it primarily concerns SC 1.8s - SHO and SVHOs, it does affect N/a 1.8s as well albeit it is very rare (with N/A 1.8s).

I do not know anyone who undertook the replacement of the TC assembly in a pre-7/15 N/A engine, it just does not make good economic sense. If you ever do have a misfortune of getting grounded in the middle of your short season due to a mechanical failure, the chances are it will be something else than a TC.

A very good source in the Yamaha dealership shared with me they just had a case of a 2014 AR190 that was 1 year out of warranty, suffered a broken TC. Yamaha didn't even argue - they replaced the motor and head,
so even if you are out of warranty you should have no problem with Yamaha taking care of it.

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[haknslash]

I wouldn't say the primary concerns were with SC boats IMO. I think more NA boats with TC failure were reported on here than SC boats. That's not to say every owner who buys a Yamaha boat ends up creating an account on here and reports on their boats. I think the reason why it may have been more prevalent on greenhulk with the SC skis is because they are probably the majority of owners on there compared to FXHO owners so that would make sense. On here it seems opposite and the failures did too. I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't seem to matter if it's SC or N/A and I don't think one is more prone than the other.

Brad, I would not pull the motor lol. If you're really wanting to know what you have you can open the valve cover and take a peek at the timing chain. Just know that you will also need to buy a new rubber gasket for the valve cover as its only meant for a one-time use. Honestly I would just drive and enjoy the boat. You can't worry about all the what if's.

 

[Brad Meeuwse]

This has been great input! I will remove the valve cover and check the chain. Then at least i know what i have. And then go boating and not worry about it! Thanks guys!

 

[swatski]

I wouldn't say the primary concerns were with SC boats IMO. I think more NA boats with TC failure were reported on here than SC boats.

I think the SC is the primary concern, overall. If it was not for staggering 20-30% of all SHO/SVHOs pre-2014 (in jet skis) braking the TC we would likely never even be talking about it in regards to N/A 1.8s.

Timing chain issues in N/A 1.8 are real and tend to be a focus in this forum. Which is not surprising considering N/A engines outnumber SC engines by some 50:1 in Yamaha boats.

The guesstimate of odds of a N/A1.8 TC breaking in a boat seems to hover somewhere between 1:1,000 and 1:10,000 per engine per year. Which would place it on par with other rare catastrophic failure modes.

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[MattFX4]

well, i live in seattle, so i am waiting for those three days of sunshine we get in august. until then i get to tinker and worry..... . actually, i wasn't even worried until i found this forum page. i just got the boat, so going through it bow to stern. lots of things to do, last thing i want is to rebuild an engine in the middle of my three days of sunshine. lol. i will do it, but id rather do it now if its really a problem. i don't want it to happen out on the water with the family aboard. i don't mind spending the money or the time to do it now if i need to. thats all. so the $6k question.....should i rebuild the engines now or should i just go boating? im pretty sure i know Evil Sports answer given your last post . but i also like your slogan, "success is not by chance, its by choice". not sure if i wanna chance it. i own an engine shop (2000 hp engines), so its not a big deal to split these little guys apart. id rather do it before i have to replace a bunch of other parts too. but, i don't wanna spend money if i don't really have to. so, what should i do eh? go boating... i get it. lol

Ha you must really love boating to own a boat in a climate like that. I see all the Canada guys with $130k wakeboard boats and think man that's a lot of money to spend on something to use 2 months out of the year! I thought this issue was isolated to pre 2016 models so you should be fine.