Help diagnosing low RPMs and no top end....

[tdonoughue]

So, first, if you have changed the plugs then there is no need to do so again. They are fine. I would still pull 3 and see if you have the water/fuel in there. Just to check.

Oil very high is bad. You don't want it getting up onto the air filter (that is, overfilled). If that is just from overfilling, that is bad, but easily fixed with sucking some out (go buy a sucker--do your own oil changes with it and it pays for itself on the first change). Bigger problem is if you bring it down to the right level and then it comes up again. That indicates you have water infiltrating into the oil (thus increasing the volume) and you will also see that tell-tale milky oil. You didn't mention milky oil, so let's hope that is just someone overfilling it (which, btw, has been known to throw oil on the air filter and drop rpms).

Sounds to me like everything you have here is likely manageable. If there is not milky oil, you are probably just overfilled and needed new plugs.

Time to start enjoying a boat!

 

[tdonoughue]

(oh, and amen to the locks from @Cobra Jet Steering LLC --get ya some)

 

[buckbuck]

Absolutely buy the EZ-Locks. Yamaha's design will not keep the clean out plugs in by themselves.

 

[Newbie7]

Alright!

Update time:
-checked the cylinder again after our last ride- no water! Maybe it was just gas and we misdiagnosed it!
-we researched a stiff shifter, and narrowed it down to the reverse cable. We will install those on Thursday. Wait for our SOS because we have no idea what we’re doing- but we did find a tutorial post on here that we will follow.
-we did a complete oil drain (HOLY SMOKES THAT IS A POOR DESIGN), and there was no water whatsoever. We used Mobil 1 10w-30 and M1-101A filters.
-I bought the ezlocks from cobra steering and will install those when they arrive.
-We bought some fuel injector cleaner more as a maintenance item than anything.

I think that’s everything. I now understand why they call this a labor of love.

Can you all think of anything else that should be done to a boat that has sat for 3 years?

 

[Troytwade1]

What exactly does the clean out plugs do? If something is going on with them could that be the reason I am not getting any thrust but high rpm? My clean out plugs are actually stuck and the hatch wasnt fastened. When I had it in the water

 

[Newbie7]

I’m not an expert, hence my username, but the cleanout area is where you would grab weeds or such if you wicked them up while you were out on the water. It prevents you from having to get under the boat to the intake.

The cleanout plugs are supposed to be stored outside of the boat, which helps prevent them from getting stuck. Many people don’t do this, hence the reason they get stuck a lot. If they are stuck, they are a chore to get out. We had to take the top 8 screws out, hit it a few times with a wooden stick, put it back together and wench it out with an engine hoist (a rachet strap under a porch would work, too). If you’re are stuck, you may want to do a rebuild kit which comes with the rubber gasket and the bottom piece only. The kits are about $60, whereas buying a new plug would be closer to $250.

My plug blew out because we didn’t have it in there well (or it just needed to be cleaned up / rebuilt) so per the advice of helpful folks above, I bought cobra ezlocks to ensure a blowout won’t happen again. When the plug blows, it will throw up the hatch door above them, which will open up two kill switches and shut off the engines so that they don’t suck up the tidal wave you are about to be hit with. If it doesn’t blow and shut off the engines, your engines could keep running and suck up a lot of water. It can be very bad and result in a rebuild which is why I opted for the cobra steering ezlocks for $40. $40 is cheap for peace of mind.

 

[Newbie7]

What exactly does the clean out plugs do? If something is going on with them could that be the reason I am not getting any thrust but high rpm? My clean out plugs are actually stuck and the hatch wasnt fastened. When I had it in the water

If you have a lot of weeds in there, it could be, but you should be able to notice that from the intake or the impeller area.

I could be wrong though, I’d get a second opinion from someone with more experience than I.

 

[tdonoughue]

A complete oil drain? Like from the bottom? No wonder you think it a poor design. Get yourself an oil sucker. You put a little hose in the oil dipstick tube and it sucks out most of the oil. Then you change the filter and refill. Very easy (and the way they do it at the shop).

Sounds all very positive! I think you are ready to go boating and enjoy that thing.

 

[Newbie7]

A complete oil drain? Like from the bottom? No wonder you think it a poor design. Get yourself an oil sucker. You put a little hose in the oil dipstick tube and it sucks out most of the oil. Then you change the filter and refill. Very easy (and the way they do it at the shop).

Sounds all very positive! I think you are ready to go boating and enjoy that thing.

You’ve got that right!

We don’t plan on doing complete oil drains often, but I wanted to be sure there was no water and the owner before me had put a very crappy oil in it and way overfilled it. I wanted to have an exact measurement to start from with better quality oil.

Trust me- I won’t be doing that again! ?