Port engine milky oil 2006 AR210 MR1

[scokill]

Definitely do NOT go the SBT route, junk engines from them. I am on my 3rd from them with the 2 year no fault warranty, that just expired. The engine also expired and threw a rod, so I am out 2 years, 4 motor swaps (including this one) and my $3500

Yep. SBT seems to be one, if not the one, of the only games in town. I have no data to back this up other than seeing posts for 14 years, but I think the margin for error is so tight on the MR1s that they are extremely difficult to rebuild and get longevity. I would be leery of a fixing a cracked block but it has and can be done. I think $500-1,000 to pull, have block welded, reassemble, and install is wishful thinking unless you do it all yourself.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Yep. SBT seems to be one, if not the one, of the only games in town. I have no data to back this up other than seeing posts for 14 years, but I think the margin for error is so tight on the MR1s that they are extremely difficult to rebuild and get longevity. I would be leery of a fixing a cracked block but it has and can be done. I think $500-1,000 to pull, have block welded, reassemble, and install is wishful thinking unless you do it all yourself.

Yeah, all of those ballpark prices were assuming I pull the motor and do the disassembly and reassembly myself. Obviously welding and rebuilding the current motor would be the most time consuming.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

I’m looking for Yamaha vx waverunners with the MR1 110hp motor. Found a few for $6-7k within a few hours drive. I guess the best thing to do with that option would be to swap motors, then tear down the blown motor and rebuild it over the winter to sell the ski next spring?

It seems so much more straightforward to go with an SBT swap, and my pea brain is trying to stop considering that option if it’s only going to bring problems.

 

[scokill]

I’m looking for Yamaha vx waverunners with the MR1 110hp motor. Found a few for $6-7k within a few hours drive. I guess the best thing to do with that option would be to swap motors, then tear down the blown motor and rebuild it over the winter to sell the ski next spring?

It seems so much more straightforward to go with an SBT swap, and my pea brain is trying to stop considering that option if it’s only going to bring problems.

You can roll the dice on SBT. You can definitely find one with low hours significantly cheaper. VX 110 and other models with 110 or 1100 I believe would have that engine 2006 might be a sweet spot.

 

[kbell413]

I had the same crack on the outer water jacket on my 08 AR210 with the MR1. Luckily for me, it was only cracked externally and leaking cooling water into the bilge, the inside was fine and no water in the oil. From your pics, I think it's very likely you have an internal crack and are also getting water into your oil which further complicates things for you. I realized I had an issue when my bilge pump was running far more than it should have been. Found the crack with an inspection camera so I pulled the motor out and had the block welded. After the welding we pressure tested the block and found that the heat from welding had trashed the head gasket. I pulled the head off and swapped the head gasket only to find out the hard way that the timing chain likes to fall off the sprocket at the bottom if you don't keep tension on it. Eventually after having to pull the drive reduction housing off the back of the motor to get the timing chain back on I was able to get it all buttoned up. Ultimately I only missed 1 weekend of boating. I ran it for 2 more years after that before selling to a friend of mine this spring. He's still running it now with no issues.

I evaluated all of my options as you did when I first realized the block was cracked. I knew I wasn't keeping the boat much longer, had already had many years and wanted to upgrade, so I really didn't want to dump too much into it. I ruled out SBT after hearing the horror stories and rather than going with a used donor motor which I knew nothing of it's history I decided to try welding it to save it. In your case with the water in the oil as well, I'd probably look for a used engine. Check eBay and see what you find. There were a few available on there back when I was looking. Once you get them swapped you can take your time going through the current motor to see if it's worth salvaging. Good luck!

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Awesome advice as usual from everyone here, thanks. Couple of options I’m considering now are a used vx110 motor on eBay that has 530 hours on it for $3k. Not wild about the relatively high hours on that. Other option I’m looking at is a few skis with the vx110 that I’ve found with 150-250 hours for around $6k.

Either option would allow me to swap motors and tear down the blown motor over the winter. If I can repair or replace the block on the blown motor and get the ski up and running, that would likely be easier to flip in the spring than a bare motor.

 

[kjr6306]

I have been dealing with oil in my engine issue for the last month so I am a bit ahead of you. You can check my thread in the 230 forum....Milky oil. If you have water in your oil then the external crack in your block is probably not the only issue. You most likely have another crack in the block or head. If your plugs are getting water on them then you probably have a blown head gasket.

I just took a gamble and purchased a used VX110 engine off of eBay. I didn't pay anywhere close to 3k for it so the gamble was worth it for me. My problem was determined to be a cracked head and blown head gasket along with some bad corrosion on the sealing surface of one cylinder. My biggest issue right now is if I am going to swap the head off the engine I just bought and install it on my bottom end or just put the entire engine I just purchased in my boat. The VX110 that goes in most jet skis is 110HP and is a 1059cc engine. The 140HP, non-HO engines that go in our boats are only 998cc engines. The HO 160HP engines are also 1059cc. I'm hoping to use the block and head from the VX110 and my computer and throttle bodies and get the 160 HP from the engine. All the parts look identical to me. There is one small difference in the block of the MR1s from the jetski and the boat engines. The water pipe on the side of the block is curved on the jetskis and straight on the jet boat.

FWIW, if it is determined that your only issue is the exterior crack on the block then there are several on the forum that have JB welded the crack in that spot with good results.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

I have been dealing with oil in my engine issue for the last month so I am a bit ahead of you. You can check my thread in the 230 forum....Milky oil. If you have water in your oil then the external crack in your block is probably not the only issue. You most likely have another crack in the block or head. If your plugs are getting water on them then you probably have a blown head gasket.

I just took a gamble and purchased a used VX110 engine off of eBay. I didn't pay anywhere close to 3k for it so the gamble was worth it for me. My problem was determined to be a cracked head and blown head gasket along with some bad corrosion on the sealing surface of one cylinder. My biggest issue right now is if I am going to swap the head off the engine I just bought and install it on my bottom end or just put the entire engine I just purchased in my boat. The VX110 that goes in most jet skis is 110HP and is a 1059cc engine. The 140HP, non-HO engines that go in our boats are only 998cc engines. The HO 160HP engines are also 1059cc. I'm hoping to use the block and head from the VX110 and my computer and throttle bodies and get the 160 HP from the engine. All the parts look identical to me. There is one small difference in the block of the MR1s from the jetski and the boat engines. The water pipe on the side of the block is curved on the jetskis and straight on the jet boat.

FWIW, if it is determined that your only issue is the exterior crack on the block then there are several on the forum that have JB welded the crack in that spot with good results.

Thanks for the input! I have an AR210 which I believe is the exact same motor as the vx110 - the 1052cc 110hp. Do you mind me asking what you paid for your motor on eBay so I know what price range to be looking for?

 

[kjr6306]

I would have guessed that you had the non HO 140HP engines in the 210 but then you would have the smaller cc engine. But I don’t know much about the 210.

 

[kbell413]

His AR210 has the 110 HP motor

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Rookie question about engine compatibility - do the different motors (110hp, 140hp, 160hp) have different driveshaft couplers? If I could widen my search to fx waverunners with 140hp motors that would help. I’d imagine worst case I might need to swap couplers? Would the harnesses be compatible?

 

[scokill]

Awesome advice as usual from everyone here, thanks. Couple of options I’m considering now are a used vx110 motor on eBay that has 530 hours on it for $3k. Not wild about the relatively high hours on that. Other option I’m looking at is a few skis with the vx110 that I’ve found with 150-250 hours for around $6k.

Either option would allow me to swap motors and tear down the blown motor over the winter. If I can repair or replace the block on the blown motor and get the ski up and running, that would likely be easier to flip in the spring than a bare motor.

I wouldn't be concerned about 530 hours at all. I'm on the 15th season on mine and would imagine that I have 1,000 hours give or take. I have a YDS cable coming next week so I'll know for sure. Mine purr like kittens. The only thing I do is change the oil and plugs every year.

 

[kjr6306]

YAMAHA VX1100 VX 110 Deluxe Motor Engine 05-15 | eBay

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I paid $1850 for this. The seller sent me a video of the engine running.
As far as I can tell the couplers are all the same. But if you buy a used engine or even an SBT engine, you will have to use the coupler from your old engine along with the oil cooler, starter, throttle bodies, etc. The only thing you usually get when purchasing the engine is the cylinder head, bottom end, and engine block. The valve cover is different on the jet skis as well as the water inlet pipe is different but that's no big deal as you can use your old valve cover. The only wiring going to the head and block are 3 sensors that look to be the same.

With regards to the hours, from what I am reading, the engines are pretty much bulletproof. I'm not sure why my head developed a crack but it also has some other issues that would have become problems in the near term. The issues all stem from corrosion from what I am assuming to be salt water as it was bought in SW Florida. I would definitely be suspect of buying a used engine that was used in salt water.

My engine is due to be delivered on Tuesday and I will update how things look and how things go back together. I am contemplating taking the head off the new engine and installing it on my block as opposed to swapping out the starter and front and back of my old engine onto the new one.

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Alright, I have a big update to this thread - buckle in, here it goes:

We’ve had a “parents boat day” planned for this past Saturday for a while now, so that means I had a deadline to meet to get the boat back on the water. Come this past Thursday, I decided to go with the “buy a waverunner and swap the engines” option. My wife and I had been talking and one of her questions was “once we fix this engine, what’s to say the other block doesn’t crack too?”

I didn’t have a good answer for her question, so I found a pair of 2013 vx deluxe waverunners with 65 hours so that we could swap both motors. I took Friday off work and started pulling the blown boat motor at 9am. The gantry was the easiest part (I’m a general contractor). It’s 10’ tall built out of 2x4s with a double 2x4 header. The chain hoist was from Harbor Freight.





This was my first time pulling any motor, but I finished getting the motor out in about 2 hours, just in time to leave for my 10 hour round trip to pick up the new waverunners. Note: take plenty of notes, photos, and label everything you disconnect, then reverse the order when reconnecting.

The waverunners checked out perfectly, got them home safe and sound at about 11pm then started prepping one motor to swap. Pulled the motor at about 7am on Saturday (“parent boat day”) - it was a little tighter of a working space in the waverunner than the AR210, but manageable.



It took me about 4 hours Saturday morning start to finish to pull the waverunner motor, drop the motor in the boat, and hook everything up. That included swapping a few accessories that were different like the intake manifold, fuel rail/injectors, and a few brackets and cooling hoses. The first fire up took a couple seconds to fill the fuel rail back up but it fired right up first try. I got an engine code, but it was just a sensor on the intake manifold that I forgot to plug back in. Plugged it back in and good to go, just in time to load the cooler and drive an hour to our parents boat day.


My wife called me a lunatic when I first told her my plan, then she continued calling me a lunatic throughout the day and a half process. She’s totally right, but it worked out!

All that to say, next step is to drop my blown motor off at my mechanic’s machine shop to diagnose and rebuild the cracked case. I’ll also swap the starboard motor with the other waverunner motor when I have time. The plan is to sell the waverunners with the rebuilt motor once we’re done with the project but it might be hard to let go of those pretty things!

 

[scokill]

Alright, I have a big update to this thread - buckle in, here it goes:

We’ve had a “parents boat day” planned for this past Saturday for a while now, so that means I had a deadline to meet to get the boat back on the water. Come this past Thursday, I decided to go with the “buy a waverunner and swap the engines” option. My wife and I had been talking and one of her questions was “once we fix this engine, what’s to say the other block doesn’t crack too?”

I didn’t have a good answer for her question, so I found a pair of 2013 vx deluxe waverunners with 65 hours so that we could swap both motors. I took Friday off work and started pulling the blown boat motor at 9am. The gantry was the easiest part (I’m a general contractor). It’s 10’ tall built out of 2x4s with a double 2x4 header. The chain hoist was from Harbor Freight.

View attachment 183446
View attachment 183450
View attachment 183451

This was my first time pulling any motor, but I finished getting the motor out in about 2 hours, just in time to leave for my 10 hour round trip to pick up the new waverunners. Note: take plenty of notes, photos, and label everything you disconnect, then reverse the order when reconnecting.

The waverunners checked out perfectly, got them home safe and sound at about 11pm then started prepping one motor to swap. Pulled the motor at about 7am on Saturday (“parent boat day”) - it was a little tighter of a working space in the waverunner than the AR210, but manageable.
View attachment 183454
View attachment 183455

It took me about 4 hours Saturday morning start to finish to pull the waverunner motor, drop the motor in the boat, and hook everything up. That included swapping a few accessories that were different like the intake manifold, fuel rail/injectors, and a few brackets and cooling hoses. The first fire up took a couple seconds to fill the fuel rail back up but it fired right up first try. I got an engine code, but it was just a sensor on the intake manifold that I forgot to plug back in. Plugged it back in and good to go, just in time to load the cooler and drive an hour to our parents boat day.
View attachment 183456

My wife called me a lunatic when I first told her my plan, then she continued calling me a lunatic throughout the day and a half process. She’s totally right, but it worked out!

All that to say, next step is to drop my blown motor off at my mechanic’s machine shop to diagnose and rebuild the cracked case. I’ll also swap the starboard motor with the other waverunner motor when I have time. The plan is to sell the waverunners with the rebuilt motor once we’re done with the project but it might be hard to let go of those pretty things!

Dude, you are freakin' superman. Kuddos to you on job well done. I wouldn't worry about swapping the other motor. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If the other wave runner is usable, enjoy it!

 

[CaptRedbeard]

Well it’s been a couple of months since motor swap day and it’s time for a big update on the blown motor. I started tearing it down in the garage, this thread might turn into a bit of a MR-1 tear down log. I bolted a 2x6 to the magneto case bolts to rest on a bench.


I found milky oil on the camshafts after pulling the valve cover.


Knowing I had water in the oil, the head was next to pull. I marked the timing chain at cylinder 1 TDC. I found a blown head gasket and some surface rust starting in cylinder 3. The good news is that the head and valves looked good aside from a bit of surface rust that cleaned right up. Cylinder walls all looked good as well.





After doing some extensive research on aluminum block repairs, I decided against splitting the case and trying to have the aluminum welded due to concerns of warping and other damage. The answer was to grind out the crack with a dremel, wire brush, clean and JB weld the crack in the exterior water jacket.


Next, I cleaned and prepped the surfaces, coated the new head gasket with copper coat, and reassembled.


I had one scare when I did a compression test on the bench and found 0psi on cylinder 3 (the one that blew the head gasket). After doing a leak down test then checking camshaft clearances, turns out I somehow jostled a valve shim out of position and it was holding an exhaust valve open. Remedied that and reassembled the motor. Dropped the motor into the waverunner and reconnected everything. Took the waverunner out for a joy ride and she rips! Top speed was 56 with about 1/3 tank of gas.

From the time I started tear down on this blown motor to the time I test drove it in the waverunner was right at about a month as I chipped away at things in my spare time. The only question now is whether or not we’re keeping the extra toys lol. I do have a bunch of extra pictures if anybody has any questions about this process.

 

[buckbuck]

You are an inspiration. Thanks for the photos.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

What an interesting thread!

Thank you for sharing with us.

Jim

 

[WREKS]

@CaptRedbeard I may have missed it but what did you do to repair the corrosion canal between the water jacket and cylinder #3? I used jb weld for a similar milky-oil problem. It seems to be working so far. Is that what you did? Thanks! https://jetboaters.net/attachments/be863603-a7fa-4595-97ce-73124e102c83-jpeg.188408/

 

[CaptRedbeard]

@CaptRedbeard I may have missed it but what did you do to repair the corrosion canal between the water jacket and cylinder #3? I used jb weld for a similar milky-oil problem. It seems to be working so far. Is that what you did? Thanks! https://jetboaters.net/attachments/be863603-a7fa-4595-97ce-73124e102c83-jpeg.188408/

The fire ring on the deck was still solid, it was the outer surface near the cooling passage that wore away slightly. I built it up with JB weld and used copper gasket spray on the head gasket. That photo you linked still had the head gasket sitting on the deck, and you can clearly see the missing pieces of the gasket.