When did you last clean your Anodes ( Maybe worth a 5 minute read )

[Geoff Cooper]

I don't know if anyone has ever removed the Anodes to clean them but i do about once a month or so, I often wondered when the best time to change them is as they tend to look quite ugly but only as they are doing there job i suppose, I went into the service dept at Yamaha and asked the question showed them my Anodes and they replied by telling me there's lots of wear left in those so i went away a happy chap as they didn't have any replacements in stock anyway, If i owned a Boat with a Yamaha outboard the worlds my Oyster but as far as a Jet Boat is concerned even though they sell them they stock nothing, Here's what i do with the ones on the outer drive casings, I have put a few Photos on here and a couple of tips that i use which may be of help to anyone thinking of taking a closer look at there Anodes.


I start by removing them and leaving them to soak in a bucket of diluted floor cleaner for as long as you want a week if your not using the Boat it gets rid of all the salt and i finish of with sponge with a green scrubbing back to it and a metal pan scourer, Those thing's that look like a ball of wire.


This is a before and after shot as you can see the Bolt also takes a hammering by the salt as steel and aluminium as in the casing were it sits they are the perfect recipe for corrosion and being that it's connected to the Anode directly it's attracts all the corrosion there is available.


Now here's an idea i came up with, I wasn't happy at the length of the original bolts that secured the Anode they only gave about 4 threads of grip, I changed them after measuring what length i could get away with and found 6 x 30 was a far better size as screwing steel into Aluminium can easily be over tightened when only 4 threads are protruding and with corrosion attached also that can strip the threads, Again a spring and flat stainless washers were used to complete the job, Look at the Photo and the bolt on the left is the original not much to grip there, Remember a touch of grease works a treat when refitting.


Ok new Bolts fitted and you can see the difference straight away a far safer job






You can see the Anodes are doing there job these are 10 year old casings used in saltwater, I removed the Anode to take the Photos, It's always worth putting some marine grade grease on the steering cable and Reverse gate cables while your down there, Well that just about covers it let me know your thoughts you may have better ideas, Good Luck.

 

[Bruce]

Great tip, I would like to do this over the winter.

What is in the floor cleaner that you soak them in?'

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Great tip, I would like to do this over the winter.

What is in the floor cleaner that you soak them in?'

Hi Bruce i just use a cheap floor cleaner from Tescos nothing special

 

[Geoff Cooper]

This is the floor cleaner Bruce it's from a Supermarket chain over here called Big C not Tescos as i had stated before but as i said nothing special i have used washing up liquid and put some bleach in before now with the same results, I've been doing it for years and the results speak for themselves as you can see, I sometimes leave them in for 2 weeks if I'm not using the Boat and when i go to prepare the Boat the day before i take it out after doing all the usual checks i refit the Anodes and grease the bolts, Good Luck.



Edited by Bruce to fix image.

 

[buckbuck]

Those are some good looking jets for 10 years of salt water.

 

[Wayloncle]

@Geoff Cooper have you checked the anodes in your engine? I wonder what they look like, I want to check mine soon.

My jets look great after a year of salt water use, all I do is wash them with fresh water when I wash the boat after an outing and spray them with Fluid Film about every 4th outing or so.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Those are some good looking jets for 10 years of salt water.

Yes i do take care of them and i think cleaning your Anodes helps a lot as you can see, Thanks for your comments, Good Luck.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

@Geoff Cooper have you checked the anodes in your engine? I wonder what they look like, I want to check mine soon.

My jets look great after a year of salt water use, all I do is wash them with fresh water when I wash the boat after an outing and spray them with Fluid Film about every 4th outing or so.

Yes that's good but removing the Anodes and cleaning them will keep the jets in good shape, Remember you cant clean the back of the Anode while it's still connected to the Jet, Thanks for your comment, Good Luck.

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Those are some good looking jets for 10 years of salt water.

Thanks for that, Good Luck.

 

[Hollywood]

Does anyone have a link to where to buy new ones ?

 

[Geoff Cooper]

Does anyone have a link to where to buy new ones ?

I live in Thailand but my friend in Utah brought them over for me from the local Yamaha agent so you should be able to get them from the Yamaha agent closest to you, There not expensive just a few dollars each and well worth the short time it takes to change them.