Worx cooling upgrade kit for 2020 Yamaha 212x.

[Proudpapa]

My SB motor began overheating at higher rpms a couple weeks ago. Below is the info of what i experienced and solution from dealer. The sand may have come from running aground during low tide on the St Johns here in FL, which is on me. I pulled the engine anode myself and discovered it to be gone, which tells me the turd who owned it before me didn’t flush engines. Anyway, has anyone had this WORX kit installed to “help with sand buildup”???? And if so, how has it worked for you? I would also appreciate any feedback whether or not this upgrade kit is necessary or not.
I purchased in 08/22 with 22 hrs both P and SB. I put approximately 10 hrs on both motors before problem. I asked what the price would be without the upgrade (to clean sand out of both motors and the mechanic stated he will not work on it without the kit installed as it will defeat the purpose of the fix.
Any thoughts and experiences with a similar issue?

 

[Neutron]

Never heard a dealer state they wont work on it unless an aftermarket modification was installed. Bunch of bs. I would think sand will get in places you dont want if you suck it up no matter what type of coolant circulation system you have.
Do you have another option for a repair shop?
Did they charge you 17 hours just to diagnose it or is that the price to install kits?

 

[Proudpapa]

I thought the same on all points and it’s just an estimate. I called to schedule a phone call from the mechanic due to vague info on the estimate and the service manager stated the mechanic is a “flat rate mechanic and can’t take time to talk on the phone.” I would have to drive one hour there to get a breakdown of what needs to be done while he works. My lid flipped when I read this email; I have never been refused info over the phone from any repair shop I have ever used. I’m actually trying to locate another shop that can fix my problem. There are only 3 dealers within a 100 miles of me here in Ormond Beach so pickings are slim. I’m trying to locate a regular marine service shop to see if they can help

 

[Neutron]

You would think there were more yamaha dealers closer to you since you are close to Daytona Beach. Pulling a head to clean out seems excessive to me. I would try clamping the feed line from the pump and using good water pressure to flush the engine. Its easy and free. Cant hurt.

 

[Proudpapa]

Thanks for the responses Neutron. I want to do the work myself as I love working on motors. I’m still learning about this engine. Not sure where feed lines are tho. Do I open ports to allow water and debris to be pushed out after clamping?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I’d think you’d want to take out the thermostat when you go to flush it out.

Pull the mechanical hatch that is under the hatch for the clean out plugs.Look down there and look for the colored hose that comes from flush port, follow it down to a wye fitting you would apply the clamp just aft of the wye fitting This will keep the flushing water from trying to exit out through the cooling water inlet in the jet pump.

Go through the normal flush procedure of starting the engine first then turn on the cooling water. You should get some strong flow out of the outlet for the cooling water that is next to the jet pump and your pilot water outlet should also have a strong flow. Might want to put a bucket under the cooling water outlet so you can see how much debris comes out.

 

[Proudpapa]

I was thinking the thermostat as well. Thank you for the step by step. Does seem rather simple. I’m gonna do the flushing, replace both engine anodes, and check to see if the thermostat is working properly. Will do this starting tomorrow. Will post results. Again, thank you for the info thus far.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So…. Just re read your posts. So the mechanic says he won’t work on it without the worxmod but service manager ? Says the mechanic can’t talk because he is flat rate but he has time to write a email.

That’s total bullshit.

What is this worx mod anyway? If it’s something like a sea strainer that goes inline in the cooling water line I’m not sure Yamaha corporate would be good with that.

Seems if mechanic is flat rate he doesn’t get to choose, he does the work as assigned. What does the service manager have to say about having to purchase an aftermarket product as a pre requisite for them to work on the boat?

Wonder what Yamaha corporate would have to say about a service center requiring an aftermarket product before servicing a two year old boat ?

Call one of the other dealers and see what they say in addition to you doing your own flushing

 

[Proudpapa]

Right…you hit the nail on the head and I do intend to talk to people. This dealer is literally under new ownership a few months ago. Nothing makes sense to me. I do plan on contacting another dealer after I attempt the fix. Just for insight, here is the conversation in order after I asked to get an estimate on just flushing the engine without this upgrade kit. I haven’t heard back yet of course.

 

[Proudpapa]

Sorry, emails configured wrong. Order as follows:
Missy says tech will not fix without upgrade
I ask to speak to tech
Responds about flat rat
I ask if there is anyone there to speak too then since I live hour away

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I’d definitely call one of the other dealers and see what they say… heres the worx kit. Says it a must for modified skis. This is not going to solve sand in the block. Again, bullshit. Refusing to clean the block out unless you install this kit? Go somewhere else.

https://worxracingusa.com/products/yamaha-cooling-kit

 

[Proudpapa]

FSH 210 Sport… I Absolutely agree. I’ve done so much research and I could not find this kit being used on an actual Yamaha boat. Also, they marked the price up to $325/kit not including labor. Total labor and parts quoted for entire fix is a little over $3500…Lol. I will be looking elsewhere for sure. Thanks for taking the time to research?

 

[Dave burke]

This is outrageous. Just reading what you’ve gone through makes my blood boil. 300% markup on a part that’s designed for racing? And 17 hours to do the work? That’s more than 2 full work days!

I’d run from these yahoos as fast as you can. And I’d be very tempted to send them a nasty letter/email and report them to Yamaha. Not sure what they’ll do but I can’t imagine them being happy with a dealer that pulls stunts like this.

 

[Proudpapa]

Yea…Those 2 issues alone (labor and mark up) made me rather LIVID. The communication bit pisses me off to no end, I just don’t get it. Anyway, I’m definitely gonna have a word with Yamaha and that service dept. But first, I need to better understand the problem and get my second opinion. FSH 210 Sport ran me thru steps to maybe resolve the issue so I’m going to try it and see.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Unfortunately these kinds of people exist in too great of numbers. As much as you’d like to “set things right” my advice is now that you know what’s what so to speak, just move forward and get your boat sorted out so you are ready to go for the rest of the season. Karma will take care of the rest. If this dealership is allowing a mechanic to dictate what work he is or is not going to do for a customer then find a dealer who will get the sand cleaned out of your motor, this is something dealers contend with on a regular basis in all types of power plants. Heck, the dealer I took my boat to in Bismarck was telling me about folks bringing their pontoon boats in with Yamaha outboard engines packed with sand. In the end it may take removing the heads and such to get it all out, it doesn’t matter at this point you just need to get the sand out so you go and enjoy your boat. Hopefully though, you’ll be able to get it flushed out at home.

 

[Proudpapa]

Agreed. My focus is definitely on getting back out on the water and learning more about the mechanics of our boat.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Agreed. My focus is definitely on getting back out on the water and learning more about the mechanics of our boat.

I know it’s hard to do, it’s in our nature to make things right, but those people are not worth your time. I‘ve jousted with plenty of windmills in the past, now when I look back at that I think to myself what a monumental waste of my time that was and I didn’t really effect any change. What I do now is to tell my story if the opportunity comes up to educate people. Recently I took my truck into the dealer to get some service done and there was a lot of stuff that wasn’t right (that’s putting it mildly imho) done correctly. The owner of the dealership sends out customer satisfaction email queries after any work you have them do through some online service, in the past the reviews I sent back were all stellar, this time however I wrote back to her privately to keep my negative review off line and methodically cataloged each thing that I was not happy with and at the end explained I was not looking for any reciprocity in any way shape or form I just wanted her to know the facts. She wrote me back with an apology for my bad experience, hoped that I would return for service in the future and said they obviously had a lot of work to do, and thanked me for taking the time to let her know what had happened. This is a small community and there is one Ford dealer here, their reputation is important to them even though they know they are the only dealer, it is in my opinion the best car dealership I have ever been to, so I do believe they want to know if their service is bad. This dealer you dealt with obviously doesn’t care, so don’t waste your time on them.