? For Ya Fishin' Wrench, Or Anyone Else That May Know. Water Spraying Out Above The Top Cylinder.

[JohnP]

Had the boat out this morning and noticed a rattling sound coming from the engine when putting it into gear or taking it out of gear. Sounded like a loose linkage???? Never did locate the cause of the rattling but that was due to my attention being diverted when I took the cowling off and noticed a stream of water shooting out from above the top cylinder. Only place it was leaking, appears to be a pinhole in the gasket. Question is how much of a hassle is it to replace it and if I have to take it in to have it done at a shop how much should I expect to pay? Hoping the rattling sound isn't a part of that problem. Thanks.

2006 2 stroke Yamaha f90.

[fishinwrench]

Water was squirting from the thermostat housing on the starboard side???

The noise during shifting I'd have to hear in real life.

[JohnP]

Actually top corner of the port side.

[fishinwrench]

Can you post a pic, pointing to the spot where it was squirting out?

If it is a thermostat housing gasket then it's not a big deal and you should be able to fix it yourself. Head gasket or exhaust cover gasket replacement is a bit more involved.

[Mitch f]

Send it to Sims Marine, heard they have on heck of a mechanic!!

[JohnP]

Here ya go.

[fishinwrench]

Thanks Mitch I'm a good ways from Rckawy though.

Crap! Yup that's gonna be a head gasket failure. Swapping head gskts is not a "huge deal" in itself but you need to find out WHY it failed. They just don't start squirting for no reason.

Has the motor ever overheated? (overheat horn ever gone off? )

The head(s) and thermo's need to be pulled, cleaned, checked for cracks/warpage, ect.

It's good that you caught it early. Doesn't appear that it's been leaking very bad, or for very long.

Expect about 4hrs. labor+parts, and don't settle for someone just swapping out the gasket and pushing it out the door without determining what allowed the gasket (or cyl. Head) to move.

The "shift noise" is gonna be a seperate issue.

[JohnP]

Thanks and that's what I was affraid of.

Only alarm was back when I had water intake blockage a year or so ago. Nothing ever siezed up and shut down as soon as the alarm went off. Guess it probably could of weakened it and its just now starting to leak.

[fishinwrench]

Yeah, cylinder head sealing issues are almost always related to an overheat. Probably wouldn't hurt to pull all the plugs and check for any signs of water in the cyls. (one or more plugs noticeably cleaner than the rest). If so you need to get the head(s) removed asap and hose it down with some WD-40 or something.

[JohnP]

Just guessing, but if water was in a cylinder wouldn't it be missing? Engine ran and sounded normal other than the rattling that I'm thinking is a different problem. If you weren't 3 plus hours away I'd bring it up to you for sure.