Yamaha timing belt change, should I change it due to age rather than hours?

gordir999 · 25 December 2013, 21:37

Hi everyone

I have a Yamaha F115 on my 2007 Ribeye. I bought the boat in May 2013 with 52 hours on the engine and serviced it before putting in the water with all the usual oils, plugs, filters and impeller etc. but didn't change the timing belt. I've clocked the hours up so far this year from the 52 to a total of 97 so was planning to do a 100 hour service now. My question is, I'm nowhere near the 1000 hours for a timing belt change but it is past the five years change recommendation so should I do the belt or leave we'll alone as the hours are low? How reliable are the Yamaha belts?

My gut says change the belt and don't even think about it but you know how it is when something's going well, you don't want to tinker and cause a problem :-)

beamishken · 25 December 2013, 21:41

100% change the belt they deteriorate with age more than use

Nos4r2 · 25 December 2013, 21:56

Trust your gut.

Peter_C · 26 December 2013, 03:41

I would recommend inspecting it, but for vehicles the interval is 7 years, and even then we rarely see them break or deteriorate in that time frame.

No need to over service an engine either...although it typically won't hurt anything.

ShinyShoe · 26 December 2013, 07:20

Peter

Is that for ALL American belts in ALL American Vehicles? My UK VW Diesel engine has an 80,000 mile & 48month interval.

"Rarely see them break" trouble is when they do at the very least its an expensive re-set up of all the engine timing or if your cylinder is too short its very very messy and you are gonna damage pistons and valves. On a car thats bad but 99% of the time will result in a lot of expense and parking up on the hard shoulder for a while.

On a RIB if it happens while out that at the very least means a tow back in, and if it happens at the wrong time while out the hard shoulder may well be the LAST place you'd want to end up!!

whackywoody · 26 December 2013, 10:54

Morning, are you sure the service interval is 5 years? As when I was looking at the Yammie 150 - 250Hp 4 stroke engines the manual stated 1000 hours or 10 years whichever one came first.

I also priced up the timing belt which was £170 + Vat and the tensioner (hope you are sitting down) was a shocking .......................... £562 + Vat from Yamaha UK

If you do decide to go ahead with the timing belt change get the bits from USA / Canada as its sooooo much cheaper and I think there is a contact on this forum somewhere. If you can't find the link let me know and I will dig it out

ShinyShoe · 26 December 2013, 11:53

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard...nce_Charts.pdf
Reads to me like 1000hrs only, Rest is inspection.

Bushrider · 26 December 2013, 12:02

The timing belt of my F100 has to be inspected every 200h / each year and should be replaced after 5 years / 1000 hours .
I would not risk anything and would change it . Even if it does not cut it can jump over and can cause either damage or breakdown .

From my workshop manual :
(*1)
Be sure to replace the timing belt after every 1,000 hours (5 years) of operation.

gordir999 · 26 December 2013, 12:27

My owners manual says maintenance intervals are based on 200 hours use per year( I wish! :-) ) with timing belt change interval being 1000 hrs or 5 years, whichever comes first. As I didn't buy the rig new, I'm erring towards changing it and doing the service at the same time so I can get on a known pattern moving forward.

Nos4r2 · 26 December 2013, 12:55

If you're not happy with it, you won't trust it unless it's done.

boilermaker1 · 26 December 2013, 15:35

I have a 2007 Yamaha F60, low hours 130 but I changed the timing belt this summer due to it being 5 years old. The old belt looked to be in great condition. its not a big job to change the belt on the F60's so worth the peace of mind

bosun · 08 January 2014, 18:58

If in doubt change it.
And you are in doubt because you are asking !
If it was mine I would change it, because now you have thought of it you'll be extra gutted if you don't change it and it goes !
If the tensioner isn't hydraulic or has a plastic pulley then you might be ok to reuse that if its running quietly.
And how come outboard spares are so much cheaper in the US ?

gordir999 · 08 January 2014, 19:54

yes, I have decided it's just not worth the risk of leaving it and once done won't need doing again until after i've traded the boat for something bigger

I know what you mean about American prices, the belt seems to go for around $62 plus shipping and i've just paid £68 inc vat here in the UK so it's the old 1 dollar = 1 pound again that everybody seems to charge. Didn't think that was too bad a price actually so just need the rain to stop now so i can get on with it.

captnjack · 17 January 2014, 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by boilermaker1

I have a 2007 Yamaha F60, low hours 130 but I changed the timing belt this summer due to it being 5 years old. The old belt looked to be in great condition. its not a big job to change the belt on the F60's so worth the peace of mind

I have an 2007 F60 too. I thought this would be an easy job but requires removing the flywheel seems to require a special tool to hold it in place? The part costs about $80 and my local shop estimates 2 hours of labor so I think I'm just going to bring it in. Seems like less work than tracking down the flywheel gripper and spending most of a Saturday working on this every 5+ years.

If I'm wrong about ways to hold the flywheel in place to get it removed please let me know. I wouldn't mind doing this myself if its easier than I'm imagining.

Peter_C · 18 January 2014, 05:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by captnjack

If I'm wrong about ways to hold the flywheel in place to get it removed please let me know. I wouldn't mind doing this myself if its easier than I'm imagining.

Do you mean to hold it so it doesn't turn, or to rig a puller for it? Got a clear photo(s)?

A flywheel holder is a pretty simple tool. I have a Snap-on unit, but there are plenty of other options.