Yamaha four stroke harmonic balancer problem

Mallory09

I recently purchased a Key West 27' CC with twin Yamaha 150 four strokes. I found out after the purchase that Yamaha has had problems with a harmonic balancer in these motors 2006 - 2009 I believe. The symptoms are a whining sound in the front of the motor that is very evident with the calin off. My port side motor is making this noise. I spoke with my local boat dealer that deals with yamahas and he told me that Yamaha has supplied the parts in the past and the customer just has to cover the labor. Has anyone dealt with this?

Thanks

Pat L

Yes this is common and it needs to be changed before it takes out your powerhead. Labor is usually 1-1.5 hours.

Mallory09

Have you heard of Yamaha supplying the parts or has the boat owner been responsible for all the cost. I have heard of Yamaha supplying the parts and the owner only being responsible for the labor.

Pat L

They have had different policies over the years depending on the age of the motor, the dealer will have to contact them for authorization

Shoeless

I had issues a while back on my fist boat with a hot hard starting problem. Yamaha took the stance that it was an issue from years ago and they would not provide any more parts or labor for that issue. They claimed if it had the problem then, they would have helped and I am SOL. I begged and pleaded, told them I am the new owner immediately seeing the problem, even my maintenance guy made a run at them. And no help. I wrote letters, no response of course, and you won't find a customer service number on their website (unless it has changed in the last two years). I was rather disappointed in the responses and was very turned off by Yamaha by it.

Pat L

http://yamahaoutboards.com/owner-resources/FAQ/general Its there, scroll down. they will probably not give you an answer until you go to the dealer. They want them to call into the tech line/RTA and they issue the authorization.

sneaky snooker

Pat L wrote: »

http://yamahaoutboards.com/owner-resources/FAQ/general Its there, scroll down. they will probably not give you an answer until you go to the dealer. They want them to call into the tech line/RTA and they issue the authorization.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Let them run the serial number and see if yours have been replaced. There can be other whines that are not the balancer. It is not a big $ item if you have to do them. Just find an honest Yamaha mechanic.