242 Limited S with 27 hours, broken & vacation ruined....

[JEvanoff]

Well, it happened to our new boat, starboard engine had a timing chain break at 27 hours on the boat, right in Topock canyon at Lake Havasu. I managed to limp it back on 1 engine but ruined our vacation as we were out there from Colorado. We had to leave the boat there to get it repaired and came home boat less, 1000 miles. I hope Yamaha & the dealer (Lake Havasu Powersports) steps up to the table on this one, it's still under warranty, but it makes me wonder is there an issue with these motors?
To make things worse, when we arrived in Lake Havasu, the cover had scratched the boat under the rub rail all the way around the boat!
I am hoping to get some thoughts from everyone on the on the Yamaha YES warranty. It sounds like they will still let me purchase this since it was under warranty at the time of failure. I'm not a big fan of extended warranties but I'm scared to death I will have issues in the future. Has anyone else had a timing chain break on the 1.8L engines?
We have been a Yamaha fan for over 30 years with 6 superjets, 5 wave runners & 3 boats but for the first time ever I'm kinda bummed on Yamaha and ask myself why did I sell my good ole 2004 AR230??.....

 

[Julian]

Does seem to be an issue with 14/15 model year engines.....

https://jetboaters.net/threads/timing-chain-issues.6947/

Not the same engine...but similar issue:
https://jetboaters.net/threads/2014-2015-yamaha-svho-motor-issue-severe.7619/

Please keep us posted as to how Yamaha handles the problem!

I hope this is fixed in the 2016 model year....I'm in the process of selling my rock solid 2005 SX to move to a 2016 242X

 

[tdonoughue]

Wow. That sux. Sorry for you and the family on the vacation!

I got the YES (at the insistence of my better half--who pointed out that this was our first boat and I really didn't know anything about boats much--no less fixing them). Turns out I can actually fix them (thanks to this forum). Often regretted the YES, a bit.

But timing chains--that is some serious stuff. I have done them on cars (preventatively), but not on boats. I am sure I could, but I do know that if those go on you, that is a whole different and more serious deal. Hopefully the fix everything (you may be looking at a new engine-type repair). If they do less than that, you may have lingering problems due to the stress that puts on an engine.

Were I you, I would do the YES.

 

[BlacklimitedS]

Honestly we should not be discussing timing chain issues. A modern car engine can go easily 200,000 without braking a timing chain. I can see guides wearing out or if it had timing belts they can break. A timing chain should last the life of our engines. With as many 1.8 engines are out there if this were an issue we would be hearing more complaints. Sorry @JEvanoff about your vacation. Hopefully Yamaha and the dealership make it right!

 

[octavio3311]

Wow. That SUCKS!
Please keep us posted.

 

[robert843]

I have heard of this being an issue with supercharged versions of this engine in skis but not heard anything really on the n/a version doing that stinks sorry man.

 

[tdonoughue]

With as many 1.8 engines are out there if this were an issue we would be hearing more complaints.

I agree... providing that they did not make any changes in the last year or two. @Julian mentioned this has been an issue with the 14's and 15's. But you are absolutely right that it should not be an issue. Especially with a chain. It is not like they put the cheap belts in 'em!

 

[veedubtek]

I have heard of this being an issue with supercharged versions of this engine in skis but not heard anything really on the n/a version doing that stinks sorry man.

This. First I've heard on an N/A engine. Following closely...

 

[swatski]

I have heard of this being an issue with supercharged versions of this engine in skis but not heard anything really on the n/a version doing that stinks sorry man.

Exactly what @robert843 said. The 2014 supercharged were notorious for that, but that was also a function of what the pumps have to put up with in a ski bouncing of the waves and reving up before reconnecting with water. 2015 1.8l N/A - that's weird. Keep us posted. Sorry that happened to you!

 

[njmr2fan]

My biggest fear. Sorry to hear it happened to you.

Actually if you start really reading into it around the interwebs its as far back as 2012's and as recent as 2015's. There is no rhyme or reason to it, i.e bad set of chains that weren't tempered right or something... Its across the board in years

 

[Ronnie]

Ouch. I think @ScarabMike raised a concern about this on his new WaveRunner FZR (?) with supercharged 1.8L engine as there is a lot more discussion about it on PWC sites like Greenhulk.

I'm not a big fan of extended warranties either, my wife is, but the oil coolers on my used boat cracked and warped after the standard Yamaha warranty expired and my third party warranty which I paid just $40 to transfer from the boat's previous owner picked up almost all of the cost, $2,500ish. So depending on what YES costs it could pay for itself on the first claim.

Sorry to hear that you are the "lucky" one in this situation and hope you were able to make the best of your remaining vacation. It sounds like you may have to make a trip back to pick the boat up once it is repaired, maybe you can make a long weekend/mini vacation of the trip. I don't think I would have been able to leave my boat there and would have towed it back home instead.

 

[JEvanoff]

Thanks for all the responses, just kinda pissed. My 12 year old 2004 AR230 never made 1 trip to the dealer for repairs.
I will be speaking with the dealership tomorrow. I'll see what they can do on a YES. Sounds like $1500 would be a good deal?

 

[veedubtek]

A 1 year old, 58K boat, broke down 1000 miles from home? $free.50 sounds like a good deal on that.

Why didn't you bring it home to get fixed?

 

[JEvanoff]

A 1 year old, 58K boat, broke down 1000 miles from home? $free.50 sounds like a good deal on that.

Why didn't you bring it home to get fixed?

Good question. I purchased my 2004 from Vickery Motorsports here in Denver and it was an absolute nightmare. They knew nothing about the boat, didn't have a facility to service it, (repairs done outside) and couldn't even show me how to take down and put up the bimini.
We usually try to make it to Havasu once a year for vacation and Havasu Motorsports has so far been great.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I have had 4 Yamaha 1800 engines one supercharged but the 2010 210 hp model with 650 hours on it when I sold it. No issues to speak of I had a 2013 1800 with about 250 hours on it when it was hit on the interstate 2 years ago and totaled but the engine never gave me any problems and I currently own 2 1800 2014 models with about 300 hours each and no problems , I just wanted to give you my feedback on the engines they are the only ones I will buy, I beat the hell out of them. The nano hulls suck in my opinion but the engines and pumps are my favorite. Perhaps there was just a defect in the chain or some other issue that was unforeseen, I hope it all gets straightened out so you can save your boating season , sorry to hear about your troubles it really does sound like a real bad situation to have ruin your vacation. One thing I wanted to add about these engines, I never run them without a warm up period when I first put them in the water for the day, and at the end of the day I do run them for about 30 seconds on the trailer to get some of the salt water out of the exhaust BUT I NEVER EVER rev them up on the trailer I just let the engine idle and I cringe when I hear people rapping their 4 stroke engines out of the water, That practice can snap a chain or snag a valve real easily.

 

[OperationROL]

Sorry to hear your vacation got ruined. This, I believe, is a fluke. This engine has been used in these boats since 2010 and I have never heard of this. I did hear of this in the supercharged skis, but not in any boat. This is an oddity. Don't let this chance incident ruin your faith in Yamaha. Good luck and keep us posted. Also, ask them to take pictures when they break into it. Did they say it is the chain for sure or is this just the initial diagnosis?

 

[itsdgm]

That's awful @JEvanoff Sorry to hear that. These boats are so reliable that we sometimes think that they'll never have issues. But every now and then somebody has something go wrong. It just plain sucks when it you!!! I had an engine issue earlier this year and it wasn't fun either.

Hopefully they'll make a quick repair and you're family can get back out there to finish the vacation. Who knows, maybe we could make it a west coast outing to help you celebrate.

 

[OperationROL]

Also, see if Yamaha will pay for the boat to get towed to you. My father-in-law just bought a new 5th wheel. There were some things that needed repair. The dealer sent someone to pick it up and return it 250 miles away.

 

[ScarabMike]

@JEvanoff Sorry for what has happened to your boat. Yamaha will not fix that chain as the 2016 engines have a completely different cam set, and thicker chain. They will be replacing the whole engine. That will kind of suck because you will have two different engines on your boat. The new chain can be retrofitted on to the old engine, but from what I have seen, they just go the easy route,.
I sold my FZR because I wasn't able to ride my ski and not worry about it. These things are supposed to be fun, and I wasn't having any while the chain issue was in my head.

Good luck to you, and like some have posted here, try and read over on Greenhulk. You will find a wealth of info on this issue.

 

[MattFX4]

well...this is concerning. Did a search and found numerous threads on forums regarding the supercharged version. I hope yours is just a fluke, and it's not a widespread problem for the NA engines also.