Help 2024 Yamaha 255XE engine/thrust broken???

[Mr.Magoo34]

Ok, I am a new owner of a 2024 Yamaha 255XE, and I have put about 7 hours on the boat. Two things have happened. First, after tubing for a few hours with my family and everything running fine, I found the port side engine covered in oil while docking into my wet slip. The certified dealer who sold me the boat cleaned it up and could not find any oil leaks, and it ran fine with them. I took the boat back and ran it for 15 minutes back to the slip. As I was docking in reverse, the thrust was off a bit, and the boat moved poorly, but I was able to get it home. The engine seemed fine at very low RPM.

A few days later as we made our way out of the harbour and got to speed, the port side engine made a terrible noise past 2000 RPM and provided little thrust. At 4000-5000 RPM, the entire boat shakes, and it sounds like the whole engine is going to shake off. The starboard side engine is fine.

Clearly, something is broken in the port side engine. Nothing in the clean-out port, both are clear.

The dealer is working on it now, but they do not seem to know what is happening. They claim they want to replace the control box at the helm but I do not understand why that would be an issue. But I am not a mechanic.

I feel like I bought a lemon.

Any thoughts to help, or has anyone else had this issue?

 

[gthorson]

Look into your states lemon laws now and how/if they apply to boats. Let them know your expectations now. It doesn't need to be adversarial but giving them multiple chances then getting into it retroactively will be more frustrating.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Way too early to be talking lemon law ….

Your low thrust and vibration situation sounds like something stuck on the impeller blade, did you have a look up inside the pump to see if anything was in there? These types of problems cannot be seen from the clean out port. It sounds as if your boat is wet slipped? If the dealer wants to replace a control box it could be that the port reverse bucket was affected and was not opening / closing correctly… could be some debris in the gate pivot points.. You didn’t get any codes on the dash I’m assuming?

In regards to engine oil all over the port engine.. had you been checking the engine oil level before each outing? Was there oil under the engine in the liner? It really helps if you provide us with pictures so that we can see what you saw.

 

[Mr.Magoo34]

Well, they said it was an issue with the control box. They swapped it out and now the boat runs fine. I am not an expert, but it seemed to work. But now the port side motor is leaking oil again, the cover is covered on the top and the bilge has a bunch of oil in it. Here are picks.

Considering this boat was bought new, is this normal for Yamaha? I know boats have more issues than cars, but i was hoping a brand built boat would not have all these issues.

 

[Neutron]

Well, they said it was an issue with the control box. They swapped it out and now the boat runs fine. I am not an expert, but it seemed to work. But now the port side motor is leaking oil again, the cover is covered on the top and the bilge has a bunch of oil in it. Here are picks.

Considering this boat was bought new, is this normal for Yamaha? I know boats have more issues than cars, but i was hoping a brand built boat would not have all these issues.

Is the dipstick seated and sealing properly. Thats a lot of oil and no none of what you are experiencing in normal

 

[VitaminSea]

Man, sorry to hear of your challenges. Glad that you got the control box figured out.

If the dipstick is seated properly, verify its not a faulty oil filter. I have heard of cases where they can develop a pinhole leak which under pressure can lead to a significant mess.

Concerning that the dealer didn’t address it during your service visit!

 

[ahenderson432]

Well, they said it was an issue with the control box. They swapped it out and now the boat runs fine. I am not an expert, but it seemed to work. But now the port side motor is leaking oil again, the cover is covered on the top and the bilge has a bunch of oil in it. Here are picks.

Considering this boat was bought new, is this normal for Yamaha? I know boats have more issues than cars, but i was hoping a brand built boat would not have all these issues.

Crazy thought here but looking at your photos something caught my eye. Look at the Starboard Engine Oil Filter. Seems to have an odd spot around the ring. Looking at the oil spatter I wonder if it is spraying out of that filter towards the Port Motor coating it. Check the Starboard and Port Oil Level? Which one is lower than normal? Hope this helps.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well, they said it was an issue with the control box. They swapped it out and now the boat runs fine. I am not an expert, but it seemed to work. But now the port side motor is leaking oil again, the cover is covered on the top and the bilge has a bunch of oil in it. Here are picks.

Considering this boat was bought new, is this normal for Yamaha? I know boats have more issues than cars, but i was hoping a brand built boat would not have all these issues.

Search results for query: oil filters leaking
Also in the future if your boat looses thrust on one side be sure to check your reverse bucket in forward as it may be down in the way of the water exiting the nozzle this will cause the issues you had and is probably why it was happening and why the control box was replaced also be sure your reverse buckets are perfectly even in neutral and completely above the top of the opening of the nozzles when in forward.
These buckets split the thrust for neutral and if not adjusted properly they can cause the boat to spin in neutral or creep forward or backward in neutral since there is no real neutral just these buckets splitting the forward thrust .

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Crazy thought here but looking at your photos something caught my eye. Look at the Starboard Engine Oil Filter. Seems to have an odd spot around the ring. Looking at the oil spatter I wonder if it is spraying out of that filter towards the Port Motor coating it. Check the Starboard and Port Oil Level? Which one is lower than normal? Hope this helps.

Great point there!!!!!

Which engine is losing oil?

 

[JeffCox]

Crazy thought here but looking at your photos something caught my eye. Look at the Starboard Engine Oil Filter. Seems to have an odd spot around the ring. Looking at the oil spatter I wonder if it is spraying out of that filter towards the Port Motor coating it. Check the Starboard and Port Oil Level? Which one is lower than normal? Hope this helps.

I have had that happen a couple of times, after I changed the oil myself. Both times I found a crack in the rubber seal on the filter. Doesnt become a problem at idle, or on the hose when I replaced them. I believe I installed them correctly, lubricating it with oil before tightening the filter, so Im not sure if I did it or they were defective. Sprayed oil all over the place since it doesnt become a problem until under high pressure when running the boat down the lake.