Anyone driving a 25hp Yamaha 2 stroke, late 90's I'm told...

Ed L.

Ed L.

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I acquired a Yamaha 25hp tiller motor and as much as I thought I had asked all the right questions the tilt lock mechanism never entered my mind. I found a manual on line which states put lock lever into lock position to kept the motor from coming up while in reverse and push to unlock. Seems simple enough other than the fact is it doesn't lock. Can someone shed so light on what I may look for?

Thanks,
 
I have a 20 HP Yamaha - same vintage as yours. I remember the motor lock to be a bit tempremental.

You may have to put it in gear and take it out of gear a few times to get the lock to engage.

That is what I remember anyways.
 
I have a 20 HP Yamaha - same vintage as yours. I remember the motor lock to be a bit tempremental.

You may have to put it in gear and take it out of gear a few times to get the lock to engage.

That is what I remember anyways.
Click to expand...
Hmmm.....does the lock engage when you put the motor in reverse? Sorry to sound so stupid. I'm an OMC guy. This is my first Yamaha. Locking the motor before going into reverse on my Johnson is a manual operation.
 
Thanks for the exploded view. I looked at this online last night but until you understand the operation it doesn't help much. I'll look for the adjustment nut and see what I can do.
 
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Thanks for the info. I just watched a vid on youtube on how to change the impeller and now see the nut and shaft you mentioned. Do you put the motor in reverse while transporting so the motor doesn't have the opportunity to bounce? I'll most likely get a transom saver so I don't have to worry about it.
 
Ed, there should be a short metal tab on the same hinge point that the motor rotates up and down on that can be rotated forward to keep the motor tilted fully "up". It is on the opposite side of the powerhead from the tiller handle. It puts the entire weight of the motor on this small metal ear, ain't much, but it works! Mine is still working...twenty years later-ugly engine cowling but a great motor!
 
Jeff,


After another look at my motor, my bracket looks like this one.


http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Yamaha/Outboard/1997/C25ELRV/BRACKET%201/parts.html


But now I have to wonder what I have. My model number plate calls out 25GEM which shows up nowhere yet everything looks like a 1997. The lad I got it from swears it's a 1997. I have no reason to doubt him. It looks like this only with a terrible camo paint job....LOL Anyway I guess I'm not going to get hung up over it. Until ice out I can't play anyway. I'll take this time to replace the water pump if needed and lower unit fluid so I'm ready to go. BTW a manual I found on line calls for 100:1 oil mix. I thought all 2strokes were 50:1. How do you mix yours or is yours oil injected. Again thanks for the info.


View attachment images38B691GI.jpg
 
Thanks for the info. Mine has a pin about 3/8" in dia. that you push in after lifting the motor to keep it in the up position.
 
Ed, Yamaha was the last to be able to sell 2 strokes in the US.... in 2005, the EPA limits eliminated all but Yamaha, who changed to 100:1 mix. This was sufficient to satisfy the EPA until tighter restrictions kicked in in 2010. I bought a 2009 Yamaha, thanks to Mike Braden's research efforts! My manual calls for 100:1, but I still mix 50:1, and have had no fouled plugs yet. I have not researched what if any changes Yamaha may have done between 2005 and 2009 to get to 100:1, so until I know there was a real change that suggests that 100:1 is appropriate, I will play it safe. Perhaps some jetting was done, but IDK....
 
I have a 25 2stroke... 10 years newer. I ONLY mix mine 100:1 never had an issue... Every dealer I have talked to also confirm this mix.
 
Ed, your "pin" is my "tab"-same beast.

Like, Phil,I have run mine at the recommended 100:1 ratio since it was new. I admit I do err on the side of "rich" when mixing in the Fall, but not by much. Other than the boxy engine cowling, they are very nice motors. One new impeller and an annual plug change and lower unit oil drop and replacement since 1994. I scraped a dredged spoils island in shallow water drive and scored the edge of a prop blade, but I was barely moving above idle, trying to get out from duck camp to the main shipping channel.
 
Ed, Do what you like but there is no way this side of H--- that I would run a motor on 100:1. Obviously some of the guys here are doing it but IMHO not me. OMC flirted with that one and backed away FAST. I think 100:1 is just on the wrong side of safe. The only time I would ever consider it is on a motor under warranty and yours is somewhat out of that. Not to disbelieve the guys who are doing it again just In My Humble Opinion.
 
The FICHT technology motors were an engineering design failure, eventually leading to OMCs bankruptcy filing. They also required OMC's proprietary 2-cycle oil formulation, which kept the secondary carbon molecules formed during combustion suspended in the exhaust gas, not adhering to the cylinder walls. This was not broadly communicated and consuently not adhered to or practiced by FICHT users. No one "backed away" from lean fuel technology at OMC. Bombardier Racing Products purchased the company's assets, eventually entering the market with the E-tec series of outboards, which all employ lean mix 2-stroke technology.

As long as the topic has drifted into a fuel mix tangent discussion. One reminder, pre-1964 outboards require a 25:1 mix, since they were designed in an era when motor oil was used instead of the current 2-stroke gasoline specific oils.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. I talked to the guy I got it from this morning. I told me he bought the boat and motor from the original owner. He told me the original owner ran 50:1 from the time he bought it and the guy I got it from followed suite. I'm not going to upset the apple cart. My dad told me always run 50:1 in 2 strokes and even a little more in the winter. Fouled sparkplugs are cheap compared to fried pistons.
 
Rick, I am the very last person on earth to defend the Ficht motor, it was a huge POS and absolutely contributed to the failure of OMC but they also were spread too thin with too many boat companies under their corperate umbrella. The "backing away" that I am referring to was way before the Ficht mess and was not "lean fuel mix " but lean oil mix (100:1). I would say that sending out stickers to cover up the 100:1 oil mix with 50:1 would be backing away from that silliness. You sound very well versed in the Ficht technology and that was somewhat after my dealing with OMC but I do know that the quality control on those motors was less than perfect. I might add that I have NO experience with the ETEC motors but they seem to be a pretty good deal. This thread I thought was dealing with the oil mix issue and I stand by my opinion on that.
If we get into the really old motors the heavy oil mix was not so much for lubrication but to help the seals do their job. Personal experience with the old (post war) stuff is that 25:1 with 50:1 oil is a good compromise. Of course those motors never get run like I stole them:). Good conversation.
 
Tom,many things contributed to the OMC bankruptcy. I focused on the leading factor that pushed them over the cliff into bankruptcy, since you mentioned their bankruptcy. Brunswick Corp. learned nothing from observation of their business model and marched the corporation into the same vise... luckily, the Verado has been a "hit" thus far. Their design limits their entry into the re-power market in full force, not a good move in a recessionary economy, so the jury remains "out".

THe EPA emission Clean Water and Clean Air Acts mandates drove many outboard makers to move away from coarse fuel mix systems to provide engine protection-some ethically, some not so ethically. Many FICHT design engines are still running today. I agree, execution of the design was faulty, but not totally flawed. Kiekhaefer Mercury nearly "bit the dust" in the immediate years following introduction of their Optimax series, and Yamaha has a couple of "stinkers" in its HPDI line. Metered high pressure injection of a lean fuel mix, into multiple cylinders is not simple to achieve in a 2-stroke...

With all due respect, I think I will opt to remain an adherent to the principals of how, as well as the rationale of why 2-stroke engines employ an oil fuel mix: Lean fuel in a 2-stroke engine is achieved by leaning the oil component's proportion of the resultant fuel's mix. Oil added to the fuel results in a fuel mix for a 2-stroke that provides good lubrication of the cylinder walls, in the absence of an oil sump, to prevent piston seizure and scuffing. Machining and casting tolerances for outboard engine components have improved over time, as have the contents of the oil additive components in the fuel mix.

I can guarantee from personal use of this motor for a couple of decades, Ed is going to find it is very difficult to start in very cold weather on a 50:1 fuel mix. I did not trust the manufacturer's recommendation initially either. Time and the advice of a good outboard mechanic swayed me. I am in very good physical condition. Pull starting this motor is not something you want to repeat over and over and over in a dark marsh, a long way from the ramp and help. I would add some extra plugs, pre-gapped, a dedicated plug wrench, and a can of ether starter spray(last ditch use item)-all items that should be onboard anyway in a duckboat. When set-up, maintained, and run properly, it is a very reliable outboard. Get some Ring Free fuel additive for routine use as well.
 
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