Vibration from a NEW 250 four stroker

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J

Just Be Claus

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Sep 13, 2008
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Location
Seminole Florida
After 5 different props I am still having a vibration problem. The dealer here in Pinellas Park has gone out of business about the time I bought this boat a 2320 ph with 250 yamaha 4 stroker.

I took it to a well known yamaha dealer for some help, ended up with a still different prop 15 3/8 19p yamaha . With this prop the vibration is not as bad but still there. Real bad around 4300 rpm with a 19 pitch. When I had a 151/2- 17 pitch very bad at 4000 rpm so bad I could not read the gps or fish finder they were vibrating. It would not madder if the trim tabs were up or down. From 5000 rmp to 5900 rpm smooth and engine trimed and tabs up.

Now the engine is in its last hole (engine all the way down) ...
I am thinking that it might help if I bring the engine up one hole.

I know there is a lot of good knowledge out their any input will be a great help.
 
hmmmm....not sure. got the same boat as you. i will be lunching from War Veterans/Bay Pines tomorrow AM for a quick test run......just changed out the WP.

you can compare my vibes to yours.

i'll be down there about 9ish.
 
I was thinking that also untill Central Marine check that out . But I am going over that with them again. This vibration was from the very start.
 
I'm with Dave on this one.
With all the different props that have been tried, I'd be looking somewhere else... and the propshaft would be my first stop.

You might also want to ask the mechanic if the F250 has a harmonic balancer.
Whatever the cause, I think you can safely rule out the prop itself and look elsewhere.
 
Agreed...Not The Prop.

More than likely the prop shaft and since the dealer is out of business you will be on your own paying for it. Shaft could have been bent while motor on pallet with fork lift. You may be able to eye ball it, spin the prop in neutral while looking at the shaft and focus on the outer ring. Spin it slow and see if it looks bent or wobbles. Chances are real good there will be no warranty coverage but may be able to get insurance to cover it if you hit something in the water. I would try real hard to remember where and when this happened. :wink:
 
Take it to another Yamaha dealer. Since the motor is new and if there is no other damage to the lower unit (to show that you struck something while operating the boat), it obviously is a manufacturer defect if it is the shaft. It should be covered under warranty by Yamaha regardless of what Yamaha certified dealer services it.
 
Yes, I didn't get half-way through your 1st post and I thought "propshaft" too. Remove prop, put 'dot' on center of shaft if no countersink exists there, and spin it, looking at the center. Visually the center dot should be moving out of its own center.
 
Thank You everyone and I mean this Thank You

Went out with GrouperJim on his boat to compare boats or vibration ...what a difference in his. So we put his prop on mine and took it out for a ride. No vibration.

What Jim really was concerned about was the fact that the steering was so stiff. Yes it was low on fluid. Need to blead the air out. Stuck a wire tie in the reservoir to see how low it really was and fluid came out red??? I though that SeaStar fluid was clear or a little brown to it not red. I have a call to Parker to find out what was used (If it was ATF) Sea Star said that the seals should not be damaged. (I hope)
Going to have this prop high speed balance and putting a dial indicator on the prop shaft, then go from there.

And again Thank You
 
Ok parker uses red ATF fluid

BUT in the Sea Star owners manual under the trouble shooting guide.
Steering is stiff and hard to turn one of there reasons states
Item#3
Wrong oil has been used to fill steering system, like A.T.F. (automatic transmission fluid, or any other oil with high viscosity factor)
 
Parker said they use ATF? hmmmmm.

i know there are some Sea Star acceptable "hydraulic" fluids that are also red. aviation type i believe. that said, i have spoke to a few Yamaha certified dealers that admit to using ATF and swear by it. rumor has it that the expensive Sea Star brand is less corrosion resistant than ATF........who knows. (?)
 
Do a search and there has been plenty of discussion on this and my Sea Star issues went away when I switched to 100% Sea Star fluid. The dealer that sold me the boat used ATF when they installed the rear station. I ended up with a mixture because Parker used the Sea Star. Had lots of issues until I switched. I highly suggest it.

Congrats on finding your problem....I still can’t believe you had three bad props...are you sure the first three where installed properly? Did you use the rear prop centering washer on the first three? Seems a little strange.
 
Once the run-out is verified by the dial indicator, we'll know for sure.

I agree, 3 out-of-balance props is very odd, but manufacturing tolerances might not be what they once were.
 
SeaStar hydraulic fluid.

This came from Parker today. They are useing aircraft hydraulic fluid (right on GrouperJim) It is made by Equilon 5606G ( product code is 01554)out of Huston Texas. I am waiting for a call back to see if SeaStar fluid and the aircraft Hydraulic are compatible. Gut feeling I think I should blead the aircraft hydraulic out anyway and keep it all one type of fluid.
 
Just Be Claus":1rwrq24e said:
SeaStar hydraulic fluid.

........... Gut feeling I think I should blead the aircraft hydraulic out anyway and keep it all one type of fluid.
Click to expand...

yeah, that is what i eventually did after having a dirty check valve issue. since there was a slight learning curve on bleeding it yourself.........those quarts of Sea Star fluid really start to add ($$) up. true, you can filter and reuse it, but i didn't......didn't want to deal with the mess.....plus the Admiral was getting tired of turning the wheel.

i think if i had to do it all over again with the helm unit under warranty, i would pay a shop to power bleed it with the Sea Star fluid or the aviation type, then if it is still not back to normal, call Sea Star for some replacement parts.

re: the prop

the only odd thing i noticed is that the new prop i removed (before trying mine) was only finger tight on the prop nut. Yammie props are pressed onto a rubber doughnut hub which is common to be slightly off center until you torque to the required spec and run it for while. then it will center itself. that's one reason i like the Merc props (the hubs) .........plus mine is labbed and matched to the boat so he got to experience a known balanced and properly seated prop. checking the PS is still a good idea though. there can never be too much checking or tweaking. :mrgreen:
 
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