Cost of two stroke service?

[musket]

Hi all,
I've just bought an 8hp two stroke yamaha approximately 5 yrs old.
Looks in good nick but I'd like to get it serviced.How much would you expect it to cost approximately?
Also can you recommend an engineer in Plymouth.
Cheers Jon.

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by musket

Hi all,
I've just bought an 8hp two stroke yamaha approximately 5 yrs old.
Looks in good nick but I'd like to get it serviced.How much would you expect it to cost approximately?
Also can you recommend an engineer in Plymouth.
Cheers Jon.

Run up and flush, change gear oil, check impeller, drain carb, check filter and treat fuel, change plug and anodes, grease joints - about 60 or 70 quid I would say.

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by musket

Hi all,
I've just bought an 8hp two stroke yamaha approximately 5 yrs old.
Looks in good nick but I'd like to get it serviced.How much would you expect it to cost approximately?
Also can you recommend an engineer in Plymouth.
Cheers Jon.

Tony Hole marine

[gibbo500]

Originally Posted by musket

Hi all,
I've just bought an 8hp two stroke yamaha approximately 5 yrs old.
Looks in good nick but I'd like to get it serviced.How much would you expect it to cost approximately?
Also can you recommend an engineer in Plymouth.
Cheers Jon.

Why don't you try Dan at Marinewise.

http://www.marinewise.co.uk/fuel_wise.cfm

I think they are really good.

[codprawn]

Why not do it yourself - really simple - you learn loads about your engine - and save a few quid!!!

[Sharkbyte]

Agree with Codprawn.

Besides, IMO outboard servicing is nothing short of daylight robbery.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Why not do it yourself - really simple - you learn loads about your engine - and save a few quid!!!

To some extent I agree - but if you've just bought your first 2str engine, then its not a bad idea to have a pro look over it. Once he has serviced it - then you know (assuming he did his job right) that everything looks/sounds like it should. If your new to engines you may miss something which might turn out to be expensive in the long run.

Originally Posted by sharkbyte

IMO outboard servicing is nothing short of daylight robbery.

really? to properly service a small 2 stroke is probably 1-1.5 hrs work for a reasonably competent engineer (would take me twice as long!) depending on how easy it is to split the leg etc. I would think you are looking at more like £80-90 (including parts, labour, VAT) actually but off that cost you need to deduct, impellor kit ~£20, gearbox oil, spark plug, fuel filter, grease for joints etc ~ £15. VAT £10ish. He'll have to pay to dispose of the old oil too!

Which means you could be paying as little as £30/hr for labour. Certainly no worse than you would pay for your car.

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Which means you could be paying as little as £30/hr for labour. Certainly no worse than you would pay for your car.

I could not agree more!

We charge £26/h and I do not think there is any way that we could be cheaper, our rate is purely a result of taking costs like premises, equipment and worst of all insurance and dividing the total up by the realistic number of "billable" hours in a month.

Small communities in particular should support their local marine services.

[fast fred]

?, takes about 45mins to service an 8hp at $100 an hr plus parts.

Sharkbyte Agree with Codprawn.

Besides, IMO outboard servicing is nothing short of daylight robbery.

ya everybody's a Tec.

[phillnjack]

if your not competant enough to service a 2 stroke , then you shouldnt be allowed near an engine let alone use one.

2 strokes are about the most simple working things on the planet.

ive just serviced a 30hp suzuki and a 4 hp mercury, both done completely within 30 minutes.

Now unless your unlucky enough to have every single bolt corroded, and no 10mm spanners and a drop of wd40, do it yourself.

you have to know what to do incase your out in the sea and something packs up.

look a right plank calling out the coastguard just because a plug came loose or failed derrrr


and i agree with above statement about being ripped off for 2 stroke engine servicing.
infact 99% of marine servicing price is a joke.

how can it take an hour to service such a small simple engine ?

get a manual on your engine, have agood read, then do it yourself.

manual about 25 squid and free servicing forever more


there will be people asking how to service a puch maxi next

phill

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by phillnjack

if your not competant enough to service a 2 stroke , then you shouldnt be allowed near an engine let alone use one.

2 strokes are about the most simple working things on the planet.

ive just serviced a 30hp suzuki and a 4 hp mercury, both done completely within 30 minutes.

Now unless your unlucky enough to have every single bolt corroded, and no 10mm spanners and a drop of wd40, do it yourself.

you have to know what to do incase your out in the sea and something packs up.

look a right plank calling out the coastguard just because a plug came loose or failed derrrr


and i agree with above statement about being ripped off for 2 stroke engine servicing.
infact 99% of marine servicing price is a joke.

how can it take an hour to service such a small simple engine ?

get a manual on your engine, have agood read, then do it yourself.

manual about 25 squid and free servicing forever more


there will be people asking how to service a puch maxi next

phill

An hour is usually a standard minimum labour charge.

It's a different kettle of fish servicing something bigger than 30hp too. Anyone can service a single carb twin.

[phillnjack]

80hp 4 cylinder is still under an hour.
175hp straight four inboard the same and just over an hour for a v8.

We are talking just a straight forward service not an engine rebuild.

plugs, oil,filters, timing check, prop re-grease, grease up the steering, check the wiring . none of this is rocket science is it.

Some even go to the power tune sprays (in my opinion well worth the money for a can).
and while waiting for it to work you can be doing other things or other engines.


still think that anyone who uses an engine should have basic knowledge of how it works,
and to go on a trip out to sea ,it should be a legal requirement to atleast know how to do
a simple 2 stroke outboard service.


just my opinion, but people are going backwards instead of forwards in the capability stakes.


might be ok for the rich kids, but not for the likes of me and most boaters on a budget



phill

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by phillnjack

80hp 4 cylinder is still under an hour.
175hp straight four inboard the same and just over an hour for a v8.

We are talking just a straight forward service not an engine rebuild.

plugs, oil,filters, timing check, prop re-grease, grease up the steering, check the wiring . none of this is rocket science is it.

No, but I've never done that little as a service.
Add:-
Remove lower unit, physically check impeller,+refit lower unit,remove airbox cover, check butterflies open together+all the way,drain carbs to remove any water,grease all throttle/gear linkages and spray up the powerhead and you're into way over an hour...

[Observer]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

spray up the powerhead..

What does that mean (in detail if you don't mind)?

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Observer

What does that mean (in detail if you don't mind)?

Spraying everything under the cowl with something to protect it from corrosion.

I'm currently using Quicksilver Corrosion Guard- it dries into a tacky film.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by phillnjack

still think that anyone who uses an engine should have basic knowledge of how it works,
and to go on a trip out to sea ,it should be a legal requirement to atleast know how to do
a simple 2 stroke outboard service.

given that there is no requirement to know how to drive the thing - I think we are a long way off! Also given that servicing is about routine maintainence rather than troubleshooting I don't see the benefit. E.g. the two most "complicated" (not sure thats the right word - but certainly the bits most unique to an outboard) bits of servicing (i) changing the gearbox oil and (ii) changing the impellor are not actually much use to you when bobbing up and down in the sea. Actually the essential skills for getting going at sea are probably (a) draining water out the carbs (b) starting the engine with a dead battery/starter motor (c) isolating the kill cord circuit when it fails (d) changing a spark plug. Other than the latter none of those are in your routine service list - so "passing" your hypothetical servicing test won't help.

just my opinion, but people are going backwards instead of forwards in the capability stakes.

Agreed but given the reliability of the modern o/board engine (as with cars) there is no longer a regular requirement to fiddle with it - therefore people's experience drops - I would much rather have someone experienced look at my engine and spot a problem early than someone who's only experience is maybe twice a year squirting oil on stuff. Should my gear box oil be that colour? Should there be that much play in a throttle linkage? Is the impellor worn? if you've only owned one or two engines its easy to convince yourself that those things are "normal" or the same as last year. If you service 1000 engines a year (afterall it only takes an hour ) then even a relatively junior mechanic has seen more than I can in a lifetime.

Indeed the fact that modern cars/bikes etc rarely need attention (and when they do often need a PC) then people today are much less likely to understand how engines work at all - and expect to turn the key and go. I'm not saying its a good thing - but its a fact of life. Outboards are going the same way and so people will be less inclined to DIY it.

[Jizm]

Also some people just are not interested in servicing or working on their motors anyway. Same as I am not interested in stripping down my PC if it breaks, horses for courses....

Not to mention most marine outlets are small and servicing / repair work is the bread and butter of their business.

Just my 2p worth.

[Shaz]

Don't laugh, but does anyone run courses in that sort of basic servicing ? I completely see the value of knowing how to do all that stuff, and at some point I'm going to do my best to persuade my dad or someone who knows about these things to show me how to clean carbs, change spark plugs etc., but as long as it isn't silly money I'd be quite happy to pay for a weekend with someone that properly knew what they were doing. I know there's the RYA diesel engine maintenance course but not sure how much use that will be if I'm more interested in petrol outboards.

When I was making enquiries about winter servicing at the local place I asked if it would be possible to watch and they said no, which is understandable as they wouldn't want members of the public hanging around a workshop, and of course if it is that simple they probably don't want to show you that either.

[Nos4r2]

The pitfall with servicing an outboard yourself if you don't know a lot about them is you're likely to miss potential problems that unresolved could cost you a lot of money or a breakdown.

Shaz,as you're not too far from me if you want a basic idea on doing your own winterising and don't mind holding the spanners while I work you're welcome to watch/help me do my own engine. It's a few months off yet though!

[Observer]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

The pitfall with servicing an outboard yourself if you don't know a lot about them is you're likely to miss potential problems that unresolved could cost you a lot of money or a breakdown.

But, on the other hand, learning to fettle an engine DIY may mean you pick up a problem that would otherwise not be picked up until a professional service. And things are more likely to get done in good time. For example, I will do end of season service/winterise in the next month or two. If not DIY, I would probably leave the service until next season (or perhaps not do it at all).

I serviced my Yam 90 (new in 2003) for the first time last year and it has since run better than it has since new. It now reaches max revs where it didn't previously, which has increased top speed by 5-10 kts. First time was a bit slow and I made one really silly mistake (forgot to re-connect the gear rod then couldn't work out why there was no drive to the prop) but I really enjoy learning how to do it and do it well.

However, I guess it's true that the Yam 90 is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive 2-stroke. DIY service on a large, complex motor with fuel injection and lots of electronic wizardry is no doubt an order of magnitude more complicated.