2009 SX210 Neither Engine P*ssing, No Overheat

[CarCynic]

So in addition to my general rant about things not being Ship-Shape on my 2009 SX210, I have a few specific problems.

I just purchased this boat knowing that it is a bit of a project. After fixing a starting issue with the #1 engine, both engines start and run.

When running on the hose for the first time, I didn't see any water coming out of the pisser of engine 1 (is tell-tale more "appropriate"?). Water was coming out of the exhaust, so I figured it was OK to run it for a few minutes (< 5 minutes).

I switched the hose over to the other engine, and started it up (yes, I know to start the engine first. I have a cut-off valve attached to the hose adapter so that I can start the water immediately after the engine is running, and do the opposite for shutdown without climbing in and out of the boat 20x.)

Same thing for the starboard engine -- no tell-tale. At some point, at least some water came out because there were a couple drips in an arc on the side of the boat. Good amount of water from the exhaust. No lights, no smells or other indication of overheating.

I disconnected the pisser lines from the exhausts, and flushed them with the garden hose. It's possible (but not certain) that a little brown water initially came out of each port (more likely on the #1 engine) when I did this, but it was a full flow of clean water. I re-connected both hoses.

I also read that little or no water from the pi--- tell-tales is normal for running on the hose, and since both engines behaved the same, I decided to put the boat in the water.

No tell-tale at the dock from either engine after starting -- Maybe after thermostat opening, I figured --- So I left the dock. I carefully watched for any lights, smells changes in sound... I ran a few minutes (on plane-- over 7000 rpm) to a nearby island, and shut both engines down. We stayed there probably about 15 minutes -- Sorted out the bimini top, untangled the anchor line, helped a pontoon boat push off. I pushed off, fired up both engines, and ran back again -- staying pretty close to the boat ramp. This time we ran a little longer -- a few markers in the other direction, some turns, on and off the plane, different RPMs.

Back at the ramp, there seemed to be a little spray or "spritzes" from the forward pisser (starboard engine?), but never a stream, and that seemed to stop when I looked again a minute or so later. I tried running each engine in "neutral" at about 3000 rpm at the dock -- still nothing. No stream, No lights, no smell, no change in sound, performance etc. from either engine.

Note that as part of fixing the starter problem with engine 1, I had the exhaust flex connection and elbow apart at the front of that engine. There was a little corrosion in the water passages, but certainly nothing significant.

Same during the flush out, there was nothing from either pisser, lots of water from the exhaust, no lights....

Since this "boat" has no temperature gauges (I've never seen an inboard boat without proper gauges before), I'd sure feel better if the "tel-tales" worked.

Sorry about the long and possibly overly detailed post, but any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Babin Farms]

My boat barely has any water come out until I’m over 3k rpm. At 7000 & faster rpm I’ll get water out of all 4 ports. I keep a string trimmer line in the boat to clear the lines due to occasionally getting bugs and mildew buildup. & I’ve never had water come out of the ports while on the hose.

 

[CarCynic]

@Babin Farms thank you for the quick reply. It helps me feel a little better. I figured that both engines having the exact same problem was unlikely.

But whether or not I identify as a giraffe is personal, and I understand that they've limited species affirmation surgeries anyway, so how exactly am I supposed to see the p*ssers from the helm when running at 7000 RPM -- especially in a boat that has pretty much zero directional stability?

Just wait untill the "You're out $8000" light comes on?

Is there a port or connection where I can add a sensor for a water temp or head temp gauge? I don't think the ones that fit under the sparkplug would be compatible with the coil arrangement.

Maybe a copper male/male hose fitting with a hole drilled and tapped?

I'd be willing to stick 2 of the little motorcycle temp gauges on my dash/console.

 

[Babin Farms]

I look over the side of the boat all of the time to see if there’s water coming out. It’s not as bad as your thinking. You could also have a passenger check it out on occasion for ya.

 

[CarCynic]

Update: Today I went out in the boat again. After we got up to speed, I asked my son to look at the p*ssers. He said that lots of water was coming out of one, but the other had less flow and was intermittent. A little while after this, I got the Starboard Engine temperature light and reduced throttle.

I shut the starboard engine down, and turned back. After a going intolerably slow on a single engine for a while, I re-started the Starboard engine. It seemed fine, So I got back up on a minimum plane. No more warning light, but the Starboard (forward p*sser) was less volume, and intermittent. It was also much hotter than the rear (port) one.

So the Port engine seems fine, the Starboard engine has insufficient cooling water flow. I'm going to start at the rectangular box on the side of the jet housing, and just work my way through the cooling system until I find a blockage.

 

[buckbuck]

Make sure you carefully check the Y fitting. Yamaha had an issue with those being improperly molded back then.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

It’s called a pilot water outlet and it’s to verify that you’ve got cooling water flowing through the engine while you are on the water. I don’t know about the older boats for sure but typically this pilot water comes from the oil cooler. So if you’re not getting any Flo while you’re on the water and running Then the oil coolers could be plugged up or restricted. A lot of people don’t get much flow out of the pilot water outlets while it’s on the hose as you need a lot of volume, typically I get a trickle. The more important thing is to look at the cooling water outlet that’s located Next to the jet pump up underneath. The main reason for this is that a lot of the flushing water comes out through the cooling water inlet in the jet pump itself.

You can try running a piece of Weedwhacker line down the pilot, water outlet lines, but it looks like you tried to flush them.

Was this a freshwater boat or a saltwater boat?

 

[CarCynic]

So far I have only checked the water pickup box at the side of the jet. It was clean. All holes are clear. There was a twig in the jet, but it wasn't anything that could have been restricting water pickup or thrust.

I haven't looked at much else yet, but I did take the time to understand the cooling system a little better. I know this is an old model boat now, but I took the time to make a cooling system diagram.



If anyone would rather have a printable PDF (although not really of any higher resolution), I am hosting it on my website. Click Here for PDF version.

Corrections/comments are welcome.

 

[Hot2Go]

There was a twig in the jet, but it wasn't anything that could have been restricting water pickup or thrust.

A twig can certainly cause cavitation and water restriction. I had an overheat from sucking up a wood chip into a pump on our old AR230 one time. I assume the twig came from the starboard pump? The only other issue I had with the AR230 was bugs made a jam packed nest in one of the pilot holes that came from the thermostat. So I had no flow out of that pilot hole but no overheats. Disconnected the line from the thermostat, blew it out with compressed air and it worked again!

 

[reale730]

It’s called a pilot water outlet and it’s to verify that you’ve got cooling water flowing through the engine while you are on the water. I don’t know about the older boats for sure but typically this pilot water comes from the oil cooler. So if you’re not getting any Flo while you’re on the water and running Then the oil coolers could be plugged up or restricted. A lot of people don’t get much flow out of the pilot water outlets while it’s on the hose as you need a lot of volume, typically I get a trickle. The more important thing is to look at the cooling water outlet that’s located Next to the jet pump up underneath. The main reason for this is that a lot of the flushing water comes out through the cooling water inlet in the jet pump itself.

You can try running a piece of Weedwhacker line down the pilot, water outlet lines, but it looks like you tried to flush them.

Was this a freshwater boat or a saltwater boat?

This probably doesn’t

So far I have only checked the water pickup box at the side of the jet. It was clean. All holes are clear. There was a twig in the jet, but it wasn't anything that could have been restricting water pickup or thrust.

I haven't looked at much else yet, but I did take the time to understand the cooling system a little better. I know this is an old model boat now, but I took the time to make a cooling system diagram.

View attachment 236472

If anyone would rather have a printable PDF (although not really of any higher resolution), I am hosting it on my website. Click Here for PDF version.

Corrections/comments are welcome.

I’ll most certainly be using this diagram. Thank you!
If it helps any, a guy on YouTube who does a lot of videos of maintenance and repair on his sx230 mentioned some people don’t see any water coming out of their pissers and don’t have any issues. That would frustrate me too and it is pretty mind blowing these boats don’t have temp gauges. I thought that myself when I was out this weekend. I don’t see water pissing out of mine until I’m at at least 3,000 rpm… maybe better

 

[reale730]

This probably doesn’t

I’ll most certainly be using this diagram. Thank you!
If it helps any, a guy on YouTube who does a lot of videos of maintenance and repair on his sx230 mentioned some people don’t see any water coming out of their pissers and don’t have any issues. That would frustrate me too and it is pretty mind blowing these boats don’t have temp gauges. I thought that myself when I was out this weekend. I don’t see water pissing out of mine until I’m at at least 3,000 rpm… maybe better

 

[CarCynic]

I have a diagnosis:

To recap, I had already done the following:

-- Remove cover on the port side of the jet drive -- There was no debris, and the holes were clear.
-- Disconnected both fittings to the oil cooler, and verified flow through the oil cooler with the hose. There was some restriction, but a good stream of clear water.

I then disconnected all 3 hoses from the raw water feed: Oil Cooler, Exhaust Manifold, Engine Block. With all of these disconnected, I could connect the flush hose without fear of water going into the cylinders. I connected the hose to the flush port and turned it on.

Interestingly, I only got flow from the Exhaust Manifold hose. When I put my thumb over the Exhaust Manifold hose, I got a slight flow to the Oil Cooler feed, but only drips on the engine block line.

I disconnected the Raw water line assembly from the "Y" fitting, and brought it in the shop.

Both of the "T" connectors (Parts 12 and 16 in the diagram) were badly clogged with something that looked like hair-reinforced cement. I can't really tell where the debris ends and nylon starts. The feed to the Exhaust Manifold was badly clogged too, it was just the least clogged.

Especially the 2nd "T" is a reduction fitting, but it was way more reduction than it should be -- the block was getting a trickle of cooling at best.

I am not sure what temperature the warning light is set to, but apparently you can have pretty severe cooling issues before you get the light. Having (relying on) a pilot stream that doesn't really tell you (including at idle) that you are getting adequate cooling makes no sense to me.

Hopefully the local Yamaha dealer has some of these "T" fittings. I could drill the old ones out, but I wouldn't know if the flows to each hose were correct, and they would probably clog quickly again due to being rough.

To be clear, I am not complaining about having to replace two $6 parts after 16 years. That's not the point. Lots of things can cause a temporary or long term interruption in cooling on a boat. A boat needs to have reliable indication of adequate cooling at all times. (Really holding back the urge to make that bold or all caps.)

Thanks for all of the posts, and help. I hope I helped others with both my annotations to the diagram, and my ranting. If I come up with a temp measurement solution, I will post it.

 

[Neutron]

Cars have gone from idiot lights to full gauges to idiot lights again. So a boat not having a gauge cluster is no big deal, most people dont even look at them till its too late anyway. These boats and waverunners have warning lights and protection to keep you from causing too much damage. If you have yds you can monitor the temps and see the overheat warning comes on much earlier than you think.
The pissers are a good indicator of adequate flow and should be glanced at every once in a while. Thats why they are positioned where they are.
I have seen many new boats without gauges.