2018 SHO Whine when in gear

[Captsteve63]

My mobile mechanic, certified Yamaha did check motor out a couple of weeks ago. The the dealer said to keep running it. Today mobile mechanic checked it again and removed the prop, dropped it in the water No prop and ran through then rpm’s in gear. No Noise. Put prop on and noise is back. I think based on being an engineer, the prop is loading the drive and engine causing the noise or pressure on some bearing.

[99yam40]

a few posts back you said it made the noise all of the time now.

but just now you said only in gear with the prop on
which gear?
forward or reverse, maybe both.

I also think you said taking off the prop did not change things at the beginning of the thread.
(Motor ran with prop and with out prop, and noise is still there.)
but now no prop means no noise.
this is not adding up

it will be interesting what they find out is wrong.
please report back what fixes this noise

[TownsendsFJR1300]

My mobile mechanic, certified Yamaha did check motor out a couple of weeks ago. The the dealer said to keep running it. Today mobile mechanic checked it again and removed the prop, dropped it in the water No prop and ran through then rpm’s in gear. No Noise. Put prop on and noise is back. I think based on being an engineer, the prop is loading the drive and engine causing the noise or pressure on some bearing.

Delete post, I missed important info posted..

[99yam40]

He didn't test run the rig whole right there at the water for a water test??

So NO LOAD on the LU was his test??

But ****ed around pulling the prop??? Jeez...

Un-real... Have them send a real mechanic and WATER TEST the engine/boat.

did you miss where he put the prop back on and the noise showed back up under a load?

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Yes, I did miss it, thanks (editing now).

So what does the mobile mechanic say? Is he ordering a new LU or ??

He heard the noise and confirms it's NOT normal, correct?

[Captsteve63]

The mobile mechanic has heard the noise and has not experienced this noise before. Without the prop on and in the water, the noise does not exist when in gear and going through the various RPM’s.
Prop on and in the water in gear, noise exist through all RPM’s above 1100 RPM’s.
No LU ordered because there is no traces of metal in the LU oil.
I do not believe it is a prop issue, and feel that the prop, no matter a Yamaha or Power Tech, is putting load on motor causing whatever in the drive system to whine load.
I know on an earlier question, why am I still running the boat with the noise exist. I was told to work through the break in hours and see if it goes away from the dealership.

I truly am disappointed in the fact I have a $20K new motor that sounds this bad and loud.
I am either going to get it fixed by dealership or have them replace the motor. I’m am not accepting this a prop issue as it did it with the Yamaha prop as well.

[pstephens46]

Dealers are dealers. Where are you located? You need to find a Yamaha Master tech with Yamaha contacts. I would think a video with audio needs to be sent to the proper people at Yamaha. I wouldn’t be happy either. Outboards make enough noise when running properly.

[Captsteve63]

Yamaha Customer Support is sending me to a local marina in St Pete, that will check it out. They also said if they don’t find anything wrong, it is my dime. The techs that have seen the bait, including people I know on the land can hear the boat whine. Even the guys that put the boat up in the high and dry heat it and it’s loud.

[99yam40]

I do not think you said if the noise is only in forward, reverse, or both.

just trying to think of what could load up when in gear.

I believe the bearings are loaded some already, but could be loaded more possibly with prop pushing.
gears will definitely get loaded in gear.

but is the noise in both forward and rev?

could the drive shaft flex some under load and cause the bushing on drive shaft cause a whine?

[TownsendsFJR1300]

At this point, I would think the prop shaft has been assembled with the wrong sized shims(probably too tight). There's a bunch of bearings also in there that may not be seated fully, etc.

IE: https://www.boats.net/catalog/yamaha...casing-drive-1 IE


If there's noise in the LU and it blows, that's on Yamaha. Your required to keep oil in it and not smash the engine / LU into anything solid..
There's really nothing to fall back on you in this instance..

[Captsteve63]

Thanks all. The noise is in forward and reverse. I spoke to a mechanic where I live, unfortunately he is not near where my boat is, and he claims there is a bushing that the shaft goes through when the LU is removed causing the noise. He said when they have had a whine noise, they drop the lower unit to find there is no grease on that bushing or shaft. The noise sounds more like a bearing than a shaft running too tight in a bushing. They tell me they change it or on motors out of warranty, remove it. Not sure that is a good solution, but the ones he showed me in there shop were very dry.

[pstephens46]

Thanks all. The noise is in forward and reverse. I spoke to a mechanic where I live, unfortunately he is not near where my boat is, and he claims there is a bushing that the shaft goes through when the LU is removed causing the noise. He said when they have had a whine noise, they drop the lower unit to find there is no grease on that bushing or shaft. The noise sounds more like a bearing than a shaft running too tight in a bushing. They tell me they change it or on motors out of warranty, remove it. Not sure that is a good solution, but the ones he showed me in there shop were very dry.

That would be worth checking but the whine you describe reads differently. Do you have any video/audio you could post here?

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Thanks all. The noise is in forward and reverse. I spoke to a mechanic where I live, unfortunately he is not near where my boat is, and he claims there is a bushing that the shaft goes through when the LU is removed causing the noise. He said when they have had a whine noise, they drop the lower unit to find there is no grease on that bushing or shaft. The noise sounds more like a bearing than a shaft running too tight in a bushing. They tell me they change it or on motors out of warranty, remove it. Not sure that is a good solution, but the ones he showed me in there shop were very dry.

That is a mid section bushing..

It does need to be greased with good, Yamaha waterproof grease.
**Many years ago, I used the wrong grease(marine wheel bearing grease) and within a month had a noise again.
My noise was a slight chirping (like a bird some distance away) but only at about 1,800 RPM's...

And if the LU / WP is serviced regularly (and the drive shaft greased, splines greased) it's NOT an issue.


**Being brand new, it should have been greased from the factory and easily get a year out of it before you needing to touch it..


Your issue doesn't sound like that bushing but dropping the LU and re-greasing the bushing is easy enough.

[99yam40]

the drive shaft from the power head to the lower unit turns all of the time while the motor runs.
not just when in gear,
so I am not sure this is the problem,
but loading up the drive shaft when put into gear might cause it to move just slightly more against the bushing.

Would not hurt to pull and grease it just in case.

Towns , did yours make noise only in gear?

[Captsteve63]

Tried to upload video and keep getting an error. Not sure why it will not allow me to upload.