Internal Zincs on F200

[TimS]

Anyone ever inspect or change their internal anodes on an F200/225/250? I am wondering whether to do it myself, but don't want to get into it if I am likely to have problems. From the diagrams in the tech manual, it looks like there is some type of gasket or seal - is it reusable? Thanks for any info.

Tim

[jonp]

Hi Tim,

Generally speaking the internal anode is under the Cylinder heads. There may be another under the exhaust cover.. Not really sure. This job is not for the faint hearted. You will need new gaskets, a tourk wrench, and hope the bolts are not fused in. I would strongly recommend a shop manual. How old is your outboard, and was it used mostly in salt water? Others on the forum will have good ideas.

good luck

jon

[jonp]

one more thing, Head Gaskets are NOT resuable...

Jon

[slim]

even if these motors are used in only salt water. it should be to early to change them. usually the internal zincs are good for about 4 or 5 years depending on if you flush after every outing or not.

[TimS]

Jon, hopefully it won't be that bad - it does look accessible without pulling the head (anode is #15 on this diagram): http://www.boats.net/yamaha/partsyst...mponent=397095

Slim, from your comment it may be best left alone for another year anyway - manual says check it at 200 hours, if memory serves.

Tim

[slim]

are these motors used in salt water? if yes i would check them after maybe 300 to 400. they really dont corrode that fast and all the motors i have worked on is used in the gulf. if it a fresh water motor, i would say every 6-700 hours. to be honest, i think i have changed maybe 10 in 13 years.

[TimS]

Yeah, it's salt water (Maine) and there's no way to flush it after use (no water at the dock) but it still seems like it is probably OK for now. Thanks for your advice!

T.

[slim]

well its a different story if you cant even flush it out after use. i would change them out as often as the book says then. you and the other boat owners there need to petition for fresh water to flush with.

[TimS]

Slim, your post made me smile. This is a real boat, not some slip princess. It spends its life on a mooring in the cove my in-laws live on, and when you want to use it you hop in the skiff and row out. There's no fresh water for quite a ways.

In any event, I'll check the zincs next spring before launch. Thanks again for your responses!

Tim

[slim]

sorry i misunderstood but when you said "no water at the dock", it sounded to me as if it was in a marina. i see the delima now.

[TimS]

Hi Slim, Jon. Just to add a little more info, I checked out the zincs while I was winterizing the motor yesterday. They appear to be very easy to change out on the F200 series. On this motor the two zincs per cylinder bank just sit between the spark plugs, easily accessible from the outside without removing anything more than the plastic coil cover. I did not take the zincs out since I did not have replacement grommets - from the service manual they appear to be reusable, but I still want to have grommets and spare zincs on hand before I tear into it. I will probably take the zincs out to look at next spring. The external anode looks in fine shape - once I got done scraping the darn zebra mussels off it.

Tim