Yamaha flywheel problems

good evening, i'm new to your forum and i'm looking for some seasoned Yamaha outboard owners. I ran into a problem with my 1988 yamaha 40 Hp 3 cylinder oil injected outboard yesterday. The three nuts that hold down the flywheel simply vanished. The flywheel hit the starter and broke the upper hold down bolt leaving 1/2 of the bolt inside its mount. I examined the flywheel and there are no broken teeth but besides the three bolts that hold the flywheel in place, there seems to be a series of several rivets and they have all been eaten away. Are these rivets important or will the three bolts that i have replaced suffice to hold the flywheel in place? What would be recommended to tap the remaining broken bolt out so that i can replace it with a new one?

thank's for you help,

Beaupar1

[boats.net]

The rivets should hold flywheel together, the 3 bolts should only hold the plate on top of flywheel down. If the bolts are having to hold flywheel together the flywheel probably needs to be replaced.

good evening, the local Yamaha dealer,has told me that my engine is shot. The reason why the flywheel (rotor) came apart is because the main bearing was loose and with the motors vibrations, the nuts and rivets came apart. A new engine should cost me $4500.00 instead of $3000 to rebuild the top part of this one! He has told me not to waste my time on this old engine!

Should i rebuild an 1986 yamaha 40 hP or buy a new one? What would be the best move?

regards,
Beaupar1

[boats.net]

A new powerhead and flywheel is just under $2000.00 which is probably more than the resale value of your motor. Unless you really attached to this motor it's probably not worth repairing.