Yanmar service query
Discussion
In a few months time my 3JH5E will up to its 250 hour service. Last time I used the official agent, good but several hundred pounds, and I expect the 250 hour service will be more..
I've just seen www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/other-services/guarante... which is about 1/3 of the price, but no doubt they are not 'proper' people so I will lose the warranty. Is that true and if so should I be concerned? How long is one obliged to pay through the nose for the offical agents?
I've just seen www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk/other-services/guarante... which is about 1/3 of the price, but no doubt they are not 'proper' people so I will lose the warranty. Is that true and if so should I be concerned? How long is one obliged to pay through the nose for the offical agents?
Bring it over to me, I´ll do it for you 
I think it all boils down to the guy doing the work. Having the stickers on the van doesn´t make them good.
Isn´t your motor a Kubota underneath? How old is it? Shouldn´t have any issues with that little gem
What´s to do? Oil, filters, R/W impellor, valve clearances, anodes if there are any....
ETA, just checked.
Oil and filter, fuel filter, gearbox oil, and replace coolant. Drain fuel filter sediment bowl, check/replace RW impellor. (Which I would do every season regardless of condition). Piece of cake, do it yerself
I think it all boils down to the guy doing the work. Having the stickers on the van doesn´t make them good.
Isn´t your motor a Kubota underneath? How old is it? Shouldn´t have any issues with that little gem
What´s to do? Oil, filters, R/W impellor, valve clearances, anodes if there are any....
ETA, just checked.
Oil and filter, fuel filter, gearbox oil, and replace coolant. Drain fuel filter sediment bowl, check/replace RW impellor. (Which I would do every season regardless of condition). Piece of cake, do it yerself
Edited by mickrick on Monday 17th March 19:49
Two years old.
Sadly way beyond anything I'm competent to do. I can unscrew the raw water filter and look at the coolant level but woe betide me if anything doesn't work. To me it's steering wheel > complicated lump of metal that nakes a noise > propeller.
It is of course bread and butter for a mechanic, but IF anything should go horribly wrong with the engine one day then Yanmar will say 'Ah yes but you used Mr Smith for the service and he's not on our list so you will need to buy a new engine for £6,000...' That's the issue.
With cars I always buy privately s/h so there's no warranty to lose. Here there are golden handcuffs...
Sadly way beyond anything I'm competent to do. I can unscrew the raw water filter and look at the coolant level but woe betide me if anything doesn't work. To me it's steering wheel > complicated lump of metal that nakes a noise > propeller.
It is of course bread and butter for a mechanic, but IF anything should go horribly wrong with the engine one day then Yanmar will say 'Ah yes but you used Mr Smith for the service and he's not on our list so you will need to buy a new engine for £6,000...' That's the issue.
With cars I always buy privately s/h so there's no warranty to lose. Here there are golden handcuffs...
Fair enough. But if you pop it into Alcudia, I´ll do it for you no problem
I´m a big fan of scheduled oil sampling. No arguments with warranty then. How much warranty is on it then?
As an aside, my Navara pickup came out of the showroom 7 years ago, and it never went back.
The dealers did such a godamn awful job of the servicing on the one I had before, that I vowed this one would never be soiled by their grubby hands.
Always serviced it myself every 10,000km on the button with good quality oil, and 206,000km later it´s only ever cost me oil & filters, a set of tyres, a set of discs, and several sets of brake pads. Needs a set of dampers and the drop links changing now though.
Never worried about the warranty. It´s Japanese
I´m a big fan of scheduled oil sampling. No arguments with warranty then. How much warranty is on it then?
As an aside, my Navara pickup came out of the showroom 7 years ago, and it never went back.
The dealers did such a godamn awful job of the servicing on the one I had before, that I vowed this one would never be soiled by their grubby hands.
Always serviced it myself every 10,000km on the button with good quality oil, and 206,000km later it´s only ever cost me oil & filters, a set of tyres, a set of discs, and several sets of brake pads. Needs a set of dampers and the drop links changing now though.
Never worried about the warranty. It´s Japanese
mickrick said:
Fair enough. But if you pop it into Alcudia, I´ll do it for you no problem
I'd better set off now then! mickrick said:
I´m a big fan of scheduled oil sampling. No arguments with warranty then. How much warranty is on it then?
Never heard of scheduled oil sampling. Do you mean changing? I'm not sure how long the warranty lasts - the info is on the boat. Perhaps if it's only a year then it doesn't matter...
All of this stuff really is very simple, most of it is easier than it would be on a car.
I used to service my old Yanmar, and the bonus of doing it yourself is you spot the other potential problems and line them up to fix before it goes wrong.
Buying a service off the menu won't do that.
The 1GM10 I had was a good engine, but had some stupid design flaws that I ironed out. For example, a tell-tale in the water pump to show if the shaft seal was leaking, that leaked directly over a mild steel oil pipe, causing the pipe to fail as well. Stupid. I replaced the lower oil pipes with rubber instead. And the exhaust elbow was mild steel, which would corrode over time, causing the exhaust water to suck back in to the bore and bugger up the cylinder head. I found a stainless alternative.
A Yanmar engineer would just replace these with genuine parts that weren't up to the job in the first place (and are damned expensive - the two oil pipes I replaced were over £120 from Yanmar and they don't even paint them for you! I had some custom made at Pirtek for less than £25).
If anything, I'd be tempted to go out of the dealer network to somebody that will be a bit more honest with you.
That said, the basic engines are great, the chances of you needing a complete new one before the warranty runs out are almost nil.
I used to service my old Yanmar, and the bonus of doing it yourself is you spot the other potential problems and line them up to fix before it goes wrong.
Buying a service off the menu won't do that.
The 1GM10 I had was a good engine, but had some stupid design flaws that I ironed out. For example, a tell-tale in the water pump to show if the shaft seal was leaking, that leaked directly over a mild steel oil pipe, causing the pipe to fail as well. Stupid. I replaced the lower oil pipes with rubber instead. And the exhaust elbow was mild steel, which would corrode over time, causing the exhaust water to suck back in to the bore and bugger up the cylinder head. I found a stainless alternative.
A Yanmar engineer would just replace these with genuine parts that weren't up to the job in the first place (and are damned expensive - the two oil pipes I replaced were over £120 from Yanmar and they don't even paint them for you! I had some custom made at Pirtek for less than £25).
If anything, I'd be tempted to go out of the dealer network to somebody that will be a bit more honest with you.
That said, the basic engines are great, the chances of you needing a complete new one before the warranty runs out are almost nil.
Had this conversation with some one the other day who insisted he had to take his Suzuki outboard back to a suzi dealer for servicing or his warranty was void.
I know with cars these days you are not tied by the dealers you can use any compatant VAT reg garage to service.
The one thing a dealer will have is the ability to plug in a lap top so far as I can see the only thing this is good for is that the engineer can give you a piece of paper telling me what hours and what revs the engine has done. info I all ready new having been there. Still it helps them justify there eye watering invoices.
Masser I don't think you would like to admit it but by what I have seen on the other thread and what you said above you are probably a bit more handy with a spanner than most.
I know with cars these days you are not tied by the dealers you can use any compatant VAT reg garage to service.
The one thing a dealer will have is the ability to plug in a lap top so far as I can see the only thing this is good for is that the engineer can give you a piece of paper telling me what hours and what revs the engine has done. info I all ready new having been there. Still it helps them justify there eye watering invoices.
Masser I don't think you would like to admit it but by what I have seen on the other thread and what you said above you are probably a bit more handy with a spanner than most.
Simpo Two said:
mickrick said:
Fair enough. But if you pop it into Alcudia, I´ll do it for you no problem
I'd better set off now then! mickrick said:
I´m a big fan of scheduled oil sampling. No arguments with warranty then. How much warranty is on it then?
Never heard of scheduled oil sampling. Do you mean changing? I'm not sure how long the warranty lasts - the info is on the boat. Perhaps if it's only a year then it doesn't matter...
Having written all that I'm not sure it's worth the money for a little donk like yours, just stick to changing the oil regularly.
Speaking as a dealer, if you are still within your 5 year warranty, I would go with an approved Yanmar mechanic. Those little stamps in the warranty book could save you a lot of hassle if it all goes tits-up next year.
EP Barrus are your UK importer, we deal with them all the time, and if you don't go through the dealer network and get the right servicing they can be jolly bothersome with any claims. Once you are out of warranty, they also tend to look better on you if you have a problem.
As has been said, a quick oil/fuel/impeller/anode change is something you should really know how to do, all boat owners should. Once out of warranty, this could save you a fortune in the future and then you can use pattern filters and parts, half the price of Yanmar bits.
I loved working on my Dad's little Yanmar GM, so simple.
EP Barrus are your UK importer, we deal with them all the time, and if you don't go through the dealer network and get the right servicing they can be jolly bothersome with any claims. Once you are out of warranty, they also tend to look better on you if you have a problem.
As has been said, a quick oil/fuel/impeller/anode change is something you should really know how to do, all boat owners should. Once out of warranty, this could save you a fortune in the future and then you can use pattern filters and parts, half the price of Yanmar bits.
I loved working on my Dad's little Yanmar GM, so simple.
EP Barrus supplied it and French Marine are the local (well Norwich) agents. Nobody on the Fens. But there are no 'stamps in the book'; the guy who did the 50 hour service said it's all kept electronically - seemed odd.
I am torn between keeping it all offical (and expensive) or just getting a good mechanic who knows how to fettle gudgeon pins and shimmy the warble valve to do whatever may be required. If a unique Yanmar part is needed presumably there is the internet and not just Barrus?
My possibly naive theory is that if the engine is well looked after - by whoever - it will be less likely to break. It gets very little use relatively speaking - 100+ hours a year at 1200-2100rpm. Learning how to mend it myself is not an option not least because there is no-one to teach me how it all works, and I'm not going to start unscrewing things and possibly cock it up
Or of course I can nobble Fishtigua when he returns to Blighty and keep in the family so to speak!
I am torn between keeping it all offical (and expensive) or just getting a good mechanic who knows how to fettle gudgeon pins and shimmy the warble valve to do whatever may be required. If a unique Yanmar part is needed presumably there is the internet and not just Barrus?
My possibly naive theory is that if the engine is well looked after - by whoever - it will be less likely to break. It gets very little use relatively speaking - 100+ hours a year at 1200-2100rpm. Learning how to mend it myself is not an option not least because there is no-one to teach me how it all works, and I'm not going to start unscrewing things and possibly cock it up
Or of course I can nobble Fishtigua when he returns to Blighty and keep in the family so to speak!
What a dealer network does is keep you up to date with latest developments. There may be some parts superceded for good reason or a process change that otherwise you will have no knowledge of.
Certainly for the 502 and Jack's new race engine I need that information so my man being 200 miles away is still worth all the hassle. Same goes for paying my Detroit man stoopid money for travelling before he even gets a spanner out.
Having said that chopping the filters, belts, oil change, a general grease up and changing the impellor is just something I would do by having the gear off them and doing it myself as normal maintenance.
Certainly for the 502 and Jack's new race engine I need that information so my man being 200 miles away is still worth all the hassle. Same goes for paying my Detroit man stoopid money for travelling before he even gets a spanner out.
Having said that chopping the filters, belts, oil change, a general grease up and changing the impellor is just something I would do by having the gear off them and doing it myself as normal maintenance.
Simpo Two said:
EP Barrus supplied it and French Marine are the local (well Norwich) agents. Nobody on the Fens. But there are no 'stamps in the book'; the guy who did the 50 hour service said it's all kept electronically - seemed odd.
Yes the dealers have a log-in on the Barrus system to keep it all up to date.http://yanmar.com/dealer/
[quote]Or of course I can nobble Fishtigua when he returns to Blighty and keep in the family so to speak!
Sorry to say we only do Mercury, Mariner, Mercruiser and Cummins here in Guernsey.
MOTORVATOR said:
Having said that chopping the filters, belts, oil change, a general grease up and changing the impellor is just something I would do by having the gear off them and doing it myself as normal maintenance.
Yes but that is like me telling you to photograph your own wedding Fishtigua said:
Sorry to say we only do Mercury, Mariner, Mercruiser and Cummins here in Guernsey.
Guernsey is still effectively Pluto!
zed4 said:
mickrick said:
Well the 6LP we ran in one of our ribs, and the four cylinder Yamaha we had in another, where both Toyota units under the Yanmar stickers
That is true!I really rate Yanmar stuff, but as has already been mentioned, the paint on the ancillaries is bad. Any salt water near them and they rust, or they did. I haven´t messed with them for 10 years or so.
I used to keep them washed off with fresh water and sprayed with WD40.
Okay, had a word with the Yanmar chaps (at the bar) and this is what they think.
As long as the service is done with Yanmar parts and specific lubricants by a qualified and competent engineer, they will accept the service. Just call French's with the hours and the job done and they should be able to log it.
As Mick said, be sure to take a small oil sample. Not that expensive these days, motor and g/b.
http://oilsampling.co.uk/epages/950003965.sf/en_GB...
As long as the service is done with Yanmar parts and specific lubricants by a qualified and competent engineer, they will accept the service. Just call French's with the hours and the job done and they should be able to log it.
As Mick said, be sure to take a small oil sample. Not that expensive these days, motor and g/b.
http://oilsampling.co.uk/epages/950003965.sf/en_GB...
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