Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

[fishon71]

1988 Yamaha 130 HP.

1) Is it true there is an issue with the shift rod that runs thru the mid section where over time it rust and gets weak an eventually breaks off? Seems I have the first symptoms where I have lost some adjustment and can?t always find a clean neutral.

2) How do I adjust a get a clean neutral again?

3) What is involved to change the rusted or broken shift rod?

4) Can you see this rod and where it rust with out taking thing apart?

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

yes its true
the early shift rods were steel the replacements and new engines since 95 are a stainless.
look just below the lower engine mount, you will see a gap where the shift shaft exits the swivil tube and enters the gearcase, if it shows heavy rust and an hour glass look most likly its bad.
hardest part about replacing it is cutting off the bolts that hold the powerhead on.
occasionally I have to destroy the powerhead adapter to do it.

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Well that's what I was afraid of. Perhaps its time to update my power. Can't believe they used steel in this application, poor design.

Once it breaks it will stay in what ever gear it was in I assume. Can this be reached and pushed or pulled with a vice grip to at least get us home? I assume the motor will start if in gear as the neatral switch is in the control box.

20 years in the salt water, Im sure the PH bolts will break off too.

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

If it breaks, you is there where you are. Not gonna reach anything to shift it in or out of gear. The powerhead bolts will be frozen but we found that we could drill into the adapter housing just below the powerhead and through the bolts, thus cutting them and removing the powerhead. You can then remove the frozen bolts from the adapter plate after the powerhead is removed. Took us a few years to figger that one out.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

yep like capt Ken syas.
drill horizontaly just below the power head and cut the bolts, then twist off the head and drive the broken stud up after the powerhead is off, you wont drive them down, trust me on that.
this is all stuff not taught in school.

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Looked closely last night at the rod, yes she is pretty thin. I hope to get thru our short season then see what I can do to pull power head. I might just sell the motor for parts and move on to a newer Yamaha 150. What do you guys think of the V6 150 HP?

Time will tell were we go or don't go, thanks

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

yep like capt Ken syas.
drill horizontaly just below the power head and cut the bolts, then twist off the head and drive the broken stud up after the powerhead is off, you wont drive them down, trust me on that.
this is all stuff not taught in school.

How many bolts are there?
Can they all be got at with a standard hand drill?
I assume they are stainless, I have yet to find a bit that will cut stainless
So once you do this and pull the PH do the bolt studs come out of the PH with vice grips and a little heat ok?
How much does the rod cost?
What else do I need to know?

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Okay its getting harder & harder to find neutral, rod must be bending pretty good. I was trying to find a picture on the Yamaha web site to see what's involved here.

Model 130ETXG Year 1988 - Where is the rod in what diagram? What is the part number of the rod?

I think I need to tackle the job, hope I can get this done so I'm not boatless for the summer.

Thanks

 

[mikesea]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

It is a big job.I had mine go bad while fishing.You might be able to disconnect the cable ,under the cowl,and manually shif after you disconnect the cable,you just need a bit more sometimes.Depending how desperate you are,and if YOU choose to run dangerously,you can put it in forward at the engine and disconnect the neutral safty switch.Please know ,I am not posting this dangerous measure as a practice and alternative,but a last ditch effort to get to where you need 2 go.Thats what I needed 2 do.As for the powerhead bolts,RODBOLT is the experience from what I read .I did work in a rebuild shop here in the KEYS and everypowerhead we pulled on the older engines were a bear.Dont force the bolt,heat is a must unless you use the method rodbolt said.Lots of heat and back anf forth loose -tighten ,another trick,with the heat,we used a air hammer with a round punch as close to dia as the bolt,on a low power,just enough to get a good vibration helps vibrate the salt and corrosion out.COBALT bits is the key from small to what you need 3/8?once you break a bolt your into the job especially if more than one.If you drop the gearcase you may get a better picture of the shaft rust.

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Thanks for that info - I don't know what I'm getting into until I get into it, I'm sure its a pain in the butt!

The motor is running great and has a recent new lower unit, seems worth the time to try and save it. I have become an expert of rebuilding the carbs blind folded.

I don't even know where to start to see the powerhead bolts thats why I was trying to find an explosion on the Yamaha parts page.

Any tips to get me started? Once I get going I will find my way, thanks

 

[mikesea]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

You need to drop the small cover thats just under the bottom eng cowl,you will see the bolts that hold the piece inthe rear of the eng.by the back of the powerhead,I believe they are 10 mm head,there are also bolts that connect that piece from the smaller piece up forward under the cowl on the carb side of the eng,

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Okay - spent a little time getting into this today.

Pulled lower unit no problem - rod is very weak - yes!
Pulled bolt cover and found six bolts. Maybe I'm lucky, as five came right out no problem. I need to work on #6 some with heat and all to see if I can get it out.

Question, other than the six long bolts how many other bolts are there I have to remove?

What's next?

Thanks

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Okay not so lucky today.

Bolt #6 broke off at the head. I found two more small bolts in the rear and three in the front, I think this is all the bolts that hold the power head down. Please let me know if there are any more I have missed.

Next, how do I pry the power head loose? Tried from rear with blocks of wood and crow bar, and it didn't budge.

 

[mikesea]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

damn,I hate that.The 3 in the front?was there supposed to be a 4th I ask because there shoul be 4 sometimes they fall out or dont get replaced,and in the rear of the powerhead yes ,I cant remember how many though.It wont be easy with that broken bolt,we often could breal the bolt by rocking the powerhead when its only 1 as you have.But be careful You can go with the drilling out just below the powerhead cutting the bolt,then have awelder weld up your drill hole,If you can get the outside of the housing the bolt goes through ,and with a punch and hammer ,(air hammer is best)if you get just enough lift to get a saw blade to cut the bolt ,dealing with problem after powerhead is off.The gaske and bolt are holding you up,salt buildup around studs or bolts can hold things bigtime.Ideally you want to lift from the center of the eng,using a lift ring on the top of crank,then with pressure on it work around the eng a bit of a time ,there are pins that stop the p/h from rotating inside so it needs to go up

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

Yes, it seems that one broken bolt is holding the thing down pretty good. I only found 3 bolts in front, 2 came out okay and when I touched the 3rd the head just fell off. I will look for #4.

I don't have a lift so I made a thing with a 1/2 bolt & nut to expand under the rear. It did lift the right rear side about 1/8 of an inch but the left where the broken bolt is did not open up at all.

So if it comes to drilling into the side of the adapter (which I hate to do) I assume you drill as close to the power head as you can perhaps leaving an inch or so to aid in removing the broken stud from power head later, sound right?

To get the hole fixed do I take off adapter or just take the boat to a welder?

I have not disconected any of the other stuff yet, just trying to see if I can break the PH loose first.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

use a bullit point style bit, they cut a lot flatter than the standard 130* bits and wont walk off the bolt.
get as close to the powerhead as you can and still keep the drill horizontal.
as long as you dont cut in to deep or miss and hit a water passage dont sweat the hole.
remember DO NOT try to drive the broken part down, drive it up as the holes are tapered larger at the top then the bottom.
you should have removed 2 nuts, at the front 4 short bolts and 6 long bolts.
about now the factory Yamaha manual would be very helpful.

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

"You should have removed 2 nuts, at the front 4 short bolts and 6 long bolts"

Are all these nuts and bolts on the bottom side?
I still need to find a nut to remove acording to the numbers above.

I'm also going to look into borrowing an engine puller or chain fall to put lift preasure on the PH. About how much does the fully dressed PH weigh?

 

[mikesea]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

There is a possibility that studs with nutss may have been replaced with bolts.Seems you found the 4 forward FASTENERS,to the port and starbord of the steering arm?Im having a brain fart about how the rear of the p/h is mounted but there should be nuts or bolts on the rear.As for the weight,I'll guess about 100.But you may need alot of pull to get it apart.If you got a tree ,porch,chain hoist,or can borrow a engine hoist,but you dont want to use rope.to much stretch and if it goes,it will be like a catapult.

 

[fishon71]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

I think I'm going to find some big timbers (6x6) and make a cross brace up from the ground and over the engine and then used use a come along to pull PH, what do you think?

I also need to buy some cobalt drills maybe on line as I don't think Home Depot has them.

Looking at the motor I'm not sure I can drill too close to the PH as the lower cowl is in the way. I might only be able to get about half way up keeping the drill horizontaly to the motor. Not sure this will help the situation much.

 

[scottcmb]

Re: Shift rod - shift issue 1988 Yamaha 130

i had the same problem taking my PH off, all bolts came out easily bar one, the one on the side at the back on the port side (snapped clean off at the head and the remainder of the bolt was heavily corroded in).

I used a jack to push the power head up using the other bolts ( this works well IF only one or two bolts are broken and with the motor still on the boat for extra weight against the jacking force). what you do is screw in one long bolt on each side of the motor (place it an a scew hole closest to broken one, screw back in about 5 turns NO LESS!!! ) so you still have the bolts with about 1/2 inch or so left to go. Get your bottle jack and solid steel spacer (Spacer long and solid enough to reach the bolt from the jack)under the bolt, jack up to push against the screwed in bolt and get some good weight on it!! if the broken stud hasnt moved at this point, keep the weight on with the jack and get a good pin punch a 16th of an inch smaller in diameter of the bolt and hammer against the broken bolt to drive it upwards. once you start to get upward movement of the problem stud keep appling more upward force with the jack, every time it moves upwards put more pressure on until the bolt you are pushing against can go no further. Take up the weight with your hoist and then remove the jack and screwed in studs.
with this method you can get the power head up about an inch ( this helps get the power head clear of the locating pins to be able to twist the PH back and forth)then use a block and tackle hoist to then start pulling the rest up whist twisting and working it upwards.
i used this method 3 days ago and worked fine for me on my V6 225 and i couldnt use my hoist (boat to big to get under it) so me and my son managed to man handle it twisting back and forwards and up then off and placed on the bench.....needless to say that the broken stud managed to screw out of the power head easily after all that lol