tarpon41 Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 Hello all I have a 2007 2200 v pathfinder with a 2007 f150 Yamaha four stroke. It has been serviced 8 months ago and got a clean bill of health, but just recently while out in the mangroves a sound developed. It’s almost like a squeaky wheel sound. I took of the cowling and then the plastic covering which is on top portion of motor and believed it was one of the two pullies. The band appeared to be intact, so I put a shot of WD 40 on one of the pullies. I’m not sure if that corrected it or it was a coincidence as it stopped, but then when I went into gear and started to trolling the squeaky sound came back! side note- when I put motor into gear it engages fine but sounds like a loud crunch, is that normal for a four stroke? As you can see I do not have the motor lingo or knowledge in this area can anybody give me their input and or suggestions as to what I may be having going on before motor becomes out of commish... thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewesYourDaddy Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 There is a common issue with the mid-2000 year f150s. They had a plastic gear of some sort that caused a squeaking noise. It was prone to fail and cause an engine to take a dump. I had a friend with the same engine and his began to squeak while we were out of town on a fishing trip. He had scheduled a maintenance service once we got back and I suggested he have them address the issue. He breathed a sigh of relief when they told him he had avoided a potentially catastrophic failure of his engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarpon41 Posted August 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 Woh! That sounds like I’m screwed...is it a big deal or cost to work on that plastic part or to get to it? I think I’m in same boat, it still preforms great, so I guess I’ll shut her down and get it looked at ASAP i just don’t trust any mechanic in south Florida... thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanjj Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 16 minutes ago, tarpon41 said: Woh! That sounds like I’m screwed...is it a big deal or cost to work on that plastic part or to get to it? I think I’m in same boat, it still preforms great, so I guess I’ll shut her down and get it looked at ASAP i just don’t trust any mechanic in south Florida... thx I have a 2009 F150 Yamaha on my 22 Pathfinder. That developed a whining noise that varied in pitch depending if it was in gear or not. I did some research and found that Yamaha had used a plastic gear in F 150’s “ harmonic balancer “ and they were prone to wearing out and making a whining noise....plus the plastic clogged the oil ports designed to trickle oil on top end of engine. I asked several very reputable mechanics and they suggested replace with one of the new Yamaha steel geared units. The part was about $ 150 and 1 1/2 hour of labor. Came to $ 400 bucks but now it is smooth running. There are you tube videos and hull truth forums on this topic if you research it. Some people claim to simply remove the balancer and it runs fine....others claim to just let it whine. I trusted my mechanic who is also a personal friend and just replaced mine with the newly designed part. The bad part is that Yamaha knew they had a problem and didn’t do anything about it until they got flooded with negative reviews. Most engines were out of warranty by that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason p Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 This is the fix. Leaving it alone can potentially lead to failure of the balancer gear that then may lead to “real problems” from gear material in places you don’t way as stated a above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernieNC Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 Harmonic balancer topic on F150s comes up fairly often. Can anyone say with a reasonable amount of certainty the years effected by the plastic parts and/or what year the problem was solved. If it has been solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarpon41 Posted August 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 2 hours ago, fishmanjj said: I have a 2009 F150 Yamaha on my 22 Pathfinder. That developed a whining noise that varied in pitch depending if it was in gear or not. I did some research and found that Yamaha had used a plastic gear in F 150’s “ harmonic balancer “ and they were prone to wearing out and making a whining noise....plus the plastic clogged the oil ports designed to trickle oil on top end of engine. I asked several very reputable mechanics and they suggested replace with one of the new Yamaha steel geared units. The part was about $ 150 and 1 1/2 hour of labor. Came to $ 400 bucks but now it is smooth running. There are you tube videos and hull truth forums on this topic if you research it. Some people claim to simply remove the balancer and it runs fine....others claim to just let it whine. I trusted my mechanic who is also a personal friend and just replaced mine with the newly designed part. The bad part is that Yamaha knew they had a problem and didn’t do anything about it until they got flooded with negative reviews. Most engines were out of warranty by that time. Thank you for this! im going to share this post with the mechanic, I hope he’s on the same page.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HewesYourDaddy Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 FishmanJJ is correct on what the issue is. Not a very expensive fix, but a necessary one. Get it done and then don’t worry about it ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthree3 Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 Bad balancer is a whining noise. Dry drive shaft bushing is a squeaky / chirping sound. Latter is not a big deal. Just needs a little grease when you drop the lower unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drummer Posted August 11, 2019 Report Share Posted August 11, 2019 In addition, WD-40 is a lousy lubricant. It's a water displacement solution. Smells good, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarpon41 Posted August 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2019 1 hour ago, wthree3 said: Bad balancer is a whining noise. Dry drive shaft bushing is a squeaky / chirping sound. Latter is not a big deal. Just needs a little grease when you drop the lower unit. Interesting after doing some research on a bad balancer I don’t think that’s the sound I’m having mine literally sounds like a bushing or a pulley that’s producing the squeek. question if it is the driveshaft or coming from the lower unit would it possibly sound like it’s coming from the top of the motor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted August 12, 2019 Report Share Posted August 12, 2019 9 hours ago, bernieNC said: Harmonic balancer topic on F150s comes up fairly often. Can anyone say with a reasonable amount of certainty the years effected by the plastic parts and/or what year the problem was solved. If it has been solved. I would say Matt Conrad on here is your best bet. I see where he often does the balancer upgrade before selling engines so he could be the guy who would know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Posted August 12, 2019 Report Share Posted August 12, 2019 Ocean Outboards in Boynton: A Yamaha-only shop I have taken my boats to since 2005. They really know the motors & maintenance needs thoroughly. My son and I run offshore 30+. They are worth the money for the peace of mind and the longevity of my engine. Now, the F150 is not hard to service yourself. For repairs and potential problems, I would see the man. It is always good to throw the laptop on the motor and see if any codes, alarms, or overheats are in the past. It would be prudent to get it checked out by a pro. You can get a lot more years out of the motor if you maintain it well. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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