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Was in the neighbourhood today where the boat is stored…unfortunately it was snowing so we left it on the rack. Lots of work to do in the next month though. E97FD666-640A-4D4F-8F9D-4515F6F5DA9C.jpeg
Dean,
It was built by Steve Carruthers in 1986 and won the Canadian nationals that year.
My brother bought it last summer from an gentleman who had owned it for 15 years, before that we don’t know where it was for a decade.
The coaming and look are definitely Bezoat inspired ( I don’t think Steve would mind me saying that) but the more I look at it the more it’s different on the underside from my boat and the black Bezoat you’ll see on earlier pages.
New rings arrived from TJ tonight so I gapped them and threw the cylinders on.
Just last time but now it will have a better head and better ring gap. 16EC8A53-AE9E-45C0-9DF3-2A607B49398E.jpeg
Here's to your success on that engine, may the Yamato God's be with you!
To keep tabs on all my engine's internals I do cold (keeps temp about constant) compression checks throttle wide open and keep track of the "same gage" readings each pull, and log in all readings. On the Y80 4-5 rope overs reaches max. psi, shouldn't be more than that for good bore, piston and ring seal. I look for a high 1st pull # that indicates a good suck air-in compress breather. On the Y80 I get 95-100 on 1st rope and 3-4 more ropes to get 150), darn near the same (+/- 2-3psi) for each cylinder. This std. bore Y80 engine has the same rings and pistons from when I bought it in 1978 and raced back then with testing + these days at AOMCI meets. Might re-ring it one of these days? Must be oil is cheaper than parts! ;-)
Nobody has ever worked on my Y80, just me and not blue printed just a stocker with things done below. Yes 150 is a healthy engine but both cylinders need to be darn close.
I received the engine in 1977 from distributer McKean Marine in Texas through Yamato rep and racer/ boat builder/prop maker and dear friend Harry Pinner (RIP). At the time I did nothing except have a 9/16" prop shaft put in, didn't know about the ignition timing or carb settings, did set up testing with Pinner 3 blade prop. In 1978 the Y80 was a probationary engine in the new class 20SSH (hydro) and 20SSR (runabout), I ran 20SSH and did well. I did align the block, exhaust outlet to the tower as noted in the manual and properly torqued the bolts. Also adjusted the tower tuner to have a great seal to the powerhead/exhaust. Cleaned and adjusted the carb. Head pulled off on occasion to clean any carbon (none in combustion chamber but always some on piston crown. Put in 18 to 14mm spark plug inserts. Adjust timing often since the Y80 has trouble keeping it right on due to poor top bearing selection and difficult to get oil up there. Recently replaced seals and ball bearings in the gear case. To this day basically a Japan stadium raced engine with same rings and pistons stock bore. I have std after market rings and when ready to replace will just do the top rings. I use more oil than manual states at 25:1 like 16 - 18:1 synthetic blend Pennzoil XLF with 87 E free and that extra oil does accumulate in the tower/ tuner but figured so what it runs great.
I keeping with the motors Japanese roots let’s do a little kiezen and fix two other little issues.
Remember when the foot wouldn’t come off last year? Well it has been off a few time since. One of those times the seal retainer ring at the bottom of the tower that holds the driveshaft came off with the foot!
So tonight I removed that brass bushing, cleaned up the bore and the bushing and applied some retaining compound to make sure it stays in place. While it was out I took a piece of flat bar and gave the foot mounting surface a quick flattening…it’s not perfect but it’s better and should be fine with a gasket.
Luc
Yes to the Kaizen way to make improvements. Interesting the tower seal retainer came off, that is an interference fit? Good on the flattening of the gear case to tower surface. You can always add a thin coating of silicone to the outer part of the seal perimeter case that fits in the gear case recess bore for additional protection to prevent water entry. I just use a thin coat of wheel bearing grease (with molydisulfide additive) on both sides of the gasket that aids seal to prevent water entry. I do the same on the powerhead to tower gasket for better air seal and easy remove with no gasket stick and a ruined gasket.
Pete
I think the seal retainer was knocked loose when I was trying to removed the seized foot last year. It required quite a lot of persuasion.
Either way it’s in now and I just pressed a fresh seal in before the baby had time to wake up from her nap.
Also took a few minutes to shape the epoxy that had all winter to cure around the water pickup on the foot.
I like your grease idea and may put a little sealant on the foot side of the foot gasket as I don’t have a mill to her it as flattened out.
When I retire I’ll have my own mill and lathe…in another 30 years .
Have you had trouble with leaking head gasket so you do the Cu coat to prevent?
I tried that Cu stuff once and it does have some thickness and noticed a small drop in compression psi, found not needed. I have never blown a head gasket, I torque in 4 steps.
No issues with head gaskets on this motor so far. I guess it’s a habit I just picked up when doing my first turbo diesels with 24:1 compression ratio and an extra 25psi of atmosphere being shoved in the cylinders the head gaskets on them needed all the help they could get.
As I said I’ve just always used it on metal head gaskets. I can see that it would probably cost you a very small amount of compression, but I think it’s worth it when you pull a head and immediately see at a glance if any part of the gasket has had a leak.
At the base gasket nothing but the gasket.
At where the powerhead meets the tower just the gasket...was going to run a little sealant around the exhaust but the gasket removed showed no sign of leaking. (I know double standard compared to the hg sealant )
At the foot, I plan to run it once now that the flanges are in better shape If I still get a little water in the gearcase oil the sealant will come out.
Filling with water may not reveal a leak other source possible.
Since you said you did get water in the boat when you were running it then somehow it got in? Assuming you did not get water splashed in when running and/or when you climbed in maybe it was a outside water pressure leak under way. Example making high speed left turns there is a lot of water pressure on the right side that could force water in a seam on the right sponson chine seam and/or on the rear chine seam. Look close there for any suspicious areas. This has happened to my hydro and it took a Holmes close look to see it.
Pete
5A3CF5BF-51DD-4BE2-A03B-0D9B614EA6AF.jpeg Alright Yamato 80 gurus riddle me this. Why is is when I feed low pressure water back through the motor it’s flowing out this port on the bottom of the cylinders instead of out of the regular coolant passage that leads down to the pickup?
Is this a pressure release that operates backwards when pressure is applied from the wrong direction ?
I have only supplied pressure water at the brass plug on the tower with the 2 pickup holes taped up at the tower exhaust release snoot. Then see that a nice stream ejects at the bleed off hose like you have in post #175, I have that hose as well.
There is also a pic of you running with a nice coolant stream shooting out that hose, great riddle me this so why the concern? ;-)
Have you tested pressure water flow the way I describe above?
Do you think you have a water passage clog in the power head?
Where are you supplying the low P water in the test?
As far as I know there is no pressure release valve in the powerhead.
I’ll try and answer your questions.
I wanted to feed water through the outlet because I didn’t have the proper fitting to go through where the brass plug is.
It was concerning because I assumed water only exited the motor through the hose from the exhaust manifold. So when I saw water exiting the tower instead of the coolant inlet ports I assumed I had problems.
The last two runs last year I had issues cooling so I’m a little paranoid about cooking this motor again.
My leading theory right now is that the port pictured above would release any water down onto the megaphone that could not flow through the water outlet on the exhaust manifold due to restriction.
When you run the motor with a hose to the brass plug does all water exit from the water outlet or does some exit from the exhaust/base of the tower ?
To get water into the tower brass plug I use a rubber hose that closely fits the hole size and attach a fine jet brass nozzle into the rubber hose. The rubber hose is made in 2 pieces one that fits the tower hole ID and another that fits the OD of that hose and is glued in (I use E6000 great stuff) and that larger hose ID fits the brass nozzle jet tip. These brass hose nozzles that fit a garden hose are available at Lowes and Home Depot (are those stores in Maple Leaf country?). If not a hardware store might have them. Ask for more details if needed?
Then I tape the 2 cooling inlet holes at the tower exhaust snoot with aluminum duct tape works best for me to stick to the aluminum snoot and not come off under supply water pressure.
When I turn on the water pressure it comes out the exhaust snoot as well as the rubber relief hose at the power head. By varying the water supply pressure you can see the rate of flow increase at both locations without running engine. To do stand running to check timing adjustment with inductive strobe light I do not do it too long and keep the revs down and keep a look at the water flow at the power head rubber relief hose.
When under way before planning off there is a solid stream of water at the power head relief hose. On plane at speed there is also a good stream out the rubber relief hose but not as solid as before planning due to not perfect prop water blast. If under way and I back off throttle a little the water flow to the snoot 2 feed holes will stop until back on throttle. I run the Y80 at 1/2" - 5/8" below bottom with a parallel prop shaft to the boat bottom, no kick in or out. Boat airs out the best like this with sponsons about 2" off water at speed.
The basket case 80 lives again!
I’ll see about some video later for now it’s just great to hear it run.
Time to start work on the new one.
Pete,
You were on in your description, when fed from the brass plug the motor fills to the point where it flows out of the exhaust outlet then eventually it sends water down the other port into the tower.
I see you have the water feed at the brass plug but couldn't see the water discharging out the right side relief hose. Is that at full mag advance? Sounds like it was stumbling some, what were you doing to cause that?
I had turned off the hose and only ran it for a few seconds.
Probably stumbling as it was starving for air with the throttle fully closed.
I didn’t dare rev it up as the kiddos we’re already in bed.
Luc
Great. While inside the case check the condition of the ball bearings in the gear case. I replaced mine on the prop shaft due to in out play (should be none) and some side play (caused lash changes and water entry). I replaced with 2- NSK 6202C3 on the prop shaft. The prop shaft caged rollers were in great shape. Also replaced the pinion shaft ball bearing with the same NSK 6202C3. If you do the pinion ball bearing inspect the drawn cup caged roller pressed in the throat and its bearing race on the pinion shaft. That bearing is a TA1725Z with 17mm bore, 25mm height and 24mm OD. Get all bearings from a NSK authorized dealer. Fakes abound on the Inet as I found out, no China made you want Japan made.
Are you doing the seals at the pinion, prop shaft and the cone O ring? Gotta keep the water out!
Pete
Pete,
I'll make the call once it's apart. This motor had 0 discernable play in the prop shaft. It was a motor that was basically a back-up for a lake hydro. It saw very very little use in the last 15 years and I don't know if it was raced before that.
This is good practice for when I need to rebuild the foot on my basket case motor.
Some smart fella back on page 4 said if I put my cone in the toaster oven it would come right appart.
7 minutes at 225 in the bbq and it came apart with a light tap from a piece of real Canadian maple . D73B7358-FACE-4563-BD81-935D0407FBB9.jpeg
Pete,
What hydroracer is lacking is content. New content.
This site is an encyclopedia for tech info and history of racing from the past 20 years.
Unfortunately encyclopedias sit on shelves until needed.
If new info does not get added regularly people will not visit regularly.
I greatly appreciate your offer for help and will take you up on it when the time comes.
Luc
Agreed new content would be a plus to HR. I recall during my APBA race years and thank those I received lots of help from - no HR then just person to person and the ability to take it and use it and pass it on to others. I never kept secrets from my competitors I let them know what I discovered and received from others and that made for better competition. I like a crowded field of 12 on the race course rather than the long boring string outs. I have many engine, race boat, prop, etc tech items/tips that would probably be helpful to some.
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