OX66 150 with an unidentified tick.

[dburr]

As the title says gents, there is a tick that can be clearly heard at idle that sounds like it loudest at the lower starboard side. Underway above 1300 with the cover on it is hard to tell if it still ticks.  This is the first Yamaha and the first fuel injected outboard that I have run so I was unsure if it was normal.     Until it went away....   So if you are willing to chase the link and have a listen it would be great to know what you think.  

Idle strong at 6-700..
WOT is at 4900-5000
Wheel has the stamp M 20x 23.5 (seems really steep pitch)
With half a tank of gas and just me she hits 37mph at 5000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mxOTCJTaI

Thanks!

[jdupree]

PM sent.  I am pretty sure I know what your tick is.  Should be the "sniffer" tube behind the 02 sensor.

[merlinroad]

Purple....Arrg

[gran398]

Have been on JD's ride several times, she is banging across the board, very smooth through the power range.

John, last trip, she was taching out at 5500, right?

[fitz73222]

Hey deburr,

I've heard ignition coils shorting to ground make that noise. See if you can manipulate the noise by pulling the spark plug wire off on each cylinder while she is running with a good pair of fuse puller pliers and see if the noise changes or goes away. Try running the engine at night on a flush muff and see if you see any "lighting" occurring in the coil pack and shorting to ground. Sometimes there is enough ignition energy to run the engine without a miss and short to ground. It may also be an injector noise issue. I don't think it is mechanical because it is usually a deeper noise that gets progressively louder as the throttle or load is increased.

My $.02

[dburr]

Have been on JD's ride several times, she is banging across the board, very smooth through the power range.

John, last trip, she was taching out at 5500, right?

Scotty I am pretty sure she is over wheeled. There is a ding in a blade that isn't helping, when that is fixed then I will start testing for a good fit.

Fitz, I was hoping it would show up on the video if it was sparking, sometimes video will pick up the corona when we can't see it..  So a good excuse to go for a night cruise!

John got the pm!

Thanks and will update!

[jdupree]

Look behind the 02 sensor.  The tube looks like a small barbell.  If it is stopped up with carbon it will "click" like you are hearing.  Soak it in ringfree and take a small drill bit and run the bit all the way through the tube.  This should fix you clicking noise.

Check this before looking at ignition.

[saltfly]

Bad plug wires will also jump to ground and cause that tick. And you will see that at night as well.

[dburr]

Well gents, I went after the O2 sensor first and this is what I found..

This is the joint:



and this is the O2 Sensor:



So after a little TLC, Gumout and careful use of a numerous drill bits up to a #24 size this is what happend to the joint:



A BIG difference! The carbon had been hammered into the bore and was really hard..

After soaking in Gummout and some careful use of a blow torch this is how the O2 Sensor came out:




After putting it all back together this is how she sounds       :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DG8oFuP7kI

Which lead to a required test run my apologies for the audio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2105ApiOgA

So she accelerated right up to 5000, still have to work the wheel issue, after a talk with the boys at Jeff's Marine in Thomaston    they told me that the M20 253 was most likely a Michagan Wheel part number and bring it in and we will start tuning!  Can't ask for better then that, and eyeballing with a tape and calipers, the diameter is about 14"...

Many Thanks to the Brotherhood for all your help!  

[gran398]

Excellent....man, she looks great, sounds great, and is runnin' like a scalded dog

Good job!!

[jdupree]

Thanks for the PM Dave.  Glad I could help!!!  Now you can pass the "sniffer tube" knowledge onto someone else!  By the way, that was exactly what my 02 sensor and tube looked like when I first got my engine.  Good Job!

[flounderpounder225]

Outstanding diagnosis JD  you da man

[jdupree]

Outstanding diagnosis JD  you da man

Thanks Marc   I have learned a little about Yamaha's along the way.  When I bought my CCP you said that the OX 66 was a great engine.  You were correct sir

[GoneFission]

Way to go JD!  Nailed that tick!  

I think Yamaha and Mercury props are interchangeable, so you might have a pretty good selection to choose from.