1993 C115 TLRR Zinc Anodes and Head Gaskets

[bayside brewing]

Hi,

Great forum, I've used this place a lot in my searches and quite often find what I am looking for. However, I have two questions that I cannot resolve both with the forums and my 3rd party service manual.

I ordered Zinc Anodes for my motor and cannot figure out where they go. My service manual says to check and replace them, but doesn't show the location on this motor. Looking at the parts catalog it looks like they are in the head/head cover area. Having several boats, this seems like a strange location and a more time consuming place to put sacraficial zincs. Is that the actual location or are they somewhere else?

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Additionally, I would like to replace the head and head cover gaskets as well as clean out the build up in the water jackets. Is the removal of the head and head cover pretty straight forward? Loosen the bolts on the head and remove whole head, remove head cover, remove thermostat cover and thermostat, clean out water jackets, remove all gasket material, sand the mating surfaces to ensure they are flat and not warped, replace zinc anodes, replace gaskets and reinstall everything else? I have not removed a head and don't know if I should expect anything unusual.

Thanks for the help, I have ordered an actual Yamaha service manual for this motor since the 3rd party one isn't the best (in my opinion) but it hasn't arrived yet.

[robert graham]

There are zinc anodes inside the motor and outside the motor. The inside zincs don't normally get changed. The outside zincs can be changed if they're used up, otherwise wire brush them and leave them in place. If you have no real reason to remove the head, then maybe better just leave it alone, because on a 17 year old motor you may run into broken head bolts and other fasteners. No need to open up a can of worms for yourself. If you feel like you just want to do this, then go for it, and hopefully you'll have no problems with bolts and fasteners. Good Luck!

[bayside brewing]

Thanks for the reply. My main reason for wanting to remove the heads is for cleaning out the water jackets. I had over heating issues a few weeks ago at high speed. I replaced the thermostats and noticed a bit of build up of salt/minerals in the water jackets/thermostat area. The overheating issue was solved with the stats. The boat was bottom painted for the first time this spring and sits in the water most of the year behind the house. Flushing with fresh water is a new challege with the boat in the saltwater at the pier. In the past since I've owned the boat, the motor would be flushed every time it was put back on the trailer after several days in the water. I'm trying to decide on preventive maintenance vs. Don't fix what ain't broke.

Thanks!

[robert graham]

The risk/reward may not be worth it. If your new water pump/thermostats are working fine then maybe "let the sleeping dog lie" and go fishing! Good Luck!