Probably a foolish question regardling F150 balancer replacement...

[joshkamino]

Good afternoon all,

I am a recent owner of a pair of 2006 F150's that have a bit of whine. They each have about 330 hours, which is very low, which probably means they are ripe candidates for problems with the balancers. I don't have any paperwork that shows they were replaced, so I'm assuming they are the originals.

The process to change them out seems straightforward, however my question is this... and maybe this is a completely foolish question but: Has anyone ever done this on the water? My swim platform is such that I have easy access to where the balancers are located. Getting the boat hauled out from the marina to do it is certainly possible, but a pain in the ass.

Thanks in advance!
Jeff

[panasonic]

I have not changed those balancers. But I have worked on engines while on the water and lost plug wrenches overboard..lol Up to you really...have a diving mask handy and hopefully the water is not cold where you are. Perhaps you won't drop anything.

Do you have a proper Yamaha manual to follow??

[99yam40]

yep, trying to make sure you do not drop anything can be a pain.

had a coworker drop a washer once when we were putting a large transformer back together. had to untank the core again to find and get it out.
luckily we found it

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I've changed it in my boat once(Type 4), and before that Yamaha did so under warranty(Type 3), all inside the boat. Took the tech, while I watched (in the water), maybe 25 minutes.
Me, maybe 45 minutes going slow..

It's actually pretty easy and dropping tools overboard is a non-issue in this repair. Everything your accessing is just behind the fuel filter.

***I would put a large clean rag underneath as dropping parts/tools down will end up in the lower shroud, NOT OVER BOARD....


The balancer, as I re-call, came with clear directions..

[joshkamino]

Scott, thank you for sharing your experience... this was very helpful! The SIM Yamaha doc looked straightforward and definitely something I'm comfortable with.