Suzuki 4-stroke engine holder problem - serious corrosion

[tropicrows]

I will check out my DF140 2005 engine this weekend, hopefully I can remove the metal plug without any trouble and replace it with a machined aluminum one.

[Isaac]

so, you suggest you wait untill you require a hefty repair bill rather than spend an hour and fix the potential problem now? I have been a member of the Suzuki forum for yonks now, and this has been raised time and time again, it IS a problem, but it can be a simple fix if you do it NOW. I have personally seen motors damaged and wiring hanesses burnt to a crisp, do the right thing and do it now, if you own a Yamaha 225 a few years old, you need to do some searching on some US sites.

That's why I put the post up, the one I know about did exactly that, blew out the plug and the exhaust gases burnt the wiring harness and a 3-2 code error came up while 30nm offshore. The good news is that Suzuki have given the go ahead for a warranty repair on it, its a 2007 model with 600hrs on it. Thanks for the heads up on the yammy 225, one of my mates owns one. Cheers

[STUIE63]

what is this plug just a bsp one ?

[Noelm]

size is listed on the link posted, it is not a "standard size or thread. see copy and paste from link.
making a replacement plug using 6061 aluminum, these plugs are in the size 18 mm x 1.5 pitch and fit perfectly.

[Dan5]

Could it be possible that some engines are effected more than others due to stray current from either a poorly bonded outboard or poor boat electrical systems and what condition were the anodes in...? There has to be other contributing factors.......it's definatly not an ideal situation to have steel in contact with alloy castings no matter what the situation though.

It just appears that not all engines are having this issue,i know a lot of people with these engines and not one has seemingly had the problem...........maybe theres alot of time bombs ticking away out there.

Also is there a nylon or plastic that could be substituted for the steel plug?.......My limited expiriance with alloy plugs has been that they are not the ideal way to go either.....gawling and corrosion still happens with raw untreated aluminium.....being dissimilar grades of alloy will just see the corrosion happen again maybe at a slower rate but not a true fix IMO.

Dan

[Noelm]

Nylon would be no good, it is in the exhaust system, they will all suffer eventually, makes no difference if you flush for hours after use, it is a problem waiting to happen, but it is preventable, that's the point, no use blaming Suzuki for it, what's done is done, how you take care of it is what's important now. The problem is, there is a steel plug in an alloy casting, that was used for an oxygen sensor in the car that the motor was sourced from, this sensor is not used, so "they" blocked up the hole with a steel plug, now whether they were being cheap, or really had no idea what the result would be years down the track is anyone's guess. If you replace the offending casting (big job) the new one does not even have a hole for the steel plug, it is a solid casting.

[fat-buoy]

I got worried when I first saw these threads popping up a while ago so I started doing more and more searching and it looks pretty much that the motors that are getting affected are attached to permanently moored boats.. seems the extreme salt environment assists with the corrosion where the "normal" trailer boat doesn't seem to be affected as much or at all.

I checked mine and it looked pristine so I am not concerned about it.. even when coroding from the inside to the outside the outer edge of the plug at the threadline will show signs of corrosion as this is where the dissimilar metal contact is so it should be able to be picked up relatively quickly... just keep the inox or lanolin or whatever your poison is to keep the motor covered and all should be ok.

[Noelm]

Nope, nothing to do with moored boats at all, you don't need to do anything if you wish, BUT!!!! sometimes I have seen the casting blow out just near the plug, it is just a matter of time, hot exhaust gas passing over a steel plug, in an alloy casting, in a marine environment (even though salt water does not go on it) is just a recipe for trouble at some time or another, it's your motor, so it's your choice, can't get much simpler than that.

[suzygs1000]

size is listed on the link posted, it is not a "standard size or thread. see copy and paste from link.
making a replacement plug using 6061 aluminum, these plugs are in the size 18 mm x 1.5 pitch and fit perfectly.

Couldn't you just replace the plug with the original oxygen sensor?

[Spaniard_King]

Pulled one of these plugs last week. couldn't get the other out (twin 140 kevla cat)replaced it with the plug that comes by the part number of the uper rear block plug went straight in and is of some sort of coated steel make up... should do the job well IMO...

Have to wait a few weeks to attack the 2nd one as customer is going on holidays and didnt want me to render his engine unserviceable. Engine had done over 850hrs and the plug wasnt too bad IMO.. will post a pick this week

[tropicrows]

Took my covers off the check out this plug on the weekend, looked fine on the outside with no rust visible around the joint. However when I tried to remove it, no luck. Applied some head and used a long bar but it did no budge, think the only way will be to drill it out !!!!!

[Noelm]

Couldn't you just replace the plug with the original oxygen sensor?

I guess it might be worth an inspection of what the sensor looks like, if anyone has one, to see if it would be suitable for a marine environment, could be as simple as that maybe.

[Fed]

It sounds like something I'd coat the inner & outer threads with perfect seal to try & stop any corrosion. (If they still make it)

[simonpp82]

I had this exact thing happen to one of my 02 115's last week when I was 40 k's from the bar at 4 in the afternoon. A 5mm round hole "blew out" of the casting right next to the badly corroded plug. I noticed a weird sound and when I brought it back to idle the engine cut out, an alarm started beeping and the engine went into limp mode. At this stage I had no idea what had happened and we limped back on one engine at 6 knots. Thankfully the bar was dead flat and running in when we crossed just before 8pm. It looks like drilling out the plug and welding up the hole is my best option for a fix. I'll definately be checking the other engine as I'd assume its just a matter of time for that one.