Yanmar Engine Mount Replacement

[carlwk3c]

Buying a boat (Crealock 34h with a Yanmar 3JH2E.
Survey shows starboard aft and port forward motor mounts should probably replaced (look a bit compressed/"tired")
A local Yanmar dealer has quoted me about $800 parts and $700 labor to replace all 4 mounts and redo engine alignment.
I wasn't expecting the parts to be more than $50-100 each.
Am I being naive, or am I getting gouged on parts?

[delmarrey]

The mounts use to be around $100 but I see they have shot up to at least $135 to $194 each now. That really sux! He's getting the full mark up at $200 each. But the labor sounds reasonable. Probably two days work not knowing how hard it is to get to them. Then something else may show up in the works.

But this is the difference between a yacht and a boat. Yachts, one pays someone else to work on it.

[carlwk3c]

The parts cost is what it is ...
What I'm wondering is how hard it is to replace the mounts.
One place says they'd use a crane to lift the engine a bit, another place says you can remove/replace one mount at a time without raising the engine and that after the mounts are replaced the alignment labor would be about $250
Since I'm not familiar with this boat, I'm not sure if that's possible.
Have any of you replaced mounts yourself on this boat/engine combination?
It's a Crealock 34 with what I gather is standard engine/gearbox (3JH2E and Kanzaki gearbox. Access is good from behind companionway for front mounts, a bit tighter for the rear mounts by crawling down into the space aft of the engine through the removable watertight hatch in the cockpit sole.
If anyone can comment/advise on feasibility of doing the remove/replace on the mounts myself, I'd appreciate it. It's easier and more desirable for me to put in time than put out money where it's practical.

[TacomaSailor]

Replaced port aft one on my Yanmar 4JH2E recently. Did it myself with a friends help.

The mount was $135 (with a discount) from local Yanmar dealer.

Our motor has lift ring front and back. We firmly secured topping lift on the boom. Then used a 4:1 block and tackle (1/2" line) attached to both lifting rings. Aft ring was about 6" too far aft to have direct run to block. But, used it anyway.

Took up tension on lifting system and removed nuts on broken bolt then removed old mount. We only needed to lift port side of engine about 1" .

Installed new mount.

Aligned engine/transmission/coupling/prop shaft to +/- .002".

Total time to R&R mount and get initial alignment was 3 hours and another hour for site prep (clear access to mount, rig lifting, find the nut that drops under the engine...etc).

R&R the mount is easier with two people because one is operating the lifting device while the other is watching the mount and trying to remove the broken bits. It could be done by one person but would take much longer.

Total time to finish alignment (over a couple weeks and several trips motoring around bay to seat new mount) was about 2 hours.


Yanmar says to check alignment after 10 hours and 50 hours or something like that.

There is no mechanical skills involved in this project - just careful thought about the hoisting and patience working in restricted spaces.

The alignment process is tedious and time consuming. If you are not used to using thin feeler (strip) gauges you might want some guidance.

Access to our aft motor mounts is from front or back. I took the time to remove the alternator and a pump and a couple of tubes/hoses from the side of the engine so I could then lay on top of the engine (with appropriate padding) to work on the mount and transmission coupling, from above. However, some of the work required I lay on the galley floor and reach the bottom of the mount.

The key is to take the time to create a clear work area and make sure you have bright light to see the little details.

Had a bit of excitement first time we took boat out to bay after first alignment. A low pressure diesel tube broke at a fitting and sprayed vaporized diesel everywhere. Eventually realized my knee had been pushing on the fitting while I was laying on top of the engine doing the alignment.