Is the valve clearance service necessary?

Hello!

I am the new owner of a brand new Tohatsu 9.8 four stroke and I'm loving the motor so far. I have around 10 hours on it and have made sure to adhere to the break in procedure the entire time. The manual says to do the first service at 20 hours but I'm thinking of doing it right now to get any contamination out of the oil. I see in the manual, one of the procedures it calls for is a valve check & adjustment to be done by a dealer. I've spoken to a few of them and was told that it wasn't necessary if the valves aren't making noise. My only question is will not getting that done affect my warranty? The people I've spoken to have told me it wasn't necessary and surely they aren't all running around with voided warranties. Just wondering what the general consensus is with that.

Adam

I would check it.----Not hard to do and may cost you a seal or gasket.------Most often they use a seal that can be re-used.

Fine to do initial oil change at 10 hours to get any stray machining bits out. Since there isn't any oil filter, changing oil is the only way to remove contaminants. Thereafter, 50 hours is fine for an oil change interval.

I have checked valves on lots of these, but never had to adjust them. Feel free to check the clearance if you like, but I probably wouldn't bother.

racerone said:

I would check it.----Not hard to do and may cost you a seal or gasket.------Most often they use a seal that can be re-used.

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Thanks! I'll run the motor with the new oil up to 20 hours and try to get some prices around for the check. If it's under $100, I'll probably go for it for peace of mind.

pvanv said:

Fine to do initial oil change at 10 hours to get any stray machining bits out. Since there isn't any oil filter, changing oil is the only way to remove contaminants. Thereafter, 50 hours is fine for an oil change interval.

I have checked valves on lots of these, but never had to adjust them. Feel free to check the clearance if you like, but I probably wouldn't bother.

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Good to know that changing the oil now will be better for the engine. I'm leaning on having the valve service done just for peace of mind, just in case I happen to be that odd-ball case of having a tight valve or something.

I also have another quick question about the motor. Ever since I've been running, after each trip, I take the cowl off and find a bit of salt residue. The majority of it ends up on the valve cover which is easy to wipe off. This is due to the motor riding too low and kicking up tons of spray whenever I'm on plane. The seal around the cowl looks solid when I lock the latch and I still don't understand how that much water is finding its way in, but I don't plan to run the motor again until I can lift it up.

Since this is a brand new motor, I really want to keep the inside pristine. I've wiped the majority of it off with a damp microfiber, but I want to clean it more thoroughly. I plan to gently spray the powerhead with salt-away in a spray bottle, then mist it off with a garden hose. I'm thinking of using Yamashield as a protectant so I don't get corrosion in the future. Is this a good idea?

It appears that the seal is about $5.00-----4 or 5 screws to take out.-------Takes less time to do the job than it would take to drive to the shop !!