Looking for the cheapest place to get maybee a case of ring free. My 225vmaxo66 is acting like its cutting out a little at times. Had one mechanic tell me its probably the o2 sensor(dirty). Had another say it was probably the fuel pumps. Was told to run 1 bottle of ring free per 10 gallons several times to try and clean the sensor. Thanks for any replies

Last time my Yamaha V-Max did like that I was told replace the plugs and problem solved...Haven't had a problem since and that was 2 years ago.

It makes more sense for me to do the plugs first. Did yours look bad? I guess you did the plugs yourself also. Sure hope to get out as cheap as I can.

Alot of guys say Sea Foam is as good or better than Ringfree. It's cheaper and you can get it at most auto parts stores.

Yes, plugs and a dirty/bad O2 sensor are usually the culprit of a bad running VMAX. This will cause the engine to surge or run rough at various rpm's.

Also, check the fuel pump diaphrams. Some of the early VMAX's had the milky white plastic ones that were bad about cracking. Usually this will cause an idle problem and the plugs will foul easily.

One more thing to keep an eye on is the electric fuel pump pickup screen. It will get clogged with particles from the paper filter which is upstream. It needs to be cleaned about once every year or two. One of the symptoms of this is a slight loss of top end rpm and a sudden drop off of rpms after running several miles at upper rpms. The rpms will drop until you let off the throttle. When you drop the throttle again it will pick back up for several seconds and then drop off again.

...and check the fuel bulb ...make sure it pumps up and holds pressure.

Good luck.

Also pull the hood and look at the CDI wires where they bend over the top of the block. Mine shorted out to the block and had to be repaired. Fortunately, the CDI (@$1400) was still OK and it only cost me one hour labor - $75

Close call, there!

TimS, are you a mechanic ? If so, where are you located. You just spouted off more knowledge than my last 2 mechanic's combined.

They looked normal so you can't go by that alone. Make sure you don't skimp on the plugs, go back with the same as you took out. They are preset from the factory and you can change them yourself. Just do one plug and wire at a time and you will be fine.

NGK plugs are by far the best u can buy for a two stroke.

Texas Smoke
No, I'm not a mechanic. It's just that I've been through all of the things I mentioned on my 2001 225VMAX. I did alot of searching on the internet forums to find others with the same symptoms ...and what they did to fix it. The O2 sensor problems and the bad fuel pump diaphrams are two very well known issues with that engine. What all year models had those bad diaphrams I'm not sure. As for the O2 sensor that is obviously the reason Yamaha pushes that Ringfree. Two strokes and O2 sensors just don't go well together. A good synthetic oil like Amsoil is also a good idea ..for cleaner burning reasons. Great engine ..just keep it clean.

..one more thing about plugs. I always tried to make sure I had fresh plugs in when going out after replacing the O2 sensor or diaphrams. ...just in case my new plugs had already fouled again.

Where is the best place to buy ring free? I know bttsj1 is looking for a bulk purchase, but I just got a Yamaha VMax and need to buy some ring free. I know Plano Marine has it, but everything is usually fairly high in there.

ttt

I'm in the Austin area so I can't help you with that. I use the Sea Foam. You should seriously ask around about it. Try going over to the Yamaha forum on the Bass Boat Central website and ask those guys about it. They'll tell you how good it is.

www.bassboatcentral.com