Yamaha outboard anode replacement

The cheapest parts on the engine, protecting the most expensive. Here is what an anode is doing, how we know when it has stopped, and how to book the two-year replacement.

What's in it

• The cavitation plate anode above the prop, replaced.
• The bracket anode below the trim system, replaced.
• Every other anode on the engine checked — the block anodes inside the cooling jacket on engines that carry them, and the trim tab where it is fitted.
• The contact surfaces cleaned before the new anode goes on. An anode bolted onto paint or corrosion is not connected to anything and protects nothing.

Why it matters

An anode is a deliberately soft piece of metal whose whole job is to corrode instead of the expensive parts around it — the trim rams, the lower unit housing, the fasteners. Once it is much more than half consumed it has stopped protecting anything, and the galvanic current goes looking for the next softest metal on the engine. That is how a trim ram pits and a lower unit housing starts to bubble under the paint.

Two years, or sooner

Yamaha's interval is every two years or 200 hours, and on a boat that lives on a trailer that is about right. A boat kept in a slip is in the water every day of the season, often next to other boats and shore power, and it goes through anodes faster. We inspect them at every visit and replace on the two-year schedule, or sooner if the water has been hard on them.

How it's quoted

We quote it the same day you ask. The number depends on your engine, and the service writer confirms it with you before any work begins. It is often done alongside the spark plugs, which share the two-year interval.

Yamaha Marine Service Pro Elite dealer — five certified technicians, one of them a Master Tech. 💬 Ask the assistant or call (302) 436-1737.