Steel plug in engine holder

[bill2452]

I've seen numerous threads on here about the popular steel plug causing corrosion issues on the engine holder of some units. I have a 2010 DF175. While I don't have an issue at the moment, I want to check what I have the next time I pull my boat and put it in the shop.

-Question 1. Does anyone know if Suzuki still uses carbon steel plugs? If not, what year did they stop using steel?

-Question 2. Exactly where is this plug located? I have the service manual and if it shows it there, I can't seem to find it on the engine holder. I'm "assuming" that it's a pipe plug of some sort? If I remove the covers, which side of the engine would this plug be located?

I did a search and couldn't find the answers to these particular questions. Thanks for any help!

Bill

[Harper]

Left side of engine. You have to remove the left side cowling below the engine cover. I replaced it on my '07 DF150 with an aluminum plug from here https://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Outboa...+aluminum+plug

[Murray]

Wasn’t 2008 the last year steel plug?

[jHydroman]

I don't believe the steel plugs were ever used in the DF 150, or DF 175, on these engines the engine holder casting was cast without the hole.

Jim

[bill2452]

Thanks for the input and the link. I'll post my findings when I get a chance to have a look.

[Harper]

I don't believe the steel plugs were ever used in the DF 150, or DF 175, on these engines the engine holder casting was cast without the hole.

Jim

My DF150. '07 model....plug was magnetic. Changed it out with an aluminum one. Just to be sure.

[Moonlighter]

The corrosion issue has only been reported in the early 90-140 series engines that all shared the same block. Was fixed after 2008 with a new design engine holder.

Doesnt affect other models.

[bill2452]

Ok, here goes. I finally got a chance to put my boat in the shop. Needed to do some PM and decided to check to see if I had the famous steel plug in the engine holder. I removed all the cowling and sure enough, it's carbon steel. My DF175 is a 2010. I did manage to remove the plug but it did take some effort. An allen wrench and cheater pipe did the job but would have bet money that the allen wrench would have broken or the hex in the plug would have stripped. It was the typical snap, snap, snap, all the way out. There did appear to be some sort of antiseize on the threads but not sure. The plug did appear to be in decent shape but i'm replacing it anyway. Female threads look ok too. I tried to include pics of the magnet on the plug but couldn't get the upload to work. Thank you Harper for the Amazon info, I did order one from there. So, there you have it, it wasn't fixed in 2010, it's other than a 90-140 series, and it does affect the 175.
Bill

[Moonlighter]

Bill, was there any sign of corrosion in the plug or the engine holder nearby?

I have never seen any reports of them causing engine holder corrosion on any models other than the 90-140 series pre-2008.

[bill2452]

Moon,
I don't see any corrosion. I don't know if things were changed later on but the plug in reference is threaded into a flange that's about 4" in diameter with 6 bolts attaching the flange to the engine holder. I'm primarily in fresh water with an annual trip to the salt for a week or so. Only thing on the plug was exhaust soot, but it's definitely carbon steel. That's about all I can offer other than guesses. Do you know if they actually eliminated the plug in later models or changed the material?

[Moonlighter]

The post 2008 90-140 series simply didnt have the plug at all, the casting for the holder was changed to eliminate them.

The suggestion was that the plug for the early 90-140 model was due to an oxygen sensor from the car vrsion of this engine not being used in the marine version.

As to the 150 or other models - I dont know.

[Harper]

I've never heard of problems with the DF150/175 block having the same problems as the earlier 140s, but since the plate was an alloy of some sort and the plug was ferrous, I elected to replace it to avoid any possibility of problems with dissimilar metals. Cheap insurance that was probably not needed.

[bill2452]

Harper, my thoughts exactly. No corrosion on the plug but changed it anyway. "Just because". Thanks for everyone's input.