Outboard hours?

[Tybo]

Just as a matter of interest, what sort of hours are people pulling on their outboards before servicing and replacing? My first outboards were all tiller steer, so I never really had any idea exactly of the hours they had done. I serviced them on dates and sold them when I felt they needed replacing. But what is the maximum hours an engine should be looking at, both two stroke and four stroke, before questions start being asked? Who has huge numbers on an outboard, and does it differ between brands?

[sehrguht]

Tuggers old johnson had around 1000 hours when it gave up.. but the sandbar it came into contact with may have helped.

I have a yammy 60hp 4stroke with 470hours after 600-700 i will start to think more about replacement or selling the boat.

[Tybo]

Okay, so between 500 and 700 hours is good time to upgrade, over 1000 hours is pretty much done.

Do you trade-in, or private sell the outboard? If so, what's the devaluation percentage on an outboard, how much can you expect to get, or pay, for a secondhand outboard? Is it better to upgrade earlier, and get some money for your current outboard, or is it not worth the effort and better to just get as much out of them as you can?

[Shane69]

Get it serviced ever 100 hrs for four stroke.

I have 140 suzuki.

Got 700hrs on it.

Atm each trip you put 6-10 hrs on if trollling.

When i first bought boat i was looking for boat with low hrs etc.

Now it doesnt even matter. Id rather buy a 3 year old boat with 800hrs than a 10 year old with 100hrs.

I got mates who have four strokes and they have 2000 hrs on it. Still going stroke. Keep servicing it on time it will last.

Shane

[Bi_polar]

Just look at it like a car for a 4 stroke outboard.

Some people service their vehicles every 5000k's and some service them at 10,000k's

It takes 10hrs @ 100k/hr to go 1000k's and 50hrs to go 5000k's and 100hrs to go 10,000k's

So a rule of thumb is 50 to 100 hours between services.

Your average vehicle is more than happy to do 250,000k's to 300,000k's before you need to think about getting rid of it.

So in saying that you can do the Maths.

Some of my friends have got 4 stroke with 1000 plus hours on them and still going fine but they have owned them from new and flush and service them and do what need to be done to keep them in good working order.

So there's a bit of food for thought and My thoughts on outboards.

If you are talking 2 strokes then that's an entirely different kettle of fish.

[bluefin59]

My 2004 60hp 2 stroke MERC has 900 hrs on it and still has even compression on all 3 cylinders and never fails to run reliably , but I do have it serviced every year religiously . A mate of mine who used to do charters out of Townsville had 4000 hrs on a 2 stroke Yamaha so there you go I'd just run till death unless you really want a 4 stroke . Matt

[Old Scaley]

I would be interested in hearing other thoughts about 2 stroke longevity. My yammie 40hp 3 cylinder is 7 years old and probably has about 500 gentle hours on it, gets serviced every year (new oil, plugs, impeller etc) and has equal compression. When do you think I will be looking to changing motors. Even though I regret not getting a 4 stroke I am hoping to get many more years out of this one and so far it has been perfect.

[getrigged]

My 2000 johno is an ex pro motor with over 300hrs, still kick over sweet And runs a dream!

[Old Scaley]

^^ 300 or 3000 hours?

[Tybo]

Some great responses there, thanks to all!

I have a two stroke with only 200hrs, so at this stage I'm laughing by the sounds of it. The key appears to be servicing and reliability. From what I've always thought two stroke engines should last a lot longer, due to their simplicity and less moving parts, making them easier to service and maintain. However, due to maintaining a high rev range I was lead to believe that compression and rings will reduce over time and need an overhaul. In saying this, my Dad's 4 stroke WOT is over 6000rpm, where as mine is only 5400rpm, so I don't know whether this statement is true.

It seems that 4 strokes are definitely the future, and this thread isn't 4 stroke vs. 2 stroke, but as Bi_Polar said 2 strokes are a different kettle of fish, so feel free to fill me in?

[crazywalrus]

Not sure I would be replacing a motor after 600 to 700 hours. If i t had not been serviced then maybe. I have a 4 stroke Suzuki motor that cost $15,000 and I have owned it for two years and put 500 hours on it. Under the above examples I would need to repower the boat at the end of next year. This will make for some really expensive boating if you repower every 1000 hours. I would think if you look after your motor you should be able to expect 5000+ or even more out of your motor. The new motors like mine are pretty good now. You can get a print out of how many hours the motor does at each rev range. This would be the first thing I would be looking at if I was buying a second hand motor with this facility.