Outboard lifespan Poll. Need your kind help.

[jfkal]

I am wondering what your experience pertaining the lifespan of 50 - 100 HP outboards is from your own observations.
Also what are the main reasons for the ultimate death? Power Head, Gear Leg, anything else?
Many thanks in advance for your input.
Joerg

 

[Hot Property]

Bit like the proverbial "how long is a piece of string".

Very much depends on where it is used - a salt water engine that isn't flushed could be trouble after 5 years. Alternatively, my Merc 75 4 stroke was 16 years old when I sold it and going strong.

I've never had an outboard die on me so can't comment on causes of a terminal nature but my bet would be on electronic bits and bobs...

 

[Rappey]

There are absolutely lots of old outboards still running.
Beyond economical repair for a multitude of reasons are the death of many.
Age and corrosion in general seems more prevalent than "high mileage" and worn out.
I had a low hrs 2 stroke 90 seize due to an oil injection problem. Parts would be more than the engine would ever be worth.

 

[[2068]]

There are so many variables.

With the old two-strokes, "abnormal combustion" sent pistons and con-rods outside of the block, as did failures of oil injection systems. But there are plenty of old two-strokes still out there running on a pre-mix with the oil pump disabled.

Nowadays modern four strokes are a lot more complex, but more mechanically reliable. If you do submerge one, it will most likely be a write-off as just an ECU can be thousands, plus wiring harnesses etc. You still see partial outboards for sale with blown powerheads ... it would be interesting to see what the root causes of these things really were.

 

[QBhoy]

Plenty 2-225hp yamaha 2 strokes still about from the 80’s and even 70’s. Same with mercs. Despite having a modern Merc 4 stroke now. I think these early 4 strokes have yet to prove they’re able to rival the life span of the old 2 strokes. Time will tell. Getting better all the time now. Especially mercury. They are miles ahead of anyone else now. They are building bigger displacement engines to offset the lack of torque the 4 stroke used to suffer...and now even making them lighter than the equivalent 2 stroke. Mercury are, at least.

 

[jfkal]

Thanks Guys, Any insights i terms of running hours till terminal illness? Any make model from personal experience or hearsay.
Thanks
Joerg

 

[Boathook]

I don't think that running hours really matter too much but more where it is used and also how it is used. Saltwater causes my honda and malta more grief than anything else. The malta gets irregular use and put back in a locker damp, covered in saltwater quite often. It's around 30 years old and not many hours. The honda gets more regular use and is 14 years old with possibly around 2000 hours. Its normally used at 3 to 4k revs hour after hour which is bad news on a sailing boat! It suffers being in saltwater and I suspect that if used only in freshwater it would still look like nearly new.