Outboard service cost

[SkimShot]

I have recently bought a boat with an Optimax 150 V6 (2 Stroke). It was serviced prior to purchase and winterised after our test drive.

I was considering going on a course for outboard servicing. I service and overhaul all of the family car engines and from my early twenties did engine rebuilds on karts I raced and a couple of cars when the engines reached the end of life. So engines themselves isn't an issue and I probably have a lot of machine tools that I need already, I'd be looking to understand the specific issues related to marine engines which I imagine to be mostly related to salt water cooling and corrosion.

What's prompted me to look into this is when I was talking to a friend that has the same engine and they mentioned that servicing was around £900 - £1k (100 hour service) located in Dorset. The kit itself is around £360 and as the boat spends most of the winter in my garage I figured I could save £500 - £600 a year by doing this work myself over a day or two in the winter. Whilst I accept that there's always costs associated with an expensive hobby, if i can reduce these by doing some things myself then it makes sense to me.

I realise that the cost of a scanner for an outboard is high at around £1k-£2k for a 2nd hand Mercury DDT (although I wonder if Vessel View Mobile could provide what I need).

So my question is really around whether the £900 - £1k service cost is realistic and if so whether anyone has any recommendations for servicing courses?

TIA

 

[simonfraser]

i paid the yard 850 to service a 2020 honda 250 last winter, bet i could do it myself, but sleep better this way

their mechanics were sloppy before it was recently taken over by an ex mercedes racing team engineer
quality has vastly improved, so it all depends on your wallet and how competent you recon the yard is

 

[Boathook]

My honda 30 cost around £350 for a dealer service and other 'mechanics' charge around the same. The main bits such as oil change is easy and I do most of the servicing myself. The water pump is relatively easy unless the boat is still afloat ! As mine has carbs, 3 of them, I leave them alone but getting tempted to purchase a balancing kit as when they are balanced the engine is so much smoother.

I don't think that there is much in a course for you to learn apart from where all the parts are likely to be and maybe how to use a scanner on an outboard.

 

[M Hill]

i paid the yard 850 to service a 2020 honda 250 last winter, bet i could do it myself, but sleep better this way

their mechanics were sloppy before it was recently taken over by an ex mercedes racing team engineer
quality has vastly improved, so it all depends on your wallet and how competent you recon the yard is

I’ve seen some of the same sloppy work turned out by the same yard since the F1 take over!
Shocking workmanship & attitude from them both first hand and by others.

 

[Hambleite]

We've run 2 150hp Optimax's over the past 20 years. 1st up to 1400 hrs, the second is on about 450 hrs.

Servicing costs can vary hugely but regardless of that variation, the key consideration is whether your mechanic / service agent has got relevant Optimax experience. They are fantastic engines (great power to weight, fast pick-up, very efficient at cruise, sound good too!), however, there are some systems where an experienced mechanic will be worth his/her weight in gold.

So - don't buy on cost/price, buy on experience....(ask about their experiences with Optimax's)

 

[rotrax]

My honda 30 cost around £350 for a dealer service and other 'mechanics' charge around the same. The main bits such as oil change is easy and I do most of the servicing myself. The water pump is relatively easy unless the boat is still afloat ! As mine has carbs, 3 of them, I leave them alone but getting tempted to purchase a balancing kit as when they are balanced the engine is so much smoother.

I don't think that there is much in a course for you to learn apart from where all the parts are likely to be and maybe how to use a scanner on an outboard.

Dont blue a load of dosh for carb balancing kit.

All you need is 30 inches of 1/4 inch ID tubing.

Put a reference few turns of black tape an inch from one end. With the air intake removed and the warmed up engine idling put the taped end into a carb intake so the edge of the tape touches the outer edge of the carb. Stick the other end in an ear. Listen for the 'hiss'. Do the other cabs, adjust so the 'hiss' is the same on all. When adjusted to your satisfaction, set the idle speed.

As long as the tube is put into the same place on each carb and the same distance in you will get a very reliable reference. Knowing how to seperate the carb butterflies is half of the problem, unless you understand this, adjusting one butterfly might alter an adjacent one.

I was the 'Go To' man for years for Webber and Solex sidedraught carb balancing. I was far more successful than those with dial gauges, as well as being quicker, and therefore cheaper.

Still got a few of the special tools I knocked up, including the 2BA tee bar for separating twin and triple SU's.

It was a trick I learned fro the BLMC Special Tuning dept at Abingdon from the bloke who did Timo Makinen's Squealey 3000.

He could balance carbs!

 

[SkimShot]

Thanks for the inputs all

 

[Boathook]

Dont blue a load of dosh for carb balancing kit.

All you need is 30 inches of 1/4 inch ID tubing.

Put a reference few turns of black tape an inch from one end. With the air intake removed and the warmed up engine idling put the taped end into a carb intake so the edge of the tape touches the outer edge of the carb. Stick the other end in an ear. Listen for the 'hiss'. Do the other cabs, adjust so the 'hiss' is the same on all. When adjusted to your satisfaction, set the idle speed.

As long as the tube is put into the same place on each carb and the same distance in you will get a very reliable reference. Knowing how to seperate the carb butterflies is half of the problem, unless you understand this, adjusting one butterfly might alter an adjacent one.

I was the 'Go To' man for years for Webber and Solex sidedraught carb balancing. I was far more successful than those with dial gauges, as well as being quicker, and therefore cheaper.

Still got a few of the special tools I knocked up, including the 2BA tee bar for separating twin and triple SU's.

It was a trick I learned fro the BLMC Special Tuning dept at Abingdon from the bloke who did Timo Makinen's Squealey 3000.

He could balance carbs!

I wish the carbs on the honda 30 were easy to get at. The inlet is hidden behind a plastic casing that comes off the same time as the carbs. The little 'balancing' screws are easily accessible at the rear.

I won't have to worry for a few years hopefully though, as the engine is an economic write off requiring major carb work, cam belt, main mount plus a few more bits so is being replaced. It's 16 years old with possibly around 2k hours so doesn't owe me anything and has been reliable.

The replacement, another Honda 30 with 6 years warranty and I know what to keep an eye on; I hope !!

 

[QBhoy]

Hi,
I would maybe only say that it depends on the particular service you were quoted for. To explain a little further, there is the likes of a 300hr service, which will require things like the water pump replacement included. Anode set change too perhaps. The OEM supplied parts for this alone, would account for a good chunk of the cost. This may feature a thermostat replacement inclusive or even additionally !
These Optimax engines have a compressor assisted feature on them. Although these usually require nothing much more than a clean of the passive cooling fins they have...and maybe ensuring she is operating and lubricated properly, they can fail and require replacement as the hours tick by or depending on previous use or maintenance history.
A litre of the hem high performance gear oil, seals, engine mounted fuel filter, possibly a racor separating pre filter element, 6 spark plugs and maybe a dfi oil system top up all thrown in there and the tally soon clocks skyward again.
A few hours labour and a quick grease of the nipples (sorry) and you'll be at or around the figure you've been quoted for sure.

Alternatively, to answer your question about doing it yourself...yeah, most guys with a bit of mechanical ability will manage this. Once you've got the tools required (like gear oil pump, big manly flat blade screwdriver for gear oil drain and vent and grease gun etc etc), you can save a bit of money. The good thing about modern mercury outboards of fairly recent times, is that Mercury actually encouraged the concept of basic self owner servicing. I am even almost sure that if you can prove the use of OEM parts and adherence to the schedule, warranty given might still be honoured in the worst call for it. Should that be applicable. Might be wrong though !

To answer your other question about the vessel view...What a tool this is for the money. It not only aids the latterly mentioned idea around recording maintenance performed (with countdown reminders specific to your engine and then it actually logs the record and events with the database or dealer of your choice), but it absolutely does record and display any fault/codes/advisory that the engine has previously or currently. Could go on for hours about the other features is has, like fuel use and being brilliant for pin point deadly accurate data from the ecu (brilliant for propping the boat) but that will do for now.

 

[YellowPeril]

I can’t help on the specifics of your outboard, however I imagine that if you’re confident doing basic servicing on cars etc., then you’ll likely have no problem doing the basics on an outboard.

I had a 4-stroke 115 and a 2-stroke 18, so nothing too complicated. I got fed up with paying large sums of money every year for what often seemed like an over-priced (and often sloppy) oil change.
I did this course: Outboard Engine Maintenance Course From £69 | SBT

The course was basic but it introduced me to the layout of an outboard, got me familiar with things like removing the gearbox and changing an impeller, and gave me the confidence to do the annual services on my outboards.

I often seek out a Youtube video on what I need – as there is one on so much these days – and these can help with the specifics to my outboard. I accept that if anything more complex arises I’ll have to pay an ‘expert’.