How Many Hours is Too Many on a Boat Engine (Outboard, Inboard, Stern Drive, Jet Drive & Diesel)

[@melrose9252]

During my years working at a dealership we never serviced a marine engine that was wore out due to an abundance of hours. Most problems were due to lack of use. Most marine engines die of neglect. I always suggest an hour meter because many try to guess their usage and typically over estimate. I put from 60 to 100 hours a year on my 115 Merc 4 stroke. Trolling and skiing rack up the most hours whereas fishing the fewest.

[@CfRlCajunfishRiplips]

Great video! I put around 150 hrs a year on my outboards. I have had good luck with both Yamaha and Mercury over the years. I use those two brands because the dealers are right down the road from me. I do my maintenance and they never sit unused more than a week or 2. I’m a firm believer that’s part of my good track record with outboards. You also point out RPMs and I was always told growing up never run a outboard at full throttle all the time. My father in law has a Yamaha 2008 in great condition with only 220hr but has issues every time he goes to use it. I tell him often he just doesn’t run it enough. This video is good information.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Like my mower I throttle it back without the catcher, less stress.

[@ctom4932]

20 years of wrenching on them myself, never seen a motor that was just worn out. Poor maintenance and freeze damage are the leading killers. Seen a few that just blew up, usually while under warranty still. The closest to "worn out" I've ever seen, 3.0 sterndrive. It had a previous overheat and a new cylinder head. It began losing power after about 5 minutes of WOT, back to idle and wait a minute 5 minutes of full power. Good compression, leakdown, ignition and carb all good. But if you lake tested it, #3 and #4 would lose all power (kill tested), for a minute or two until temps dropped below thermostat opening. Couldn't find anything. Finally we got customer approval to pull the unpainted replacement head and do a visual. All 4 cylinder walls were well polished, and two vertical lines you could snag a nail on in #4. The theory became that those lines were cracks, and they'd open up at 160F or higher. The combustion gases leaking into the coolant passages then somehow affected #3. Making the motor lose two cylinders. Customer declined magnaflux, lotta work to do that, motor was replaced. And that running problem vanished. Replacement was a long block, carb, ignition and everything else was reused. New thermostat and impeller installed, like you always do with a new motor. But, that's not a motor that just wore out. That thing had a serious overheat at some point. Which probably wiped out the cross hatching at the same time it started those cracks. With the cracks leading down in intercepting angles, like a V, more driving before it came to the shop and it might have been a very easy diag, as a cylinder with zero compression, 100% leakdown, and full of water.

[@catallaxy2000]

I have 1300 hours on 20 year old Yamaha Z200 HPDIs... Lift kept on the Chesapeake, I run it year round and do all of my own maintenance... Water pumps every three years, thermostats. plugs, VST and high-pressure fuel filters every couple years, low pressure fuel filter and lower unit oil every year... Recently rebuilt both lower units, replaced mystery filters in the fuel pump and injectors - also changed HPDI pump oil and belts... Run Pennzoil XLF oil and add ringfree to the gas... Hoping to get another 10 years/700 hours...

[@the_salty_captain]

over 1600 hours on my 02 evinrude. still runs like a top. Never done any oil changes either! lol

[@madmanmechanic8847]

I have been doing Marine repair for over 20 years started my own shop in 2000 . Your advice is spot on . I live where it gets really cold Elko Nev , looking to relocate some where warmer , But my boats I get are usually from the Miners here and they work so much about 90% of the boats sit and have very low hours on them. I deal with corrosion brittle wires fuel tanks full of varnish . Fuel systems and ignition systems needing restored . Not uncommon seeing boats from the 80s wit the original cap rotor and plug wires lot of deterioration. Oh and they old shove it out back in the weeds with no cover on it and it rot and wonder why its so expensive to put in new controls and major over hauls on the drive and engine. My advice stay away from the salties buy a fresh water boat only I have a few of those people brought in from other states and you cannot work on them everything is rusted and frozen . Good video my man that is cool you are reaching out to help people🙂

[@danielklem8727]

We need another outboard mechanic shop here in lower middle TN. Tims Ford Lake area.

[@madmanmechanic8847]

@@danielklem8727 I am looking for contacts in Tenn its my number one spot for looking for a place. I will be looking for a small house 2 or 3 bed one bath on at least a 3 acre parcel with a shop on it already. I dont really care about the house it can be a single wide long as the roof not caved in and full of mold hahahah. I can sleep in the shop. I also build muscle cars I have two cars that cannot be left outside they will be gone in nothing flat. I cant move into a place with out a shop to secure my tools and compressors and cars . Looking for a place with freindly people . Tired of we dont cotton to your kind around here@ 😂 I have had people offer help with be their contact person but none ever come through or are serious .

[@madmanmechanic8847]

@@danielklem8727 I took your advice signed up on two pages for FB put up some ads about moving my boat repair business there for over two weeks just blown off no replies starting to think they dont want people moving in there

[@michaelh7527]

Maintenance is the key! I have an old 1990 40hp 2 cylinder Yamaha that starts with touch of the key. 1. Flush motor every use. 2. Non ethanol gas 3. Change plugs yearly, there cheap! 4. Change lower unit oil and water pump impeller yearly. 5. Good fuel filter 6. Use a rag soaked with a little brake parts cleaner to just keep the engine, wires, hoses clean. 7. Remove a bolt? Clean the threads and use anti seize every time. 8. Rinse salt off of the motor with fresh water. 9. Cover the motor. Its really not hard to keep a 2 stroke outboard running right for decades.

[@adavidson116116]

Well not you got me worried lol, my boat is a 98’ with 1000 hours on it. I do have Maintenance records and it seems to have been up kept well. I probably won’t put but 50 hours/ year on the boat going forward due to it being at the lake of the ozarks on a lift and I’m just not able to get down there all the time. I’m hoping it’ll be a good boat for years to come. We will see

[@danielklem8727]

960 hrs on a merc 90 motor thats on my 2019 suntracker pontoon. ALL maintenance done yrly and this week impeller, plugs, wires, and all fluids along with a serious pressure washing completed.

[@mkp3824]

We had a 1958 50hp Evinrude on our boat when I was younger. Last time we had it out was 1997, so, almost 40 years. Heck, it may still be running. We sold the boat. It was the size that a 225hp is today.

[@ninodog10309]

I have twin Yamaha 2004 F150s I have 2000 hours. I do all required maintenance. Had timing belts done 2x. My Engines work like clock work. I was told by a master Yamaha tech as long as I keep maintenance the way I have been doing them I should get 4k hours no problem.

[@ninodog10309]

My fingers are crossed he is correct ! LOL

[@drdankuhfal9417]

Outboards. This might look strange. We had a Tracker Mercury 90 hp that we finally sold to our dealer with almost 5000 hours. We decided to give up on it when we started having lots of play in the lower unit. Over the 11 years we had it the water pump was replaced every two years. Lower unit gear oil replaced two to three times a season. Spark plugs replaced every season. Carburators rebuilt once due to bad fuel. Now we have a new boat with a 2020 Mercury 200 hp All the services are done every 100 hours weather we feal it's needed or not. Ide rather service the boat for fun then be towed in.

[@snatchbloock]

I bought an 03 Johnson 115 2stroke brand new for my classic 1980 Boston Whaler. The boat is lightly used and it has only 400 hours on it. It runs great and it's a fresh water boat. The one thing that I learned is never run ethanol gas. I had to replace a fuel pump because of ethanol gas. Recreation fuel only and professional service should keep it going for many more years.

[@1Chosen247]

I am looking a purchasing a 2014 Yamaha F150 four stroke that has 3000hrs on it. They are asking $7k. If you know that they use it regularly should I be concerned? I’m more concerned with something that has been sitting with little or no hours for years.

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

Freshwater or salt water?

[@1Chosen247]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon Salt water

[@1Chosen247]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon The guy selling it is a commercial fishermen in San Diego

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

It would scare me... unless I had the mechanical skills to do some pretty serious work on it. 10 years is a LONG time in a salt-water environment and with 3000 hours... I'd personally keep looking

[@1Chosen247]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon Thanks for your wisdom and expertise 🙏🏼

[@bubbleobill267]

Maintain em properly run em as long as they want to. My Verados are sitting on 1200hrs and they’re still going strong.

[@mikemeyerphotopro]

Loads pushed??? Our first boat was an underpowered bowrider. We would take 6 people out and try to pull up two skiers. One friend that was a semi-pro skiier pulled so hard on turns that he slowed the boat down :) Well with crappy gas that motor finally lost a piston and had to be put down :(

[@Petozzi]

5000hours on my suzuki df. No problems.

[@987CAYMAN07]

Avoid Carb engines in 2023 in states like California where you must buy ethonol laden gasoline. Stick with fuel injection, else be constantly be cleaning out your carb.

[@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon]

FREE For Boat Shoppers: www.BoatersSecretWeapon.com/Toolkit FREE Boat Buyer's Toolkit for new or used boat shoppers will give you 28-pages of checklists, questions to ask and how to demo the boat the right way so you don't miss a thing. Plus, get the cost of ownership calculator so you know precisely what your cost of ownership will be. FREE For Boat Owners: boaterssecretweapon.com/pages/boater-bootcamp FREE Boater Bootcamp for newer boat owners gives you insights on boat ownership basics, navigation and practical rules of the water and how to avoid, be prepared and handle emergency situations. No more not knowing what you don't know in the boating lifestyle.

[@markholland8953]

What happened to the information about diesels at the end of the video?

[@ernestpaul2484]

So I filled in the required fields to get the Toolkit and it doesn't do anything. I scrolled down and saw the updated Toolkit in red so I clicked on it. It sends me back to the top of the page where it doesn't let me do anything. Some help with this would be appreciated. Thanks Paul.

[@josephtaylor3857]

Excellent video as always Capt Matt. Any thoughts of the impacts of winterization on an engine? If the engine is also only used during three seasons, and has been properly winterized every year, is that overall good or bad when it comes to engine life?

[@josephtaylor3857]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeaponMuch appreciated. Thank you "Obi-Wan." 🙂

[@steveleston1848]

evinrude etec 150 what is high hours

[@philip4193]

Same thing with vehicles. I'd rather buy a 10yr old car with 100K miles on it (that has been serviced regularly) than a 20yr old car with only 50K miles on it. At least you know that the younger but higher mileage car has been driven regularly and the fuel system, cooling system & lubrication system has been regularly cycled & brought up to operating temperature, keeping all the seals and gaskets pliable and internal surfaces & bearings lubricated. Low-use vehicles that sit unused for long periods often develop leaks and internal corrosion and will often need water pumps, steering racks, fuel systems and various engine & transmission gaskets and seals replaced more frequently.

[@patrickwelch620]

I used to believe that too but it is actually flawed because it does not consider the drive line you're only thinking of the engine

[@philip4193]

@@patrickwelch620 Nah, all seals including gearbox, diff, power steering, axels, brakes etc need to have lubricant circulated around them & brought up to temperature regularly or they will leak from extended sitting (as does the air-conditioning system too). In fact, these seals will often tend to leak more over time from lack of use than the engine seals themselves.

[@uncommonsense9395]

I live in south Florida where we use our boats year round. I have never gotten less than 2500 hours on an outboard, including 2 strokes. I'm hoping to get significantly more out of my 4 stroke Hondas.

[@patrickwelch620]

Yes saying an outboard is high hours at 1500 is ridiculous

[@kevinncj22]

2 Stroke vs 4 stoke makes a big difference too. 2 strokes last a long time.

[@nomoney5103]

I would choose a 4 stroke over a 2 stroke with the same hours

[@CaptainSloose]

2 strokes last a long time if no one uses them. 4 strokes with tons of hours is no biggie. Find me a pair of 2 strokes with 5000 hours on the powerheads with no rebuilds. 4000-5000 hours on yamaha F150s is no big deal. My F150s have 1100hrs on them, they still purr like kittens. No smoke, no noise, no shake, no stink. 2 smokes are for boomers.

[@jheiny1231]

@@CaptainSloose your asking for a 2 stroke with 5000 hours on it. While your comparing your f150s with 1100 hours on them. Come talk to us when your motor gets up there . My 2 stroke has 3500 hours on it and roars like a lion. Not speaking on all other 2 strokes but I know my 2001 yamaha 2 stroke ox66 vmax motor was one of the best 2 strokes ever made to date and that has proven correct

[@CaptainSloose]

@@jheiny1231 the ox66s are great and reliable motors as 2 strokes go. You can have them. There’s a reason four stroke boats are worth twice as much as a boat with two strokes. The boomers can have those smoke machines. I’ll keep my sewing machines that just sip fuel and start every single time.

[@CaptainSloose]

@@jheiny1231 key west waterman took his F150s off his contender and sold them RUNNING with 3500 hours- only because his boat was underpowered when fully loaded. A tender for a mega yacht I’ve worked on has 7500 hours on their F150s and still going. Still original everything except new lower units and shift cables. I’m due for shift cables this winter and timing belts, and I’ll be good for the next 1000 hours. I can’t stand the smell of those 2 smokes. Disgusting.

[@jeffreystorer4966]

I spent 8 yrs wearing out a 8 HP Yamaha two stroke , running every day in salt water , it had no maintenance what so ever , the impeller failed at 8 yrs from new ,, it really is a use it or loose it situation ,, friend put 8ooohr on a daily use 140hp Johnson four stroke with 1oo hr services but no love , others they know let em sit dry they die

[@buckpowers4837]

Great advice

[@mikeabiuso2075]

Everything is relative! Salt water information is more often the information people read about online, then assume it applies to our inland freshwater boats. Its also funny to hear that the more you use it, the more hours you will get out of it lol. People can't understand that, and around here they freak out when a used boat has like 300hrs on it, they think its all used up. Frustrating talking to people that are closed minded about hours and milege. Many new boats back in the day (of no EFI) didn't even come with hour meters, its simply not a concern because the engine seems to be the very last thing to replace on a boat, which is 30 years later (around these parts of the world anyway).

[@Spirited_Driver]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon Great Lakes, mostly lake Huron, Canadian side!

[@GOD-xe5gk]

Bs I have a Johnson 1959 year 6hp fisherman I go fishing every Sunday every Sunday The engine has never been opened still original head gasket I am a mechanic so I take good care of it 40 year's of mechanic work an to this day I have never ever seen something work so flawless at one time I even worked for Johnson .

[@oldhardrock2542]

50, 200 etc hours I'm assuming are per year?

[@oldhardrock2542]

@@BoatBuyersSecretWeapon thanks. That's about what I'm doing on my Merc 150 on my pontoon. Lower unit, crankcase oil change and fogging 1st October. Pick it up in May...

[@frankkreyssig7626]

Rust never sleeps. Use it or lose it.

[@timp6858]

Only servicing a boat every 2 years is flat out wrong! Once oil has been heated to operating temperatures, the additives and conditioners begin to degrade. Also, oil can become acidic over time. Oil changes should be performed every year or every 100 hours, whichever comes first PERIOD! The truth is that there is no set number of hours to expect from a motor. All the factors listed in the video will combine for a different number for every motor.

[@randykane474]

Clearly you are not an avid tuna, halibut, salmon and bottom fishing person.

[@perpetualgrin5804]

I wish cars came with an engine hour meter.

[@patrickwelch620]

They all do

[@FJ40J]

Had a yamaha 115 2stroke over 5000hr. And 250 4stroke with 6500hr

[@melrose9252]

You must be a commercial operator. Recreational boaters almost never put that many hours on their outboards.

[@geraldkoth654]

For a two stroke outboard there is never too many hours. For a four stroke outboard, the first hour is too many. Cast Iron block inboards/inboard outboard are good for about 2000 hours without a hitch and double that if well cared for.

[@melrose9252]

You obviously have never operated 4 stroke outboards.

[@richardmcginnis9532]

Your wrong sir an outboard motor will last as long as general maintanence is done.. i always check my compression on the motor every year. I wont watch your videos anymore. All your trying to do is sell newer motors . People dont fall for this guys bs.

[@donziperk]

I agree any engine if properly maintained can far outlast what he is saying.

[@MM-zb1uj]

I have a Yamaha 4 stroke from 2006, run in salrwater.know 926 hour`s running with no problem hope it last longeer than 1000 hours......