How Does One Run a New Outboard in?

[Poodroo]

Hi all, I was sitting here dreaming of how nice it would be to go out and buy a brand new boat which I might do one day but it occurred to me that when you buy a car you are guided by the manufacturers as to how the car should be driven to run in the motor. Having never had a new outboard before I was wondering if the requirements are the same for running in ie: Keeping below a certain amount of revs for example.

Are the requirements the same for 2-Strokes as they are for 4-Strokes? Do different manufacturers give different running in specifications one from the other?
Do the dealers run through all the dos and don'ts when you pick up your new pride and joy or do they just hand the keys over and push you out the driveway once they have your money?

Feel free to share your thoughts because who knows, I may one day be driving a new boat. ;) I also thought for the sakes of my fellow Ausfishers who may well be close to investing in a new boat that they might be interested in this topic.

Cheers,

Poodroo

[blaze]

IMO
The run in procedure is a thing of the past, years ago the tolerences wernt so close, hand made bearings made of white metal, mould into shape with high and low spots, rings that were hand fitted to bores and filed to suit the bore. So these engines required a very gentle running and bedding in of components to create some sort of long jepody, mind you you would never get the hrs out of a engine you get today.
Todays technoligy sees things manufactured with better tolerences, better balanced with higher quallity steel so dont need to be run in as such.
This is how some manufactures are able to say "no run in needed"
For me
A rebuilt engine - take it easy for 1/2 hour and then use as it is intended to be used
New Motor - basicly use as intended
A no, no, with any of them is to create a lugged/loaded engine, free reving is the way
cheers
ps
that seem like a ramble, hope you can make some sense of it

[bigdonk]

hi there,

Iv owned 2 yamaha 2stroke 50hp outboards, both times i was asked to do idol fwd for the first 10 min.... then bring it up to around half throttle varing the speed only taking it to flat out 1 or twice no longer than 10 sec.......its better if you go fishing where there is lots of tidal movement, drift so you allways stopping starting moveing arround...
take it in for its 10 hour service.... after that do as you please....

cheers BD...;D

[juju]

They reckon thats there is no run in for the E-tecs......but for what it cost i gave it a slow build up and only some short burst at first....i palyed around bribie for the first few trips got up about 10 hours before i took her across the bay....had a check done after 30 to make sure everything was running ok on the printout it had a nice across the board mix of running speeds...

[lippa]

ive always been told... to go skiing with a new motor.
the revs are always different, ya stop and start, and most of all, if its gunna go bang , it will do it in this period

[deadbeatloser]

Hi all, I was sitting here dreaming of how nice it would be to go out and buy a brand new boat which I might do one day but it occurred to me that when you buy a car you are guided by the manufacturers as to how the car should be driven to run in the motor. Having never had a new outboard before I was wondering if the requirements are the same for running in ie: Keeping below a certain amount of revs for example.

Are the requirements the same for 2-Strokes as they are for 4-Strokes? Do different manufacturers give different running in specifications one from the other?
Do the dealers run through all the dos and don'ts when you pick up your new pride and joy or do they just hand the keys over and push you out the driveway once they have your money?

Feel free to share your thoughts because who knows, I may one day be driving a new boat. ;) I also thought for the sakes of my fellow Ausfishers who may well be close to investing in a new boat that they might be interested in this topic.

Cheers,

Poodroo

run in to ground an then replace.............................

[tully]

Just do what the owners book says. If there is a run in procedure, the book will tell you exactly what to do. Best to stick to it, with all the electronics involved these days, on some engines the service dept. can tell what revs the engine was doing, for how long, and at what hours. There's no secrets anymore, and no use saying "but mate, I did run it in, honest"

[notsa]

My honda had a runin period and when I get my new e-tec it will get a runin also even though they say they don`t need it.

[sharkymark2]

Just ran in my new 60 4stroke yamaha. The book said 1st hour below 2000 revs then second hr on to the plane and just keep it there and after the second hour any speed but not exceeding full revs for 5 minutes and after 10 hours away she goes. I wonder why manufacturers put these instructions in books? I guess that after spending all that money a little patience for the first 2 hours was going to cost me nothing and might prolong the life and the performance of the motor. I could make a few comments about some peoples ideas but why stir up a hornets nest ;).

[Chas & Clarry]

On our yammy 40, 2 stroke run in procedure was to use premixed 50:1 (as well as the standard oil injection) for the first 10hours.


first 10 minutes fast idle in neutral,
rest of first hour vary speed but don't exceed 1/2 throttle (can use higher throttle to get onto plane then reduce to half throttle imediately)
next 2 hours similar but up to 3/4 throttle
Rest of the 10 hours, can go up to full throttle but not for extended periodsWasn't as annoying as it sounds and if it helps with a longer life, I was happy to do it.:)

C&C

[sharkymark2]

I wonder if the Etecs are tank run in and thats why they don't need a run in period? I hear some of those Chinese Sail outboards are tank tested too.

[PinHead]

just get in and drive it..same as a car...with oils these days etc no need for run in times. There was no run in procedure at all for my boat..just get in and drive the thing...main thing to make sure of..give it regular runs at WOT.

[FNQCairns]

The e-tecs say no run in needed because they have a whiz bang cylinder coating/hatch and ring material, still I think it is kinder to all the other parts esp the roller bearings to take it easy for a while, all of the manufacturers recommendations are biased toward their defintion of useable life, their definition suits say a goverment department or a bloke who knows it will be sold in 5 years.

If a person plans to own the engine till sunset, be kind warm it up before blasting off and after a fast run don't just pull straight up and turn off let it cool a little by idleing the last 100m to mark before shutting off, the water drains straight out of our engines when the pump stops.

cheers fnq

[cormorant]

The old motors needed a run in period to allow the rings to bd in. Mordern four strokes are like cars and should bed in a little as they have so many moving parts. It takes a while and some temperature for the grease / oil they use when putting motors and bearings together to get flushed out and be replaced with a proper coating of your engine / 2 stroke oil. Until that oil is there and coating everything properly to give the parts the tolerances they shold have you shouldn't put the motor under any extra load or stress. That means no high speed WOT and heavy loads like trying to run a boat just off the plane.

The etecs have a very fine honed bore and polished rings so they bed in nearly straight away. They are not tank tested but I think are still started dry with grease in impeller housing for 30 secconds to prove all rods are connected to pistons etc etc and electrics work.

The etecs computer doubles the oil over 2000 revs for the first 10 hours to ensure there is extra oil while it is bedding in to coat the bore and bearing surfaces.

The boron nitrale honeing process on the bore supposeably is slightly porus allowing oil residue to permiate and ensure good lube / lower friction and wear at high revs as every stroke is a power stroke and creates heat.

They run pistons coated with hi tech formulae to stop carbon sticking ,dissipate heat and to cope with slow lean mix heat at top of piston as at low revs they only combust the fueli n the pit in the splash port well of piston not the whole head.

As for etecs running on no oil for hours it is a half truth. Basically if you cut off the oil tube from the tank there is still a half cup of oil in the line and in the injection system which will keep it running for a while. If you restrict it to low revs where it uses very little oil and fuel and low engine temp there is little stress and will run for a long while. Also the oil in the crankcase will not dilute like in a old 2 stroke as no fuel runs through the crankcase. New oils like the fully synthetic have amazing lubrication capacity in minute amounts and also manage to have extreme surface coating abilities.

The bottom line is take it easy on a new motor running low revs where possible and low load till they bed in while using the best possible oil and fuel. You must run the motor knowing their torque curve and the boat they are pushing so you don't overload the motor. Then with a 2 stroke or 4 stroke let it warm up and then run it hard to accellerate onto the plane and ease off then change speeds on the plane regularly and as mentioned always allow a 5 minute cool down at lower load / speed after a long run so motor doesn't suffer any temperature shock. Don't over rev a motor - especially a 4 stroke ever as with all those components spinning and valve springs they have a limit to just how fast they can be safely spun before damage or implosion.

Be nice to your motor and service it with plugs,oil, filters fresh fuel etc so you get your real horsepower as on the cowl and remember that your aveage car motor spends it life 2500 revs and has a gearbox to cope with load where as you outboard spends it's life at 4000 and has extreme loads until on the plane. Therefore you need 4 times as good a quality oil and 4 times more servicing to ensure long life. With 2 strokes it ain't no victa so go the good oil and fuel and run the right props always for your general usage and buy a second prop if you want to ski or go flat tack with no load. Don't ever buy the minimum horespower required unless you are going to run its rings off at flat chat all the time as a overloaded motor will die fast. Just think about it as running your car in 4rd gear all the time and how unhappy it would be.

C

[aussiebasser]

Start it, and drive it like ya stole it!!

It's always worked for my 4 strokes.

[Poodroo]

Thanks to all for the input. Some good feedback in there. Just wondering Pinhead if you are the proud owner of a Cruisecraft yet?

Poodroo

[Tangles]

just ran in a 50 4 stroke, first hr half throttle, 2nd hour,3/4 throttle, remaining 8 hours run at any speed but avoid full throttle for more than 5 mins at a time; after first 10 hours run normally

cheers
mike

[PinHead]

Thanks to all for the input. Some good feedback in there. Just wondering Pinhead if you are the proud owner of a Cruisecraft yet?

Poodroo

not yet..have to sell the other boat first..might take a while but I am not in any great rush..still using TMD while I wait. Not sure if I will be a "proud" Cruisecraft owner..will let you know after I have owned one for a while....always that hesitancy when buying something new.

[Poodroo]

not yet..have to sell the other boat first..might take a while but I am not in any great rush..still using TMD while I wait. Not sure if I will be a "proud" Cruisecraft owner..will let you know after I have owned one for a while....always that hesitancy when buying something new.

I am convinced you will love it as a boat and how it performs. My uncle has displayed some great handling characteristics to me in his 685 Outsider and I would certainly call myself a proud owner of such a vessel. In the meantime I am sure you will get plenty of relaxation in on the gin palace in the meantime. ;)

Poodroo