IS 400 hours on a 50hp a lot?

[TheRealAndy]

Its a yamaha 4 stroke sitting on reasonbly priced second hand boat.

Which also leads me to ask, how many hours use would you expect from your average outboard before is stuffed? I know with cars you would expect 300-400kms but then again you can alse get double that, so understand its not really a meaningful measurement.

[Noelm]

an Outboard will almost never wear out, a serious failure or neglect will kill it long before it wears out, there is Motors still in "active service" with well over 4,000 hours on them, BUT they are used regularly and serviced properly at the correct intervals, a modern Outboard has roller bearings in the big and small ends, a car does not, plus they have roller bearings at the crank ends, so in essence, if all things go as they should it will last a very long time, but as mentioned, a dud Water pump or a failed oil system or corrosion maybe will kill it first!

[Noelm]

one more thing to add, the correct prop is probably one of the most important items for engine longevity, too big a prop will "lug" a Motor and build up carbon and heat and fry a Motor quick smart, an Outboard needs to be able to acheive MAX RPM easily, or it will die a slow and agonising early death!

[megafish71]

Noelm is spot on. A mate of mine in the NT had a 50hp Yamy 4 stroke with over 5000hrs on it, (fishing guide) his neighbour bought it off him 2years ago and it is still going strong. Regular servicing and preventitive maintenance is the key to long engine life.

Cheers Ron

[Spaniard_King]

a modern Outboard has roller bearings in the big and small ends, a car does not!

Noelm, have you looked in a modern 4 stroke?? mate they dont have roller bearings on the big and little ends! this is 2 stroke technology.

The modern 4 stroke is based on automotive technology and forced lubrication systems.

50 hrs is nothing on a 4 stroke.. barely run it if that

[PWCDad]

I personally know of a 60hp 4 stroke Yammy that has just clicked over 800 hrs ....seen the hr meter myself.

The thing is with this engine ..it is not looked after that well .... It has an oil and filter now and then by owner but thats about it .... never been to a dealer since bolting to boat.

Here's the rub though .....

It still has its original plugs in ....
It still has its original impeller in ...
It has never had a valve clearance check and its the single cam motor verses the twin cams (the single cams are check every 100hrs verses 300 or 2 yrs from memory) ...

Motor is used in a commercial operation on the broadwater very weekend...

PWCDad

[Noelm]

I never said that can't happen, but 800 hrs of neglect is still not a lot yet, but I doubt that it will se 5,000 (but it could) it only takes one major drama left unattended to kill off a perfectly good running motor, and correct, a 4 stroke is car Technology in salt Water!

[TheRealAndy]

Thanks guys. I am new to the powerboat thing, been sailing yachts all my life so there is a bit to learn!

[PWCDad]

If you can .... do a simple compression check on it before parting with the dollars ... with low hrs it should be perfect .... look for even comps across the cyls. Most compression gauges are very inaccurate with their reading of psi but at least its reference across the cyl with a constant error.

I have two gauges over the $500 dollar mark just to get reasable accuracy .... china did not provide it ..one is USA and the other my trusty aussie one from 28 yrs ago ....

PWCDad

[Dan5]

Mate we were putting 2000+hrs on our yammie 40's and 50's with no engine trouble,my personal boat clocked up 4700hrs with a 4strk suzi so 400 hrs is next to nothing that's only 4 oil change's so don't worry about it.
Dan......

[Tassie JR]

When we first brought our boat it had 400 hrs on it, so we rang yamaha up and they said with regular services they are good for 4000 hrs with out touching them.

cheers tassie JR

[pursuit001]

hi mate as others have said 400 hours is nothink for a 4 banger some things to check is has it been serviced often do a compression test and look at its overall appearnce even better if buying through a dealer ship get them to do a written report or if its private deal and you wanna buy it before forking out the folding pay a mobile to give it a run over for piece of mind .
cheers

[Ringoscar]

With proper maintenance and regular running, 5000hrs+ is no issue at all.
With poor maintenance, no flushing, corrosive environment and even 30hrs – disaster.
Corrosion is often likely to end an engine's life before major mechanical problems surface. Control corrosion and fuel quality and regularly service engine and water pump and an engine will work for decades.

[wags on the water]

With the newer 4 stroke Yammies they can be hooked up to a computer and display the hours used in each of the rev limits. 0-1000, 1000-2000, etc. Contact your local Yammy dealer/service agent or if you're on the northside contact Wade Weimers.

Cheers,
Wags

[Noelm]

wags, that has been a "feature" of electronic controlled outboards for years, as far back as the 90's, even the old Fichts had this technology.