Outboard Motor Brand ?

[ozscott]

just to add my 2 cents,id never buy a yamaha ,because there alloy is crap and they corrode on a high salt diet ,thier parts back up is poor imop in this country also,and dont even try to have a warranty calim .
honda are just too heavy and expensive,for my tastes,poor on warranty back up as well
etec well poor parts back ,and not many people know how to fix them when they play up,and thier oil is too expensive
merc have great parts back up ,good warranty ,and a reasonable dealer network.
suzuki ,well they have come a long way in a short time ,but expensive parts and poor warranty back up is a concern and crap alloy.
imop the japanese engines all have poor alloy as they have to buy it ,they put a good anti corrosion coating on them but once it breaks down its all over,hence the anodoes in the water jackets ,but they do lead the way with electrics.
the mercs have the best alloy hands down ,proably because they make there own.
i make these comments as when i had my outboard boreing and sleeving buisness i saw lots of engines from all over australia and these comments are made from my personal experience.
that said you really are governed by your local outboard service mechanic,you could buy the best outboard in the world but if no one close to you knows how to service and fix it properly then youve got the worst outboard in the world.

How long are the Yammy's expected to last with their crap alloy Opti? My 93 pre-salt water series 115 Yammy must be an exception to the rule...ohh no its not.. I know others with such 'vintage' yammies I had a Merc 650 that was the same age and it was in such a pathetic state internally - I ended up selling it for a pittance to a guy who was a tig welder - he was going to try to fill the holes as they developed cause she had a big one in number one pot's water galley from corrosion. The insides when I stripped it down looked terrible - unlike my Yammy that I stripped the heads off a year or so ago just to check things out and clean out some sand in some of the smaller water return galleys. its anti-corrosion paint was still evident with only minor pitting.

I have never heard such an attack on Yamm's in terms of corrosion - Im sure there must be some stories or experiences to back up what you say, its just unusual. Now the newer big bore ones seem to have some problems with one part of the exhaust chamber in the US, but thats lately and I understand is the higher HP motors.

As for parts - mate again I have always found what few parts I needed to be available very very quickly, albeit they are more expensive than Merc, but then again if you want quality you have to pay for it.

Poor Merc - I have had a few including from new, but jeez look at their score above - 11%, Suzuki are belting Merc and yammy, well enough said...

Cheers

[OPTI]

scott i saw alot of corroded yammies ,i had a friend buy a 150 off hamilton island it was on thier ski boat ,it was only a couple of years old i carnt remember the hours ,any way it had corroded through the exhaust divider and put salt water through the engine .destroying everthing internally ,and thats just one of many .warm water and high use seems to really bring on the problems .as i tried to state my comments are made from repairing engine blocks for mechanics all over the country,and based on what i have encountered over a ten year period.

[ozscott]

scott i saw alot of corroded yammies ,i had a friend buy a 150 off hamilton island it was on thier ski boat ,it was only a couple of years old i carnt remember the hours ,any way it had corroded through the exhaust divider and put salt water through the engine .destroying everthing internally ,and thats just one of many .warm water and high use seems to really bring on the problems .as i tried to state my comments are made from repairing engine blocks for mechanics all over the country,and based on what i have encountered over a ten year period.

Dont get me wrong mate - I am not doubting what you saw and you adding your experience is fine by me, but its not right to carpet bomb all yammies as having crap alloy. The fact is that if they were bad generally speaking they simply would not be bought. Up the top end for example everywhere you go its Yammy being used for commercial fishing and cruise boats and with very happy owners - it seemed to me that in Cairns and Daintree the ratio for motors was higher for Yammy than even in this poll.

Cheers

[OPTI]

the local yamaha dealer could have a lot to do with that ,without doubt some of the yamaha models are best in class for sure thier 25 and 50's are unbeatable compared to the others .,and up north where tinnies rule thats proably why there are so many.

[BM]

I have to agree with Opti. The Yammies must be watched when they get a few years on them as their fine water galleries clog with salty sludge and hard white sludge and create overheat issues. Quite common from say 10 yrs old. Its the type of clogging you just don't see very often with the other brands.

Scott, your 93 115 Yammy is a long way newer than the 650 Merc you speak of which will have been somewhere in the 70's. Yamaha didn't even retail engines in Australia back then!!! (not under the Yamaha name anyway). That said, it was an issue for the older Mercs to corrode around the land where the spark plug screwed in. Quite common. But it was only a cooling system external leak and whilst annoying couldn't directly destroy the engine as in water into the internals.

With regard to Suzuki, they are being agressively marketted by the Haines group and this is what is driving their popularity. Suzuki have always had a very on again, off again relationship with Australia. We represent an insignificant sales volume globally.

The mere fact that they are not self represented in Australia still shows that they are not very interested in our market. If it weren't for the Haines group running with them they may not be here at all.

Parts used to be very slow for Suzuki and parts for older Suzi's are still very slow and I have heard that parts for the current breed of Suzi's are not that quick either.

Personally I believe that Mercury are the best backed outboard in Australia for spare parts, support etc etc. Particularly for non typical parts. Mercury will have almost every conceivable part in a warehouse somewhere in Australia. Not so generally with the other major brands who carry good volumes of the normal service items (high turnover parts) but less common parts need to be imported.

[ozscott]

the local yamaha dealer could have a lot to do with that ,without doubt some of the yamaha models are best in class for sure thier 25 and 50's are unbeatable compared to the others .,and up north where tinnies rule thats proably why there are so many.

Good point - yep most that I saw were in that range.

Cheers

[ozscott]

I have to agree with Opti. The Yammies must be watched when they get a few years on them as their fine water galleries clog with salty sludge and hard white sludge and create overheat issues. Quite common from say 10 yrs old. Its the type of clogging you just don't see very often with the other brands.

Scott, your 93 115 Yammy is a long way newer than the 650 Merc you speak of which will have been somewhere in the 70's. Yamaha didn't even retail engines in Australia back then!!! (not under the Yamaha name anyway). That said, it was an issue for the older Mercs to corrode around the land where the spark plug screwed in. Quite common. But it was only a cooling system external leak and whilst annoying couldn't directly destroy the engine as in water into the internals.

With regard to Suzuki, they are being agressively marketted by the Haines group and this is what is driving their popularity. Suzuki have always had a very on again, off again relationship with Australia. We represent an insignificant sales volume globally.

The mere fact that they are not self represented in Australia still shows that they are not very interested in our market. If it weren't for the Haines group running with them they may not be here at all.

Parts used to be very slow for Suzuki and parts for older Suzi's are still very slow and I have heard that parts for the current breed of Suzi's are not that quick either.

Personally I believe that Mercury are the best backed outboard in Australia for spare parts, support etc etc. Particularly for non typical parts. Mercury will have almost every conceivable part in a warehouse somewhere in Australia. Not so generally with the other major brands who carry good volumes of the normal service items (high turnover parts) but less common parts need to be imported.

Thanks BM. Interesting stuff. My 650 was comparable at least when it had big dramas as my yammy now..so in other words Merc was 25 years old when it had dramas back in the late 90's and my Yammy is now 18 years old, so yep there is 7 years between them but the comparrison is there and given that when I stripped it down it had been leaking water for some time, you could shave the difference down to abut 5 years.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Thanks Gents. It wouldnt stop me buying Yammy but its good to know what the pros and cons are from your experience.

Cheers

[BM]

At the end of the day they are all good these days. Each has their own gremlins and its almost a matter of which colour do you prefer on the back of your boat.

And of course as has been said many times by many people, go with the brand that is best supported in yoru local area. No point having the worlds greatest engine and nobody local to fix/service it.

[ozscott]

At the end of the day they are all good these days. Each has their own gremlins and its almost a matter of which colour do you prefer on the back of your boat.

And of course as has been said many times by many people, go with the brand that is best supported in yoru local area. No point having the worlds greatest engine and nobody local to fix/service it.

Thats the truth. I have 2 mates with Merc dealerships and both are very good blokes who know there stuff and have looked after me very well with my serveral makes of engine (including Merc) for many years. Unfortunately for Yammy that may be enough, just that alone, to push me towards a new Opti - they are hardly going to miss my sale when one day my Yamm has had enough. In doing so I would be trading noise level for outright grunt, cause those Optis really fly. I wish the Optis would run without batteries n emergencies (and without requiring such massive batteries) and I am not a fan or having the compressor hanging off them but again I would overlook that for a great dealer and after sales care.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Just as a matter of interest BM and OPTI - in that thread about the 24 year old Yammy V4 140 (http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/sho...=174045&page=2) (BM has helped on that thread) where would the corrosion show up? Are we talking in the water galleys around the pots or in the heads or covers? Or is it just the exhaust divider?

As for salting up, mine did it too but easily cleared with an hours work myself. The internals of mine look cleaner than the above motor with the coating on mine still in good nick, but then again there is 6 years between them, and the mine might have got different coating process I guess.

Some of the Johno V4's had the build up problem too, perhaps to a lesser extent - my brother in law had a 140 - 87/88 and it had the same problems as the Yamm in the above thread and his cover plates where actually corroded to the point where he had to replace them to stop the over heat problems (he had gone through the usual things first with no luck). Alan Downs put him onto the problem and thats how he knew what to do.


Cheers

[BM]

Typically it shows as a hard crusty whitish/brown buildup in the water galleries on the cylinder side of the head. There is often a clear jelly type salt buildup too but this comes away easily generally. It can also form in the cooling passages around the cylinders too and to a lesser extent in the cooling jacket on the head.

As has been mentioned in the other thread you need to watch the small bleed holes that feed to various areas within the block. Blocked bleed holes between the cylinders and the sideplate on inline engines create issues too.

Cheers

[Dignity]

A man with class.
How can anyone knock the legendary Tower of Power's.
Mines '78 model and I've had it for over 10 years and the only thing that has failed was the rectifier/regulator which was broken when we got it.

Just legendary they are
Pity they don't still make them...that is for sure

Finga, I have a 1991 V6 150HP for sale, only needs an Oil Monitor, minor cost of $450 for a new one. Can't even get a generic or second hand one for it at the mo.

As I am in the process of repowering my boat this is an interesting thread and it appears that every one has their own opinions through various means. Intersting as it seems my mechanic has a very negative feel about Optis and Verados yet likes my old Merc. So do I go with his likes or dislikes, I think not as I will probably make my decision that will most probably be spur of the moment choice i.e. have it down to 1 or 2 motors then all of a sudden a dealer will have a special on and that will be the one. Lets face it I suspect that is how many motors are bought. I haveowned 3 mecrs and 1 suzi, could I go with these brands again, I suspect I would as technology has come a long way since my first merc.

I haven't voted as I really don't know and as most polls are swayed by those who have the strongest views they are not a good indicator generally.

[Dignity]

mmm - last posted here 24 March yet when I look at the General Chat page it says I last posted today , am I doing something screwy here.

Edit - guess I should have started a new thread as the time has changed to this post.

[Jabba_]

Every time someone votes on the poll, it bumps the thread to the top.