Outboard longevity vs. Car motor

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jimmbo

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At 60 mph, the old Land Yachts of the earlier 70s(Cadillac, Lincoln, Imperial) only needed about 40hp to maintain that speed.
Fuel distribution problems have plagued engines ever since a second cylinder was added. MPI reduced that to almost nil. DI 2 strokes, actually all DI engines, have had a rough development/refinement period. The changes to the way and when fuel is introduced to the Combustion Chamber and the resulting burn resulted in a very hard carbon soot forming under certain conditions. This soot is what did the earlier FICHTs in, and is currently wrecking havoc in todays auto/truck engines, especially those with turbos.

Marine engines would suffer less wear if the operating temps could be raised. Cylinders and Pistons wear is worst at lower temps and during the warming up. However, at temps above approx 140 F., the dissolved salts in water(fresh and seawater) start coming out of suspension. Eventually the cooling passages look like someone ran a batch of concrete through the block and let it cure. The higher the temp the greater the amounts and types of Particulates that come out of suspension. They will then attach themselves to the surfaces of the cooling system. With Raw water cooling the water is always fresh, fully loaded with these salts. On our cars this too happens, but only when there is fresh undistilled water added to the colling system. After a few hours the salts have come out of suspension and then with anti corrosion inhibitors in the antifreeze the system should stay clean. Adding a closed cooling system to marine engines would allow higher operating temps and use of gycol. The heat exchanger would then be the victim of deposit buildup on the raw water side. Of course the higher engine compartment temps might shorten wire and belt life and in theory lead to vapour locking, but fuel injection on the newer motors pretty much eliminated vapour lock.
 
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Scott Danforth

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you can always pull the end caps on an HX and rod them out like the manual calls for to remove fouling from salt deposits.

as stated by jimmbo and earlier, if you can raise the motor temp, they last longer. Marine motors are a compromise with the cooling system. we live with fresh water cooling because its cheap, and because most boats are sold after a few years, so longevity isnt the OEM's main objective.
 

JimS123

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My dedicated towcar (yes I said "car", not "truck) is 38 years old. Although we drove it Summers when it was new, now it only gets about 100 miles a year use, and if its on the road its pulling a boat between the house and the launch ramp.

My "daily driver" outboards are 65, 45 and 34 years old. The "new" one has about 600 hours on it and is used extensively for trolling at idle speed.

Surely, maintenance (or lack thereof) and running hard and put away wet are some of the prime killers. Also, salt water use. But with proper care outboards can last just as long as a car.
 

mickyryan

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my theory is they take a outboard and max it out hp wise making it a hi performance engine, this leads to low hours but folks accept it because it appears to be the norm, where as a old 3.0 is a industrial engine that basically is a dog yet will last forever because it isn't trying to be something its not. take a v8 punch it stroke it max it out and same v8 that was made for mileage and sit them side by side and run them at 5500 till they blow and see the hp model was built for max hp not max miles or hours and that's where the failures happen, besides as Scott and others have stated user destruction from lack of good practices.
 

jimmbo

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My dedicated towcar (yes I said "car", not "truck) is 38 years old

But with proper care outboards can last just as long as a car.

I too tow with cars, truck seating position just too uncomfortable, for more than a few blocks

You see more outboards from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s than you see cars of those eras.
 

82rude

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Where I go ,a tow car would just be a stuck car.Of course thousands of people don't go where I wander and never will.My etec is only 6 going on 7 years old so its much too soon to say anything about longevity.Todays outboards are complicate machines ,much more could go wrong for sure.Computers,sensors,high and low pressure pumps etc.Whens sping going to get here is a more important question,lol.
 

flyingscott

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This comparison is apples and oranges. Car engines run through transmissions which make there job much easier. An outboard only has the gear reductions in the lower unit. An outboard also has to have a significantly different powerband than a car/truck does. An outboard always runs under load whereas a car very seldom does.
 

racerone

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123 no doubt you have observed a boat slowing down when throttle is backed off on a motor.----Now try that on a vehicle on a level road.-----Put shift in neutral at 55 miles / hr and see how far the vehicle rolls on wheels.-----Fact----marines engines have to work very hard to put smiles on people's faces.
 

thatone123

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Good posts all.....maintenance is King for sure. In colder states if you idle for at least 5 minutes before throttling up u you will save a lot of wear. Even in a Yamaha owners manual it states this. Most engine wear is in the first few minutes of operation. Most folks could care less.
 

thatone123

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MOD EDIT - Once again, forbidden subject. Some opinions are best not brought up.

PS - You're wrong.
 
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oldrem

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I would think a hole shot is much like running a dragster. Those motors don't last long at all, and the pros end up tearing down and rebuilding the engine after each short run. Wouldn't it be fun (not) if we had to do that every time we wanted to take the boat out?
 

jimmbo

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MOD EDIT - Once again, forbidden subject. Some opinions are best not brought up.

E-tecs are two stroke and aren't banned anywhere

MOD EDIT - See, he is wrong. Add Merc Optimax to the list of not "banned" two strokes.
 
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thatone123

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I naturally meant traditional 2 strokes

MOD EDIT - Then say that! And read our rules! Please!
 
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QBhoy

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Outboards don’t have selectable fear ratios or wheels to help ease the strain. I could go on about water density compared to air and small cc engines tuned for high power to weight ratio compared to cars.....you get the point.
 

thatone123

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You mean "YOUR" forum don't you? The best thing for it would be to erase your self from the forum...you have nothing to offer except opinion and political starvation of 1st amendment rights. Bet you loved Obama!
 

jimmbo

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First Amendment Rights, whatever they are, may not apply on a private board. And I know they sure wouldn’t apply to a website in my Country. Since this is a privately owned board, we do have to follow their rules. Politics, like Religion, can bring out the nasty in people. If you don’t like or can’t abide by them.... you do have a choice.
 

GA_Boater

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First Amendment Rights, whatever they are, may not apply on a private board. And I know they sure wouldn’t apply to a website in my Country. Since this is a privately owned board, we do have to follow their rules. Politics, like Religion, can bring out the nasty in people. If you don’t like or can’t abide by them.... you do have a choice.

Thank You for understanding, unlike others.

You mean "YOUR" forum don't you? The best thing for it would be to erase your self from the forum...you have nothing to offer except opinion and political starvation of 1st amendment rights. Bet you loved Obama!

Last straw - Enjoy your vacation and if you come back, please adjust your attitude.

I apologize to all members for what this has turned into.
 
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