Outboard life expectancy

[zippy83]

Hi all,

I always wondered if a outboard is well maintained how many hours can be put on one? When I was searching online for an answer I found some enswers to be anywhere from 750 to 1500 hours. Seems a bit low in my opinion.

I have a 2021 mercury pro xs 200 with 120 hours on it. What can I expect if its well maintained?

Thanks
Zipp

 

[silverbul]

Divide 120 hours by 14 per day then add 300 minutes, then subtract 100 seconds minus three. add six just because, by my calculations, your outboard will die at 4:13 pm on december 14, 2032, give or take. JMO lol

 

[Scott Danforth]

Design life is 15 years

Service life depends on many factors

As for hours, I would expect 3000+ if maintained

Marine motors are usually killed by lack of maintenance, the hardly ever die of old age

 

[racerone]

People know very little about fine machinery.----Most outboards do not have a chance to wear out.----They are destroyed by owners everyday.

 

[stresspoint]

uesem or loosem .a outboard will last longer if it is used regularly,

 

[airshot]

My outboard is over 30 years old, used regularly by all owners, maintenence has been kept up its entire life !!
Engine looks like new and runs like new, if properly maintained....forever!!

 

[dingbat]

My last power head was a "well maintained" 1997 200 HP Ocean Pro.

Had a little over 1,800 hours on it (2010) when the water passages in the cylinder walls eroded to the point you could not longer keep head gaskets on the unit.
Put a short block on it as PM

 

[zippy83]

Thank you all. Looks like regular maintenance will go a long way.

 

[jimmbo]

In the 1960s OMC was saying 1000 hrs at WOT. That might sound low, but back in those Days a Auto/Truck Engine had a lifetime of about 200 - 250 hrs max, under those conditions. The Reason they(car and truck) lasted much longer, was that they weren't run continuously at WOT. When Outboards became large enough where they weren't needed to be at WOT all the Time, they could last a lot longer than 1000 hrs, but as racer implies, most die horrible twitching Deaths sooner, because of Abuse and Neglect

 

[airshot]

Do keep in mind that those outboards with loooong histories are two strokes which are designed to run at wot for long periods of time. With 4 strokes taking over the market, we don't really have a long history to make comparisons. Obviously any machine will last much longer with proper maintenence, but...only time will tell how long these newer type 4 strokes will last. From what i am hearing and reading, maintenence and repair costs on these 4 strokes are quite expensive as labor rates at shops continue to climb skyward...will owners be willing to shell out big bucks to have their high tech 4 stroke motors repaired and maintained ?? With shop rates exceeding 125 bucks per hour and the additional labor required for repairs, things can get costly real quick !! Can boaters afford to keep up with maintenence on the newer models like they did on the less costly and easier to service two strokes ?? Only time will tell........

 

[racerone]

Picking up a 4 stroke 2004 model 150 HP Yamaha.----Water getting into engine oil.----Owner opted for a new motor.----Getting a 100 HP Yamaha for next to nothing.----Severe corrosion in head gasket area.----Big shops simple do not want to rebuild these exotic ( many , many parts ) motors.

 

[tpenfield]

My oldest outboard is 54 years old . . . it refuses to die.

The newest one is 33 years old.

I know your OB is bigger and probably will be used a lot more than my engines, but . . . Outboards tend to last quite a while 1,500 hours and 25+ years would not be unusual.

 

[QBhoy]

I know of a pair of 2016 mercury 115, that have over 4000 hours. My own 2016 merc 115 has over 1400

 

[stresspoint]

iv seen 4500 and a bit on a commercial F150 , still running strong , owner calls it the gorilla ( ugly as sin and cant hurt it).

 

[airshot]

Picking up a 4 stroke 2004 model 150 HP Yamaha.----Water getting into engine oil.----Owner opted for a new motor.----Getting a 100 HP Yamaha for next to nothing.----Severe corrosion in head gasket area.----Big shops simple do not want to rebuild these exotic ( many , many parts ) motors.

Correct....the newer four strokes might be great, but due to all the extra work and parts, no one can afford anything but regular maintence. My local marinia service dept tell folks if your engine needs an overhaul, forget it, buy a new one as labor costs make it to expensive. They tell me even Merc and Yamaha will just replace a severely damaged motor rather than repair under warranty.

 

[jimmbo]

I would expect complete Powerhead replacements rather than complete Motor replacement. Of course, the original Midsections and Lower Units could be recycled by Merc, as refurbished units for such Warranty Replacements

 

[Scott Danforth]

Replacement power heads are easier and cheaper for Mercury and other manufacturers for current production motors. They simply divert one of the many thousands of power heads to a box vs the assembly line

For product no longer current production, those go thru a first tier or second tier reman sub-contractor

 

[silverbul]

Outboards are like wives, they both wear out and all run sh43ty at times, giving them love, they last a lifetime.

 

[roscoe]

Well let's take a brief and incomplete and possibly inaccurate history of 4 stroke outboards.There were several small and short lived companies as far back as the 1920's. But successful companies include:

Tohatsu 1956 !
Homelite /Fisher-Pierce 1960
Honda 1964
Suzuki and Mercury tried 4 strokes in 1965
Yamaha 1984/5
Mercury 1994
Suzuki 1998

So we have 4 stroke history that tells us plenty.

 

[jimmbo]

4 Strokes didn't and still don't have the Acceleration/Torque Curve that the 2 Strokes have/had. Add their much heavier Weight, and Boats that were capable of Pulling a Couple of Skiers with a 50hp, are Slugs unless fitted with 150+hp