Re: Useful life
Its hard to say. I have a 1989 90hp Evenrude on a 17 foot Bass boat that sees 45mph about a dozen weekends a year. I have an 1886 40hp Evenrude tracker on my workboat that sees close to 1000 hours on the meter every year. (Rebuilt once). I have a 1977 35hp Evenrude that is about worn out from 10 years on the work boat, (it was replace by the engine above), although I have thought about rebuilding it. Then there is a 1972 40hp Evenrude that was the original motor on the workboat, but now is another spare, but it has some life left in it. <br /><br />There is a 196? 100hp Johnson on the work barge, it just moves the 40 foot barge from one work site to another, gets maybe 100 hours on it a year. (This engine has been rebuilt twice). The 12-foot skiff for the barge uses a 1984 20hp Evenrude.<br /><br />Then I have a 1966 6hp Evenrude, and a 1971 9½hp Evenrude, on required life rafts. Neither has a lot of hours on them and they run about like they did when new, especially the 9½. <br /><br />I also have a spare motor, which is a 1988 15hp Chrysler that looks and is like brand new. Its a Chrysler so it has never ran
which is why its like new.<br /><br />I drain and flush my gas tanks at least once a month, and you would be surprised what you can get out of them. I use a water dissolving fuel additive, stable, and Sea Foam on a regular basis. I am really anal about the proper amount of oil and gas mixture. Just the exact amount to the ¼oz, no more, no less. I check and change spark plugs and tune up on a regular schedule. I have hour-meters on the electric start motors and Tiny-Tach (hour meters) on the non-electric start. Water pumps are another item that is changed regularly.<br /><br />Overheating and inadequate oil are in my opinion the two things that will wear out an outboard. Also I think that VRO or any oiling system is asking for engine trouble.<br /><br />Your milage may vary.
