Out board reliability

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Opie
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Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:07 am

Out board reliability

#1 Post by Opie » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:11 pm

Not wanting to start a war, but am curious about different actual issues you may have had with what ever brand of outboard motor you have......please no "such and such is junk" just actual real world issues or lack thereof.
2018 Harris Sunliner 200/Merc 115 Pro XS

Bamaman
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Location: NW Alabama--Tennessee River

Re: Out board reliability

#2 Post by Bamaman » Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:21 pm

2012 Yamaha 150 hp. 2 oil changes is all I have done as we've just got 67 hrs. on it. Absolutely no problems of any kind. It was a replacement for a Yamaha 115 up 2 stroke motor that I spent $241 on one repair--in 28 seasons.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150

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lakerunner
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Re: Out board reliability

#3 Post by lakerunner » Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:51 pm

i have owned older OMC motors , 2hp,25,50,70,85. The 25 was absolutely the best motor I have owned, the rest were problematic.

Merc. 9.9, 30, 50,75, & 2 90's ( 1 2stk and 1 4stk) all ran great

Honda 90. Water pump went out first trip, water got under starter and ruined it, other than that it purred

Evinrude Etec 90, great performance but hard to work on. Plugs must be indexed, lower cowling hard to remove to replace the water pump. For some reason, sometimes water gets in the lower gearbox. had vac and pressure test and both held

So if that tells you anything all are good and sometimes you get a lemon
Loyd & Betty Meeks
Livin the lake life
2004 Tracker 22 Regency/2010 90 E-Tec. Pulled by Ford 2020 F 250,
McAlester, Oklahoma
Home lake is Tenkiller

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NonHyphenAmerican
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Location: South Central Kansas in Hooterville

Re: Out board reliability

#4 Post by NonHyphenAmerican » Sun Sep 17, 2017 9:23 pm

First outboard was a Wards Sea King Air Cooled 5 hp 2 stroke motor. It beat rowing. Barely.

2nd was a Honda 7.5 hp 4 stroke. I loved having the power outlet to keep the trolling motor battery charged. Went through a couple of fuel pump diaphragms but other than that it was a good motor for a lot of years.

Now I have a Yamaha 90 on my Toon. I like it. Don't want to jinx it, but so far it's been a good motor.
[color=#FF0000][b]22' G3 SunCatcher V22F
Yamaha F-90
Tooning on El Dorado Reservoir[/b][/color]

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ROLAND
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Re: Out board reliability

#5 Post by ROLAND » Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:22 am

we've been running a Yamaha 75 hp four stroke on our boat since the fall of 2009. Not one single issue with it. Now having said that I do have it serviced every spring.
Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

ralph
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Location: Elyria, Ohio

Re: Out board reliability

#6 Post by ralph » Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:19 am

1985 90HP Yamaha 2 stroke - Flawless
1999 115 HP Johnson 2 stroke - Once I found a very good mechanic it was bulletproof
Current 2015 Yamaha 4 stroke w/80 hours - Flawless
2015 Sweetwater 2086 Coastal Edition - All Toon'd Up
2015 90 HP Yamaha
Mid American Dual Wheel Bunk Trailer
2017 4WD GMC Canyon

ron nh
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Location: Litchfield New Hampshire

Re: Out board reliability

#7 Post by ron nh » Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:42 am

I've had only Mercury's from 94 to 2015 and never had a hiccup, only maintenance, never stranded, which is amazing. That said next boat I would buy Mercury, Suzuki, or Yamaha with out hesitation, I've never liked 2 stroke but love the new Evinrude.
2015 Qwest LS 818XRE Tri-toon w/mercury 115.

BobL
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Location: Louisiana

Re: Out board reliability

#8 Post by BobL » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:39 am

2001 Force 2 stroke 150 - had issues (this was on a 19' saltwater fishing boat)

2003 Mercury 2 stroke 200 hp - no issues (this was on a 23' saltwater fishing boat)

2009 Mercury 4 stroke 90 hp - no issues (this was on a Bentley pontoon)

2011 Mercury 4 stroke 115hp - no issues (this was on a South Bay Pontoon)

2014 Mercury 4 stoke 150hp - had a minor fuel pump issue at 50 hours. Now have over 150 hours and no issues so far (this is on my current boat)
SOLD - 2009 20' Bentley w/4 Stroke 90hp Mercury
SOLD - 2011 SouthBay 522CR w/115 4 Stroke Mercury
2014 Xcursion 23RF XS package w/150 4 Stroke Mercury

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zoom650
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Location: Macon, Panama City Beach

Re: Out board reliability

#9 Post by zoom650 » Mon Sep 18, 2017 2:15 pm

6 hp Yamaha kicker for my sailboat. Worked great about 10 years, then some bastid stole it. Replaced it with a Mercury 6 hp, then sold the boat a couple years later.

200 hp Yamaha 2-stroke (twins) 800 hrs over 11 years. No problem with port engine. Starboard engine had a gremlin the mechanic never could find. Solution was easy tho. Restart/reboot engine.

Current engine is 150 Mercury Verado. Purchased new, it was incorrectly rigged with the wrong harness resulting in overheating faults. Fixed under warranty.
Michael and Laura
'12 Ford F150 Lariat SuperCrew Ecoboost
'14 Harris Solstice 220, P3 tritoon, Mercury Verado 150, Enertia 14p.
prior boat: '02 Century 2600CC, twin Yamaha EFI 200's, full instruments.

Opie
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Re: Out board reliability

#10 Post by Opie » Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:23 pm

Zoom650, surprised it was rigged wrong, seeing how Harris and Mercury are owned by Brunswick and Harris should know exactly how to rig the motors. What did they explain happened?
2018 Harris Sunliner 200/Merc 115 Pro XS

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FLOUNDERPOUNDER225
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Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:19 am

Re: Out board reliability

#11 Post by FLOUNDERPOUNDER225 » Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:34 pm

2013 new in 2015 Yamaha 150 4 stroke on my Berkshire tritoon, 2 years last month 290 hours in those 2 years. Not a single hiccup, annual services, and ethanol free fuel. And I don't baby it.
Pensacola FL
2015 Berkshire 231 RFC
Yamaha F-150

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zoom650
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Location: Macon, Panama City Beach

Re: Out board reliability

#12 Post by zoom650 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:51 pm

Opie, They didn't say much past a wrong part was used in rigging. It caused fault signal beeps. A new one was ordered and installed. Everything works now.

This is an engine thread so I won't go into the bimini fubar Harris had with my boat. Frankly Harris should have done a better job with a boat at this price point. It's all been made good now, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
Michael and Laura
'12 Ford F150 Lariat SuperCrew Ecoboost
'14 Harris Solstice 220, P3 tritoon, Mercury Verado 150, Enertia 14p.
prior boat: '02 Century 2600CC, twin Yamaha EFI 200's, full instruments.

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