dealers reputaion/review

[GregF]

I am not sure about that. I have about 3000 hours on my engine (with virtually zero maintenance) and the one I replaced had about the same. It wasn't the power head that prompted the repower. It was the other things that go bad on an outboard and you have them too (the foot, tilt/trim etc)

Just to compare to Detroit iron, 100,000 miles @ 40mph is 2500 hours.

[badmoonrising]

The 3.0 liter in my '68 Starcraft lasted 30 years. The original owner used it exclusively in the Chesapeake. When I bought it, it had been improperly winterized and the piston rings where rusted to the cylinder walls. Had it been fogged, all I would have had to do was rebuild the carb, replace the fuel lines and start 'er up.

Never knew an outboard to last anywhere near that long.

[GregF]

How many hours? A trailer queen might last forever if you don't use it much
I see 30 year old outboards quite often around here but they usually lived most of their life up north.

Are these I/Os fresh water cooled? My buddy down at Point Lookout only got about 5 years out of his Mercruiser (raw water) before it rusted from the inside out. I understand up there around Bal'mer your water is brackish to fresh. so maybe I am just talking about salt water (I think I said that).

[FloterBoter]

go up and down the coast and look at what all the professional fishermen are running.
last time i checked, the smaller boats had mostly single or twin i/o's.
of course the big ones run diesels.
didn't see many outboards.
i suppose things might have changed by now--but i doubt it.



.

[badmoonrising]

No, my Starcraft was slipped all it's life and it was freshwater cooled. The guy who owned it lived in Solomon's Island before moving to Chesapeake City. The thing that kills I/Os is lack of maintenance. The manifolds have to be inspected and replaced on average 5-6 years. Exhaust, same thing. I've never seen a Merc block "rust out", maybe he neglected it. A small hole in the manifold and water gets in the cylinders. Where an outboard drains after every use, I/Os have water sitting in them. Neglecting to flush after every use if trailered or at least at the end of the season coupled with not changing the manifolds is asking for trouble.

Around these parts I/Os well outnumber outboards

[badmoonrising]

go up and down the coast and look at what all the professional fishermen are running.
last time i checked, the smaller boats had mostly single or twin i/o's.
of course the big ones run diesels.
didn't see many outboards.
i suppose things might have changed by now--but i doubt it.



.

Yeah all the pros out of Ocean City (the head and fishing boats) all run I/Os for running offshore. Mostly diesels. Never been on a charter or guided offshore fishing trip on a boat with an outboard yet.

[GregF]

I/Os are fairly rare in Florida and I have never seen an I/O pontoon boat. Most I see came from up north.
Big boats are inboards and most fishing boats up to 35 feet or so run outboards. (2 or 3)

I know I/Os are popular in the bay up there. It just doesn't seem to be the same here.

[scfishnman]

I have had several I/O's (Mercruiser and OMC) and outboards (Evinrude, Johnson, Mercury, and Yamaha). Given the choice, I would go with an outboard. I do not put a lot of hours on a motor, but I leave the boat in the water all of the time, except to have it hauled out for maintenance. The outboard is easier to work on and requires less attention. However, today's units are so well made that I would feel comfortable with either type.

Over the last 37 years of boating I have been fortunate to have only minor issues: sticking carb float in Evinrude (this was just a 6 hp motor on a jon boat - the motor was submerged once and it had no effect on it), fuel pump diaphragm failure in a Johnson, slipping propellor hub in a Johnson, leaking hydraulic line in a Mercruiser I/O, leaking tilt mechanism gear box in an OMC I/O, prop shaft seal failure (result of fishing line) in an OMC I/O. No problems resulted in my being stranded on the water, and none of the problems were an actual engine or drive issue.

[badmoonrising]

Yep, maintenance is pretty cramped. Merc's done alot to help with quick drains, etc. though. Today's outboards require better than just backyard mechanical knowledge to work on, where your typical Merc I/O is simple and straightforward to maintain. Yeah they require more attention but done right they are bulletproof.

[GregF]

Today's outboards require better than just backyard mechanical knowledge to work on,

I don't really see that. It is like a new car. You don't really have to know all the magic to do the routine maintenance and if you really had a sensor or actuator problem you couldn't figure out, give the dealer $50 to read out the code. So far I have not seen anything like that. 3000 hours and it is still purring along. I did have a bad idle control solenoid but a little basic diagnosis turned up the bad part. I am sure it was throwing a code but I figured it out with nothing but the shop manual.

Most of what I do is simply changing fluids. That is real easy and you can do the motor oil right on the lift, sitting on the pontoon.

[badmoonrising]

Today's outboards require better than just backyard mechanical knowledge to work on,

I don't really see that. It is like a new car. You don't really have to know all the magic to do the routine maintenance and if you really had a sensor or actuator problem you couldn't figure out, give the dealer $50 to read out the code. So far I have not seen anything like that. 3000 hours and it is still purring along. I did have a bad idle control solenoid but a little basic diagnosis turned up the bad part. I am sure it was throwing a code but I figured it out with nothing but the shop manual.

Most of what I do is simply changing fluids. That is real easy and you can do the motor oil right on the lift, sitting on the pontoon.

"Working on" and routine maintenance are two different things. I know of no dealer you can give $50 to to diagnose or even simply get a code read or explained around here. Labor rates are $80 an hour minimum up here, some are $75-$100. I have several years training (trade school) and I guarantee you I know what I'm doing versus a backyard mechanic.

[GregF]

I have never had to get a code out of my motor but even if it was $80 it would not be that horrible to get the right part the first time.
As hungry as the dealers are around here I bet a crisp $50 for 5 minutes of work would work every time, particularly if you bought the part there. The reality is they don't break.
The problems you see when you wander around the shop are mechanical.
BTW if the new I/Os are not using EFI technology they are stuck in the 20th century. They are giving up the biggest advance in IC engines since the overhead valve. I heard the same thing about computers in cars, even complaining myself a little and now I would not own a car with a carburetor or one without a computer assisted ignition system. The money you save in fuel will pay for that diagnostic visit a dozen times over in the life of the engine.
People don't work on cars because they don't have to.

[badmoonrising]

Merc finally did away with carbs on it's 3.0 liter engine last year...decades after cars did away with them. EFI is still optional though on most of their motors, the EFI 3.0 is about 1k higher priced then the carbed version.

For several years they used an enrichment solenoid on their 2 barrel carbs that did away with chokes, still it's a carb.


If this motor ever goes south, (though I doubt it). I'd rather drop in an EFI 3.0 I/O than an outboard. I've never heard of a well maintained 3.0 giving up the ghost yet.

[GregF]

I suppose it is really just a personal preference thing. I doubt either of us will resolve it here. Peace out, let's go boating

Well maybe not It is freezing here. 41 degrees at 0116 and it is supposed to get colder before sun up.
http://esteroriverheights.com/esteroweather.jpg

We will get out Friday and Saturday tho.

[badmoonrising]

25 here, 21 last night...