outboard life how long will they last

[BearCove]

80%+ of the hours on my engines are at troll. Hour run either way and 6+ hours trolling.

100 hr oil change, leg oils, plugs, all that stuff. No reason you can't get years out of them.

Mind you with buying used you have to do some reaserch in the year and make as there were some issues with certain models that had problems

 

[profisher]

Still running 1997 Yamaha 2 strokes, no corrosion, block rebuilt but original gearcase, mid-section, power tilt, carbs, electrics, etc. Good oil, marked fuel and regular maintenance. Always run 4200-4300 rpms and a 15 pitch prop which reduces strain on the crank, pistons and rods.

 

[bones]

Lots of 4 strokes troll on the main, don't bother with kicker. Hours at idle vs hours at 75-100%? How do you tell?

There is a clear answer: "it depends."

My computer print out tells everything. Hours at rpm range, port temps, faults and how many times it faulted, etc. It's a god idea to have one printed if your buying or selling

 

[sly_karma]

I didn't know that could be done, but it isn't surprising I guess. Good to know.