SHO Reliability ?

[rudebuck]

Hey guys, I have a 2012 250 SHO with 700 hours, I keep it serviced per Yamaha dealer and have been well pleased. What is the average hour lifetime of these engines? Let me know how many of you have more than 1000 hours or so. I'm going to hold on to this boat for a while, just wondering how many hours these motors will run.

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

I have a 2010 first year of introduction 250 SHO with just over 300 hours. Of course it had a new power head when Yamaha changed them out. My engine is very reliable and works great but it seems that people have failures from time to time. If I thought I could get 700 hours like you have I'd feel real good. It will be interesting to see if anyone reports over 1000 hours with a bass boat application. I know the big 4 stroke motors see a lot of hours when on saltwater boats and maybe some pontoon applications but I've never heard of a bass guy having that many, maybe a guide will report their hours. Whatever you have been doing to take care of your engine is working so just keep doing what you're doing and enjoy your reliable engine. You could sell it, get a lower time engine or new one and it could blow up right away! Outboard motor usage is like gambling.

[r82ranger]

reliable since 2015

[PSM207]

THe SHO is the same power head that is used on the offshore models. These offshore models are known to run well beyond 1000 hours, however the offshores typically run in the low-mid rpm range for extended periods. IMO, SHO equipped bass boats should warm the engine up before hammering down, cool it down after high rpm runs before shutting it off and perform frequent oil changes with very high quality lubricants. Just my 2 cents.

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

THe SHO is the same power head that is used on the offshore models. These offshore models are known to run well beyond 1000 hours, however the offshores typically run in the low-mid rpm range for extended periods. IMO, SHO equipped bass boats should warm the engine up before hammering down, cool it down after high rpm runs before shutting it off and perform frequent oil changes with very high quality lubricants. Just my 2 cents.

This is great advice, spot on!

[clayshooter100]

PSM207 you are 100% correct. Lack of warm up, cool down and maintenance is what causes some SHO engines to fail early. There are lots of 4.2 offshore outboards out there with 3000 and more hours on them.

[Bearetta]

Run Lake Fork and you will warm up and cool down every time! Most hours on boats there are at idle speed.

[Mike Esposito]

My SHO pretty much lives in 4500 rpm range, always warm up in the morning and cool down after a run. So far no problems 2015 model.

[tablerockslinger]

A few yrs back I was a Yamaha tech and would go to GA every yr for Yamaha school. The amount of engines I seen with over a 1000 hrs without probs was unbelievable. The SHO imo is the best engine out there but it has to be maintained properly and given a little more tlc so to say. What PSM207 said is 100% spot on. I seen customers drop the boat in the water and fire it up and take off like they were running from the cops and then they would shut it off coming off plane. That’s the engines that were more prone to some kind of early prob. Let the engine idle after you drop it in and you park the truck. Idle out a ways past the bouys before you lay the hammer down and come off plane early and idle the rest of the way to your spot. Seems like time wasted but it’s time well spent in the long run

[hankgun]

I've always let my engines warm up before "hitting it". But I never thought about cooling it off when getting to my spot. I do sometimes because I have to idle into it but will make it a point to always cool off before shutting down. Bought my Skeeter 2 yrs ago used (2010 21 iClass) I had my service guy do annual maint when I first bought it (just because), again after the first year and just now did it for 3nd time. I plan on keeping to that schedule. I have right at 425 hrs on it now.

[Meleagris1]

reliable since 2015

Since 2010 for me.