On The Hull Truth right now a Suzuki owner is bitching about his 4 year old blown Suzuki.
So it goes.
On The Hull Truth right now a Suzuki owner is bitching about his 4 year old blown Suzuki.
So it goes.
If you read over multiple boating websites you'll find that powerhead failures are not limited to one specific brand. Unfortunately, Yamaha had an issue in the early 4.2L years which seems to be at the top of these discussions. The 4.2L is the same powerhead that the Off Shore models run and many of these outboards have ridiculously high hours. We bass boaters are known for running our engines at the limit, which in my opinion is hard on any engine.
Allison XB-21 ProSport
Yamaha 250 SHO
Croxton Razor 4XL
it is a miracle outboards run as long as they do the way some folks treat them if you get 10 years out of one you have to consider it a win . in the real world if you buy a 3 or4 year old car or truck an the motor goes down you just have it repaired or replaced only in the marine world some folks think they should have unlimited repairs made. when you see an outboard company put a 10 year warranty on their product they didnt even stay in business after that.
Any good outboard or vehicle engine should last well over 10 years. My Optimax is 14 years old and still running great, the engines in my vehicles are over 20 years old and still running great.Originally Posted by ssmithboats
Vehicle engine run at a higher temp which good. However there operating rpm these days are around 2000 rpm. Most people with bass boats don't run at cruising speeds 3000 to say 4500. The run a lot at wot, approximately 6000 rpm. Plus the the engine water temp maybe at 140 but it isn't at 140 thru and thru. Crank idle a minute then 6000 rpm for a few minutes then off, repeat, off repeat, off. That's a lot of rotating mass that's run at less than optimal for a lot of its life. From what I've been told be mechanics and read, bass boats are the major component of outboard engine failures. Not saying others don't fail but he failure rates in bass boats are higher because of the way they are operated overall. Anything mechanical can and will fail at some point, some earlier than others.
2014 Phoenix 721XP, 250 SHO, Bobs Action Jack, Dual Blades, 112 Ultrex, 2019 Lariat FX4 F150 Supercrew 4x4
Outboards are designed to run wide open, that's why the thermostats are all set around 140 and they have an unlimited cooling supply. If you ran any vehicle motor wide open at redline it would overheat in a very short period, if you don't run an outboard wide open at a high RPM enough it will either get carbon buildup from not being ran hard enough or oil dilution if it's a 4 stroke. Outboards also make relatively low hp for their displacment compared to engines used in modern vehicles which also helps them last longer running wide open.
Last edited by bassfisher444; 12-29-2023 at 12:43 PM.
I had a Gen 1 SHO blow a power head without any alarms. It was just out of warranty when it happened but Yamaha fixed it free.
Outboard thermostats aren't 140 degrees because of running wide open, they are that temp to limit corrosion and mineral separation in the cooling system.
In my opinion the vast majority of SHO failures are due to lack of service and lack of warm up/cool down.
David Patten
Automotive and marine technician.
I own a Suzuki. It's just a standard 200. I think it's reliable. ALL outboards are operated at a very high RPM tange relatively to our cars and trucks. Saturday I ran back to weigh-in at 6000 RPM for 26 minutes.
ALL outboards can be divided into two categories, 1. those that have blown up and 2. those that will blow up.
This Yamaha owner is unfortunately in category 1 financially and emotionally damaged. I feel for him, I replaced my blown up Suzuki with a new one three years ago.
Reliable? Yes, but not compared to my Chevy. Some day mine will blow up too.
Not trying to cause trouble but what is the theory that all outboards will blow? A four stroke outboard power head is pretty much like a four/six/eight cylinder auto power head. The big difference is your vehicle has a transmission and you're not usually going from 0 to 50 as often or running at 6000 rpm for 26 minutes in your car or truck. Don't go from 0 to 50 as much or run at 6000 rpm for extended periods and I would think the life span of the outboard would greatly increase. I live in a community with lakes and many of the boats on that lake idle around for years and years and never have their outboards blow. I'm on my third Yamaha SHO and all three of them had over 300 hours at 3 years at mostly 3500-4500 rpms and they are still running fine. I sold a 2012 boat with a 175 HPDI on it and that motor is still running great. As I posted above my brother had an 8 or more year old SHO with less than 150 hours on it. The heads cracked and Yamaha replaced it out of warranty. Of course he had to stay on them but eventually they replace it because they knew it was a defect not abuse. Don't abuse the motor and perform regular maintenance and unless there is a defect you should expect many years of use but that's my opinion.
2021 Skeeter ZX225
2021 Yamaha SHO 225 VF225LA
I will rephrase it then. All bass boat motors seem to eventually blow. As I made my choice which brand to buy new, I hope I made the choice of which one will outlast me, I'm 81. But I know, it will blow up some day, I hope I blow up first LOL.
Claim it on insurance. That's why you have it. Maybe when running in the a bag or trash covered the water intake causing an overheat? That would be a qualified accident.
the insurance cos have heard those tired stories before they dont go for that anymore they do offer a plan to pay if your motor does blow up an out of warranty most of the time you have to ask for it . it doesnt cost much an is great for unforseen motor failures.
They covered my blown yamaha last year. And they covered one in 2017 as well. Basic coverage with allstate no extras. So they do it.
i just blew mine. coffee creamer oil now. 2016 sho with 293 hours
More details if you can.
For the Op:
I hate that this happened, and that you don’t seem to have any reasonable options out of a bad deal.
The only thing I can offer is if you consider rebuilding the power head, you should look at Hydra Tech Marine in Nixa Missouri. They do breakin on their rebuilds on a Dyno and they seem to specialize In Yamaha’s.
http://hydrotecmarine.com/services/
I try to drive as if my 16 year old Grandson is following me
Speak as if he is listening and act as if he is watching
dealer said a cracked powerhead. yamaha said they arent covering it since its too far out of warranty
They are not close to the same. Auto engine has a horizontal crankshaft , outboard has a vertical crank.
Proud Army Dad
We have insurance to cover us for the right reasons. That “plastic bag over the intake” story has circulated for decades now, I’d be surprised if any decent adjuster would fall for it. Brutally honest, if anyone can’t afford the potential loss in what they undertake, they should get the right coverage to protect against these losses, ie extended warranties, or “mechanical breakdown” coverage. I actually had mechanical breakdown coverage on my ‘07 HPDI, long after the factory 5 year expired, and until I sold it a couple of years ago.
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