SHO too much idling

[McQuaig]

I'm repowering my ZX200 but I've seen a lot of problems here and on BBC Engine Forum about SHO's making oil, even after proper break-in and because of idling too much. I live on St. Lawrence River where there are lots of speed zones and boat traffic so I DO idle a lot and can't (or don't want to) run flat out every time before I stop to burn out the fuel from oil. For that reason am I better off with a 2-stroke (Evinrude)? Or is the "SHO making oil while idling" just not true? Or does staying with regular oil instead of synthetic after break-in help with SHO's?

[edw]

I have had no problems with my 2016 225 sho....but there are a lot of reports that say otherwise. I broke mine in for the first 20 hrs with a 75% rate of over 5500 rmps...ran it like i stole it as I was informed by my dealer to do. I now idle when I want to without issues. What needs to happen is the rings need to be seated 100% in order to not allow fuel to pass through them thus making it look like you have "made oil". The metal used on the sho is so scientifically advanced its very very difficult to get the motor hot enough to seat the rings. if you cannot run the sho from brand new and break it in on the body of water that you mention in this fashion...either find a new body of water that you can fish for the first 20 hrs...or the sho may not be for you...and Evinrude would not be a good choice in my book...they tend to keep your mechanic on call...Mercury is a proven motor! When changing brands of motors, keep in mind the extra expense of changing all the controls and gauges! If it were up to me, I would find a body of water to break in the sho...its a beast!

[XingEyeballs]

I can’t find a bad thing about my 225 Evinrude Etec. No break in, super smooth idle when side imaging for a long periods of time, great power and performance, and the only time I’ve seen the shop was 3 year maintenance...fuel filters, plugs, etc. Also 7 year warranty. My two cents.

[McQuaig]

Thanks for the input guys....I've had several Evinrudes with no major problems and have the chance to buy a new G1 ETEC demo with only 8 hours on it, including rigging and prop for great promo price before end of November. But since this boat's a Skeeter I would prefer to stick with Yamaha this time. BUT I want to be sure I'm not having to change oil all the time to get rid of fuel in it (PITA and expensive). I have no problem breaking it in harder than the manual recommends as long as it doesn't affect warranty and does the job (EDW... I know what you mean about the cylinder material causing the issues). I just want to get an idea from forum members if it's only a few motors that aren't broken in hard enough making idling oil or maybe it's not even an issue...I also know there are a LOT of boaters that would not even check their oil all season.

[Bigcountry35]

Warranty will depend a lot on your dealers recommendation of break in, mine told me to hang my foot off in it varying the rpm’s for the first 3 hours with it trimmed all the way down to keep a load on the engine never made a drop of oil, some dealers say do it by the book or they will not warranty it I would recommend doing what the dealer tells you to do the SHO is a great motor but as said above you have to get it hot to seat the rings which is a lot easier to do running hard, once seated you will not have any problems.

[McQuaig]

Thank you...is it recommended to switch to straight synthetic after breakin? or stick with regular yamalube?

[woppercatcher]

I broke mine in by the book and my dealer's procedure. Before the 20 hour oil change my oil level went from 1/2 to 3/4. After the 20 hour service my oil level went from 1/2 to full. I'm not sure if synthetic oil was used at the 20 hr or not. The mechanic at the dealer said they do not put synthetic oil in at the 20 hour change though. I pumped out some oil to go back to 1/2 and after running hard a few times and a few checks the oil didn't seem to rise. I just recently had the oil changed to get out the old oil with gas in it and will continue to check it. I have been told by my dealer to if possible make a run so that the engine will warm up before stopping to fish or idle.

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

I broke mine in by the book and my dealer's procedure. Before the 20 hour oil change my oil level went from 1/2 to 3/4. After the 20 hour service my oil level went from 1/2 to full. I'm not sure if synthetic oil was used at the 20 hr or not. The mechanic at the dealer said they do not put synthetic oil in at the 20 hour change though. I pumped out some oil to go back to 1/2 and after running hard a few times and a few checks the oil didn't seem to rise. I just recently had the oil changed to get out the old oil with gas in it and will continue to check it. I have been told by my dealer to if possible make a run so that the engine will warm up before stopping to fish or idle.

This is what disturbs me about our Sho motors. I mean I love mine, I think it is an awesome piece of engineering but really sad that dealers are saying you can't just take care of it and use it like any other motor. How many of us can just go for a WOT joy ride before stopping to fish or idle and then another WOT joy ride before putting the boat on the trailer. This is a bunch of junk in my opinion. If Yamaha made a mistake in their selection of materials / processes (such as the cylinder walls are too hard) then they should correct it!

[edw]

I agree with choochoo....If I were not a seasoned bass boat driver and were new to the sport of bass fishing...it would be very scary at wide open throttle...as a first timer that does not have the knowledge of how to drive a boat at high speed. I think the dealer should offer a service for those that are reluctant and are first timers. I do love the boat and motor...just not the process of break in. I did as my dealer instructed after asking them if it would void the warranty breaking it in a differentiation than the book says. They told me that they got the information straight form their Yamaha rep!...and would honor anything that happened aside from overheating do to lack of water pressure. Run it like you stole it after warm up for as long and hard as you are able...was their phrase. By the way xing eyeballs, I wasn't bashing e-tec and meant no harm...I also owned a 225 ho when they first came out and had no problems either....before that I owned a Ficht 250...it was in the shop more than it was on the water and cost me many tournaments...I chose the e-tec replacement because the gauges were plug and play. I have heard lately however that the e-tec does have a some problems but not all motors are problematic....no bashing here man...

[Meleagris1]

[/U]This is what disturbs me about our Sho motors. I mean I love mine, I think it is an awesome piece of engineering but really sad that dealers are saying you can't just take care of it and use it like any other motor. How many of us can just go for a WOT joy ride before stopping to fish or idle and then another WOT joy ride before putting the boat on the trailer. This is a bunch of junk in my opinion. If Yamaha made a mistake in their selection of materials / processes (such as the cylinder walls are too hard) then they should correct it!

All 4 strokes can "make oil". Honda references it in their owners manual, its been seen with Merc and Yammie 4 strokes for years. Seems to get a lot of attention with the SHO for whatever reason. Just run it like any other motor and periodically check the oil. If you notice a rising oil level just change the oil with a pump. That's really all you need to do.

[JK]

All 4 strokes can "make oil". Honda references it in their owners manual, its been seen with Merc and Yammie 4 strokes for years. Seems to get a lot of attention with the SHO for whatever reason. Just run it like any other motor and periodically check the oil. If you notice a rising oil level just change the oil with a pump. That's really all you need to do.

I do exactly what Meleagris1 said...I have a 17 model 250 with 160 hrs and I idle a lot and I run the crap out of it a lot....In other words I just use it like I would any other motor and I haven't had a seconds trouble out of mine. Good luck on whichever you choose.