Mercury 150 4 stroke

[Capt Matt]

Mercury has the best warranty in the business hands down and plenty of dealers
Personally the only real choices are  mercury and Yamaha mostly because its easy to get the warrenty work done on them, anything else good luck finding someone to work on it and more luck getting parts when it does break. At some point every motor will need parts.
If I had unlimited cash I'd have a verado, once you run one with the power assist steering and fly by wire controls your hooked. Smoothest outboard u will ever run
Buddy of mine has a 150 and a 300 verado on his two guide boats both have been problem free for tons of hours
Capt Matt

[wingtime]

If I had unlimited cash I'd have a verado, once you run one with the power assist steering and fly by wire controls your hooked. Smoothest outboard u will ever run

You can say that again.  Makes cable controls feel like something from the stone age in comparison!

[gran398]

The zukes have had some corrosion issues in this neck of the woods. Also LU problems. The guy that did my rebuild has a rental fleet, has ten 115 4s zukes. He buys them because they're cheaper. If dollars weren't the issue, he'd run Yamaha.

I'd put a lot of stock in the guys that run them everyday. If Matt says go Merc...would be worth a good hard look.

Show us a pic of that 2100CC

[wingtime]

Both the Zukes and Yammies have had corrosion issues around here.  I know a guy that all he does is fix stuff made out of aluminum.  Lower units and powerheads included...  Talked to him last week.... he showed me some nasty pics of powerheads with holes rotted right thru them...  All Japanese stuff...  Zukes and Yammies

[Fletch170]

I know the earlier four stroke yamis had issues with the exhaust rotting, and yamaha basically stated that this was a "Normal wear" item, and didnt cover it....leaving people with a 2k plus repair bill. I've always been a Yamaha guy, but that really put a sour taste in my mouth. Recently, our family (my father's) boat was a 34 Spectre. Ran twin 300 verados. Man did they sounds great, and the throttle response was amazing....................when they ran. Engines had mutually exclusive electronic failures, leading to complete engine shutoff. Several ECU's later, and a fresh set of controls, and one season lost, the boat ran well. SO, that left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Had the opportunity to run the new 29 cobia with twin 300 Yami's.....Holy cow was that impressive. So, I'm really up in there air here.

I'd love to have the reliability turn key motor with a warranty....but at the same time, I don't want to drop 15k into a 1983 boat, especially since I'll likely own it for 2 years or so. Ideally, I'm trying to trade up to a Competition 25 or Redo an old Contender.

[Capt Matt]

If your looking for a good used four stroke good luck they just seem to really hold there value, we just don't see that many decent 4 stroke mercury or yamaha's for sale even here in Fl. You will have a lot more options and get a much newer 2 stroke opti for whole lot cheaper.  
Capt Matt

[MarshMarlowe196]

My father in law owns and runs a total of 4 Mercury Outboards.  One 250 Verado, twin 200 4 Strokes, and one 90 4 stroke.  He's retired and uses his boats regularly, not nearly as often as a guide, but more often than I could ever hope to use mine unfortunately.  I've driven the Whaler w/ the Verado, and I can testify that it's smooth as silk.  Like others have stated, the power steering and fly-by-wire throttle work seamlessly.  I have to say, driving the power steering came naturally, but the electronic throttle took some getting used to when you've been used to some kind of feedback.  It's super sweet once you get a feel for it. Anyway, he's had mechanical problems with all his outboards.  They've all been in the shop, and came back with healthy repair bills.  The Mercury on the boat he keeps in the water is horribly corroded, but that could be written off as something that just happens to any outboard that spends its life within inches of saltwater.

I've heard good and bad things about Mercury's Warranty dept.  I'm thinking it's all about who your servicing dealer is, and who you ask.  The folks I know who run Suzuki's and Yamaha's all love them, but the Zuke guys do have trouble finding a dealer to service them.  There's just simply less Suzuki dealers when compared to Yamaha or Mercury.  The parts for a Suzuki aren't hard to come by, they're all in stock online most anywhere you look.

I've heard of the corrosion issues with the Suzuki's, but my understanding is that the issue was remedied in 2008.  The problem began with the "engine holder bracket" - there was a place where an O2 sensor was intended to be installed in the original design, but the final design didn't come with the sensor in this location, and the hole that was intended for the sensor was left open allowing corrosion to start and spread.  I haven't heard of any other types of chronic corrosion issues on the Suzuki's that didn't start with the engine bracket, but I'd like to know if anyone has seen or experienced other specific corrosion issues with this engine.  A lot of corrosion issues can be prevented by replacing the aluminum/zinc anodes per the maintenance schedule... lots of times, dealers and owners will overlook these during servicing, or determine that anodes are still good when they really should be replaced.

[fitz73222]

My father in law owns and runs a total of 4 Mercury Outboards.  One 250 Verado, twin 200 4 Strokes, and one 90 4 stroke.  He's retired and uses his boats regularly, not nearly as often as a guide, but more often than I could ever hope to use mine unfortunately.  I've driven the Whaler w/ the Verado, and I can testify that it's smooth as silk.  Like others have stated, the power steering and fly-by-wire throttle work seamlessly.  I have to say, driving the power steering came naturally, but the electronic throttle took some getting used to when you've been used to some kind of feedback.  It's super sweet once you get a feel for it. Anyway, he's had mechanical problems with all his outboards.  They've all been in the shop, and came back with healthy repair bills.  The Mercury on the boat he keeps in the water is horribly corroded, but that could be written off as something that just happens to any outboard that spends its life within inches of saltwater.

I've heard good and bad things about Mercury's Warranty dept.  I'm thinking it's all about who your servicing dealer is, and who you ask.  The folks I know who run Suzuki's and Yamaha's all love them, but the Zuke guys do have trouble finding a dealer to service them.  There's just simply less Suzuki dealers when compared to Yamaha or Mercury.  The parts for a Suzuki aren't hard to come by, they're all in stock online most anywhere you look.

Couldn't agree more that the dealer is the key component between you and factory and in reality that is who you should shop first for a new engine or service. I have 4 active Merc's going back to 1995 that have never been in the shop for anything, some engines approaching 800 hours and the point is that you, the owner are the best defense against warranty and maintenance issues. Get the factory manuals, keep them clean and flushed and treat them like family and they will last many years.

[RickK]

I don't know about the newer Yammies but my '91 has a big ole anode on the bottom of the engine bracket - check that one also.

[Fletch170]

Rick, I stumbled across a 91 225 with a total of 250 hours. They want 3k with controls. Any issues with this motor?

I'm a little worried about buying a brand new motor for a boat that's worth next to nothing on paper. As everyone knows, finding decent used motors here in the northeast is a pain in the balls. They tend to be beat to hell, or WAY over priced.

I'd like to have some money left in the kitty to buy some decent electronics.

[Capt. Bob]

Kinda drifting from the Merc thread but hey.....

Engine is very user friendly on self maintenance. The carbs are tech for the time period and work very well. CDI ignition on the 200 (mine) but the 225 may have Yams micro processor controlled style.  

Shift shaft is steel and prone to rusting away. New factory replacement (stainless) requires power head removal to install but....
An aftermarket item is available that circumvents this. My shaft still has some life left.

Eats gas if you feed it. Likes to run about 4200 rpm.

Rather loud.

Funky cable cowling attachment.

Excellent oil injection system but still uses oil.

Lower unit easy to remove and water pump replacement the same. Easy access to thermostats and pressure relief valve.

Not salt water friendly in that it doesn't have the stainless parts outboards of all manufacturers would get a couple of years later (think ocean pro, ocean runner, salt water series etc).

250 hours? The hour meter was frozen on my 91 at 645 and the PO said it had been that way for years.

Runs great, starts easy and smokes very little. Did I mention it's kinda loud???

Good luck

[Capt Matt]

The relationship with your dealer/service department is the most important thing with any new motor purchase period, I'm lucky as I'm his only mercury guide and he really takes care of me. I'm yet to have any mercury warranty claim denied in 14yrs
Had a geologist out on boat for a charter
Simply put by him US metal is more pure than Chinese metal that's why it does not get eaten up by the salt as fast
As far as the zukes go maybe getting parts is better than it used to be but everyone I know that bought one  who makes a living on the water went back to merc or Yamaha after either major parts issues or the salt just eating them after less than 5yrs. All outboards no matter what brand will break its just how much down time will you have

 A fellow guide I know from the marina runs a 300 zuke on his skeeter and blew the lower unit in march, he is still waiting on parts, he could get a brand new lower unit in a few days but just wants to replace just a few  gears to save thousands. Warranty won't cover it, bad seal from fishing line and it lost all the lube
He is back to fishing his old flats boat with a looper and still waiting, this is one of many waiting stores I personally know of
 My dealer also sells zukes too and describes them as disposable after the warranty is over. How many 10yr old plus ones do u see still running
To each his own
Capt Matt

[MarshMarlowe196]

The Suzuki/Johnzuki 4 stroke lineup is just now hitting the 10 year mark in 2013, so none of their 4 strokers are running after 10 years because they've only been around for about 10 years.  The DT Suzuki's are still around, and they're still running...

Like Fitz says, take care of your engines like family, flush them and tuck them in at night, and they'll last until they're obsolete.

My Zuke dealer describes the DF lineup as "bulletproof", but I'm sure a high caliber rifle could do some damage point blank.

[Fletch170]

Not to hijack this any further.....but I bought a low hours 96 225 Merc offshore. Seems pretty simple, and besides it having a "Drinking and smoking problem", it is a really reliable motor. I'm going to start a new thread...feel free to chime in.