Engine life

[pigbike]

What would be the expected engine life in hours of a well maintained Johnson 200 Ocean Pro?

[seabob4]

Well maintained?  2500 hours plus...

[Circle Hooked]

Well maintained?  2500 hours plus...

Easy, I've heard of motors with well over 3000

[wingtime]

I think they can attain those numbers easily...  but does the average one make it that far?  I doubt it.  I think the ravages of time get most of them before then.  You have to look at not only operation hours but age too.  A motor that is used on a regular basis with good maintenance will run many more hours than one that sits and it rarely used.  Rust and corrosion will have a chance to set up on cylinder walls, bearings, etc etc   My ocean 1998 ocean pro has only 560 hours on it.  It runs like a top and the last owner kept it on a farm 40 plus miles inland from the sea.  He took good care of it so I think it will last a good while.  2500 hours? maybe maybe not.  But If i keep running it on a regular basis I think it will do OK.  Now if it had been kept say in a high and dry right next to the ocean....  nah I think it would be pretty crusty by now!

[seabob4]

A bit of a horse of a different color, but the 4S Hondas the Coasties use generally go 7500 to 10K hours...

A Bruce said, use and proper maintainance are key...

[pigbike]

OK this is good info. The 215 DC I bought has 638 hrs, which seemed like quite a bit to me. The engine ran perfect after burning off the fogging oil. Compression was 105 in all cyls with my gauge. Ran smooth and quiet.  Shifted smooth forward and reverse. I wasn't sure about the hours but figured it was a 1999 motor, so it would have some mileage.

I just wasn't sure how much was too much.

The boat was a salt water boat but has no corrosion on anything that I can find. The engine has none, and the block has been sprayed with some type of heavy anti corrosion spray, which has kept it looking new. There is no corrosion on any of the wireing or batteries. Has new oil in the gearcase, and no signs of water. I even pulled out a gearcase bolt to see if they were greased up, and they were.

PO said he had it serviced by a person who traveled to you and did the work. Said he had it serviced every year and the waterpump replaced every year. Sounds like he took care if it.

[wingtime]

Sounds like your good to me!  Run the snot out of her!  I would make sure you have a good water separating fuel filter on the boat to help deal with the problems ethanol brings to the table.  Even better go to pure-gas.com and find a station near you that sells non ethanol fuel.  I'm assuming it's a carburated motor, so the main thing that will kill her is a clogged up carb causing a lean cylinder.  And ethanol fuel can cause those kind of problems if your not diligent about it.

I spray my power head down every now and then with corrosion X or the likes of that to help protect it from the salt air.  Get yourself some salt away, salt terminator or similar product with the hose mixer attachment and be sure to flush the motor with that and rinse it down with it every time she see's salt.

[pigbike]

Boat aleady has a Racor filter. I drained the sight glass and only got fuel and no water. I don't know how often the actual filter should be changed. It looks brand new, but that doesn't mean much. I will probably order a new filter just so I know when it was changed.

I will have to take it out and run it some if it "ever" stops raining. I only ran it for the sea trial before buying it.

I don't know if it's ever been decarbed either. I might do that here in the near future.

As far as Pure Gas there is a station not too far from me, but out of the way. I will just buy enough for a few trips at once. I bought the boat through a boat yard who had it on consignment. He told me the owner used Stabil and non ethanol gas. This is hearsay, so I don't know if that was always the case.

[wingtime]

I'd replace the raycor filter, lower unit oil,water pump impeller etc. That way you have a baseline to start off with.  That's great news on the PO fuel use....   if it is true.  Non-ethanol fuel smells different than ethanol fuel so you may be able to sniff it and tell.  You can easily test fuel for ethanol...  the test involves adding.... water!  You find out how to do it with a quick online search.

[GoneFission]

I'd replace the raycor filter, lower unit oil,water pump impeller etc. That way you have a baseline to start off with.  

Change out the thermostat(s) while you are at it.     A stuck stat can be big trouble, and some folks take them out entirely, which leads to excessive fuel consumption and more cylinder carbon.  

[Capt. Bill]

There are a lot of factors that determine how long an outboard will run. As the other posters said, how well it is maintained is critical as well as how much. But another important factor is how it is run.  All marine engines are always under load. As soon as you back off they slow down. All of them also have a sweet spot where they run the best, get the best fuel economy, and have a perfect balance between power and wieght. Engines that are run in this zone, and are opened up occasionly will last the longest.

Then there are those who lets say......are  *&*%*&^*^* no thats to harsh, perhaps  uneducated boaters that have no buisness at the helm of any vessel and only know 2 speeds, Flat out and stop, and show no consideration to anyone and.........no no no thats not it.....was  just venting.......needed to do that....Ok now....need to  finish my thought...

Then there are engines that are worked hard, extended hours at WOT, work boats that push or pull heavy loads. Ski boats that have a lot of hours with heavy acceleration and decceleration and are propped for the hole shot and over rev at the top.  Engines with extended hours a low RPMs, etc etc. Many of these engines self destruct with well under a 1000  hours no matter how well they are maintained.  

When choosing a used boat/engine how the previous owner or even yourself ran/run the boat will also be a deciding factor in how long the engine will last.

[gran398]

Excellent post Bill, and darn good advice.

Biggest point....all hulls have a sweet spot. A trained ear can hear it. She's not pushing, she's not working, just rolling along. On a properly propped and pitched outboard,  even twins, this will occur at around 4200 rpm.

On most rigs this equates to highest mpg.

Pop her on plane, ease to optimal cruise, and set her...as Bill says, she'll go a long time.

[wingtime]

GREAT posts Bill and Scott.  

What you two described is exactly how I run my boat....  right in the sweet spot.  4200-4300 RPMs gives me a nice 28-30 mph cruise where the hull just rides great.... the motor is right in it's grove...  I get the best GPH of about 14-15 GPH...  Everything just feels right...  but I do open her up and stretch her legs at least once on each outing to work her a bit and burn things off a bit.

[John Jones]

but I do open her up and stretch her legs at least once on each outing to work her a bit and burn things off a bit.

Yep.  Gotta keep the spiders and mud daubers blown out.