Outboard motor failure-what's the deal?

Okay, I'm a newb to fishing from a boat. I've been a bank and wade fisherman for a long time. I have a yak that I fish from and this year I joined a club as a non-boater. Bass boats are great, and perfect to fish from but what's up with all the engine failure. It seems like people are accepting that blowing an engine or powerhead every so often resulting in shelling out $2K-$7K. To me that's wholly unacceptable, I can't really see dropping that kind of money on something that is so unreliable. Is it abuse, poor design, or are large displacement outboards built to the edge of performance tollerance? I plan to do a jon boat conversion in the near future mainly because of money and storage space but I'd like to have a bigger boat someday to fish larger water-do all the engines just suck that much?

Ive seen it too, But I think in the overall scheme of things, Its few and far between, when you compare the number of motors out there vs the number of blown motors. I have not noticed a trend by m,anufacturer have you?

I could agree with you but I've noticed people who tend to take care of their motors they last forever.

pbw said:

I could agree with you but I've noticed people who tend to take care of their motors they last forever.

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so what's the trick?
Change oil, don't run into stuff on the water, watch your gauges(engine temp). What else? How do you make 'em run long?

Nickk said:

pbw said:

I could agree with you but I've noticed people who tend to take care of their motors they last forever.

Click to expand...

so what's the trick?
Change oil, don't run into stuff on the water, watch your gauges(engine temp). What else? How do you make 'em run long?

Click to expand...

Most common cause of blown motors is improper cooling! Flush teh motor with clean water after each use, do not run the engine without a strong water flow, ever!

Change the impeller each year, change or clean the screens as well.

Do not redline the engine! A big motor on a small boat can, and will cavitate and that can allow air into the water intakes, as well as cause the motor to spin without proper pressure from the lower unit. This is especially true doing a turn.

I have only had one power head go on me in almost 30 years of running outboard boats and that was a manufactures defect covered under warranty.


I do constant maintenance on the motors, follow the factory guides and change the lower unit oil at least once a year (I run 2 strokes so no other oil to change). Take care of the motor and do not push it and they will last.

Thanks! That's just the kind of info I needed to rationalize a future purchase! :lol:

Another thing I have to add to Esquired' post would be don't be cheap!!!

I know a few guys like to save money on cheap oil I only use Yamaha lube in my 225hpdi and run ring free in every tank
the oil goes for $26 a gallon now I buy it in bulk so i get it cheaper and the ring free costs $7.99 to treat each tank.
I also change my impeller every year.
I also try to keep the motor in the safe range not running it over 5500 rps