OB Maintenance schedule, life expectancy, etc

DuckDogTitus

There is a 22 Cruiser for sale with 2 x Honda 40s. The boat really looks clean in the pictures and well cared for. The motors have 420hrs according to his ad. Is that a lot?

I've not had to deal with many OB's, can anyone give me an idea of general maintenance schedules, etc. What can you expect from 420hr OB motors in the near future if they are as well maintained as the rest of the boat?

I am betting someone here knows which boat i'm talking about, maybe he's even a member... Mr. Green

potter water · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:07 pm Post subject:

Those hours may only be a good break in for well maintained hondas. I know of a pair that are at 1500 hours and still running with clean oil and good compression.

It's all about the care. Rinsed after salt water, storage, oil changes, impeller care and so on.

Those hours would not be a reason to reject any of the Suzukie or Honda or Yamaha or Evinrude late model engines.

rogerbum · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:54 pm Post subject:

Bill and El got nearly 2100 hrs from their well used and maintained Hondas prior to having one of them fail (the other was still running fine). See this thread for a discussion of that. I think 2000 is a reasonable expectation. For comparison, a car that goes 100,000 miles at an average speed of 50MPH has the engine running 2000hours (not including idling).

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:41 pm Post subject:

thanks guys, i appreciate that. As I am getting ready to pull the trigger one of the things I've been balancing is more $$ upfront for newer parts, or save money knowing that I'll be replacing things sooner. This particular 22 really seems priced fairly if that's the story on OB's.

Spike · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:10 pm Post subject:

Duckdog
I noticed you live in Auburn, don't know if you are familiar with Auburn Sports and Marine? They do good work, have or can get any part,or parts you may ever need, but they are proud of their stuff. I use them quite often as I am just up the hill. Just a little FYI. Would like to see your boat someday.

bcassal · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:28 pm Post subject:

If the Hondas are carbureted and have had ethanol gas you might be looking at carb rebuilds. I had my 6 honda 40 carbs rebuilt 2 yrs ago to the tune of $1500. They have run perfectly since. Keep away from Ethanol and don't let them sit unused. Hondas are great motors and will give you long service.

bcassal
Carpy

DuckDogTitus · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:00 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated!
Spike Im actually in Enumclaw, my office is in Aub. However Im very familiar with Aub Marine. Myself, Pops, and brother have spent many a penny there. Its nice to have a trustworthy shop so close.

When we finally grab our next boat Ill be actively looking to be more involved with other boaters so I can learn from the wise. I think being a part of a community of boaters is half the appeal to us.

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:22 pm Post subject:

My honda 45s have very close to 2000 hours on them at this time and still run very well. They don't burn oil excessively, start right up, and they are dependable. At any rate, with decent care they go for a very long time. I hope to get another 1000 hours out of them. BTW, not that it makes much difference probably, mine have had synthetic oils in them (most of the time) for about 15 years.

Hunkydory · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:05 am Post subject:

I think 2000 hours is the very least you can expect out of the Honda 40. Bridge Bay Marina on Yellowstone Lake has a fleet of rental boats with Honda 40's & the Head Mechanic told me they have never had a serious problem with any of these motors. My twin Honda 40's have over 1400 hours & I still do not have to add oil between changes. Like TR, I use 100 % synthetic oil & believe the twins only nearing their half life.

Jay

thataway · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:28 am Post subject:

If you are handy, then a rebuild of the Honda Carburators should not be a difficult job. It is mostly cleaning out passages where the gunk has allowed to accumulate.

I run the fuel out of the carburetors, and then also drain them (small drain screw on the bottom, if I am not going to run the engine for a month or so. The Injected engines seem to do fine, and this does not seem to be a problem.

Falco · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 9:14 am Post subject:

Total hours is a secondary indicator of engine condition. The most important thing you should be looking at is whether the recommended, regular maintenance has been conducted on the engines. I suggest you purchase (or borrow) the service manual for these engines and walk the owner through the maintenance schedule to see what was done when and what was allowed to slide. Typically, engines with 400+ hours will have had at least 4 recommended service events, 2 of them "major".

thataway · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2013 10:11 am Post subject:

In commercial use you should expect over 4000 hours out of those engines. Granted that they should not have commercial use. But I would not worry if they check out OK today, and you maintain them, watch for corrosion, regular washing/rinsing, etc--along with oil changes, analysis (done now for baseline) lower unit change and analysis).