Don't want to get into the brand wars. Just trying to understand why so many 150-250 motors of all brands appear to have power head failure and some with less than 100 hours.
I hear fuel problems as a common theme yet its not like ethanol just entered the market. Is this acceptable? Is this just the way it is? Is there a tried and true motor out there? Anyone want to venture an educated guess as to the percentage of motors that do not make it to roughly 300 hours? What are best practices besides ring free, ethanol free gas, etc.

How about honest input and not "my brand is better than your brand". Thanks.

I think it has a lot to do with bass boats being sold based upon top speed. I dunno. I'm 49 years old and have been fishing since I was 7. I've been a boat owner since 1983. I've never blown a motor. I e replaced starters, flywheels, plugs, water pumps, etc..... it never have I ever had a major issue. My last boat had roughly 1900 hours. It was used almost daily for 18 years. The current boat has around 51 hours. And is used 3-4 times a week.

Maybe letting them set unused is part of the issue ? I don't know. Maybe the internet is to blame for all the blown motors.....likely. Before the forums and the whining about motors, nobody knew about the issues. They just went fishing.

1.I do think quality of fuels is playing a large role. 2. Required & manufacturer maintenance no being done due to the warranty safety net syndrome some have. 3. Maintenance is a habit & when the syndrome sets in( its under warranty so I'm not concerned) maintenance gets shrugged off. 4. The "top speed " syndrome before motors/lower units are warmed up.
Ive been running outboards since early 80's. Ive had 3 pop. 1- oil injection failure. Second one, worn out (over 1600 hrs in 14 years. Third one - overheat my fault!! Too high PTP & lost water pressure at WOT on a long run.
I'm convinced Internet also presents more to us than in years past, but , it does seem an extraordinarily high number of failures across the board.
As for my mechanic, he was a race boat driver. He's probably popped over a hundred. But, thats a different ballgame & he knows a guy that rebuilds for less than it costs the average Joe. LOL

Interesting topic. Watching this post also for opinions.

"internet" mostly.......... more junk added for whatever reason (epa, speed, mileage) etc. more junk with lots tighter tolerances....... but you ONLY HEAR 'bout tha ones that don't make it, never 'bout all tha ones that do!

know of a coupla "84/'85 mercs still runnin' strong with oiler workin'......... never been mistreated.

jmo.

A lot of the sho�s will have new powerheads due to Yamaha recalling them. I think you will see a lot less of them going forward.

I'm probably the worst of the go fast nuts out there, and have NEVER blown an engine.
1) i use higher octane fuel... mostly cause i have too.
2) i keep the filters replaced and make sure the fuel lines are not clogged
3) i ensure the injectors are cleaned and operating properly

and most importantly and i think is the biggest issue with guys blowing motors.

I LET IT WARM UP TO ATLEAST 115 DEGREES POWER HEAD TEMP BEFORE I HAMMER DOWN!!!!

just my opinion,, testosterone level is the biggest strain on engines. And yes, I know you and your cousin ran wot for 5 years and nothing ever happened always started with the "hole shot"

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are used on water and water has a funny way of finding its way into the fuel tanks, they are stored more than they are run, lack of maintenance, and it seems like whenever someone finds a problem with how the motor runs they just try to drive the problem away instead of troubleshooting or taking it somewhere.

Ever wonder why there are so many 2-3 year old Skeeters and Rangers for sale here? These guys have two speeds, WOT and off. Fishing is secondary to how fast can it go. They know that after a couple of years of this kind of use(abuse), the motor is close to end of life and they're looking to dump it before it blows. Taking a small hit on a sale is less costly than repowering.
I won't say that Steve is just lucky, but we can rest assured his motors probably get the needed maintenance and most important, are propped and set up correctly. I would wager that most are not.
Also, the computer in most if not all motors records the percentage of time the motor is run at what speed. Anyone buying used without looking at this is tempting fate.
Fuel may have something to do with it, but there are tens of thousands of motors that have run on unleaded, ethanol gas for years with out issues. Again, maintenance is the key to longevity, IMHO.
I personally would not take a risk on a boat that has been run WOT all of it's life.

lack of use an no recommended service has killed more hpdi s than anything else by the time the motor runs bad it is already hurt.

I have to go back to the 70's and no one had these problems. Fuel was all mixed. I had several V-4 Rudes that we ran the dog out of. Up keep was changing the lower unit fluid and an impeller. RPM's 5600-6000

cant compare the new motors to old 70 something pre mix the newer motor like opti s an hpdi s run on 30%less fuel an oil as pre mix motors did so they are having to run much leaner to get by the epa constrictions.

+1 on the warm up. When anchored I always start mine before I pull the anchor up otherwise I just idle for a ways. Blew my first one when it sucked some hardware off the airbox. Usually a good reason they blow.