Quesion about Yamaha outboards

[Joker2]

I am looking to buy a motor and the guy is telling me that he does not recomend Yamaha motors because they sometimes have big electrical problems that can be expensive to fix, curious to know if this is true? also he told me that motors starting in 2001 use o-rings instead of head gaskets, he said they are very unreliable, is this true? Thanks

[THEFERMANATOR]

As far as YAMAHA electronics, they aree probably the best in the business and hardly ever fail on the old school carbed outboards. You just don't here of many problems with YAMAHA's and the electrical or ignition system. As for the head gaskets, I'm not sure. I know the high HP engines went to O-rings as head gaskets would blow out often under high compression.

EDIT: I went and looked at some of the last 2 stroke YAMAHA's on there parts website and it still shows head gaskets on them. Sounds like you found somebody with a distatste for YAMAHA's. I personally prefer made in the USA, but theres nothing wrong with the imports. Look at boats used in far off places and third world nations, most of them will have YAMAHA ENDUROS and such on them that have been in service for 20 or more years. That in and of itself should tell you something about the YAMAHAS.

[Joker2]

Yeah, that's what I thought, I had only read that the Yam's were workhorses, He aid he would rebuild whatever I wanted but he was favoring Merc's (1999 175 to be exact ), I'm just not sure about this guy, He told me he would warranty everything for 1 YR, He will deliver it and help me install it so we can test it Price 4,300, What do you think ? Thanks for your input.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Sounds a bit high when you can buy a good running outboard for less than that and install it yourself. YAMAHA's are expensive to rebuild when they need it though, I will say that. I've got a 250 that I bought to rebuild until I priced out just the bearings for it at over a grand.

[Joker2]

Thanks for your advise !

Originally Posted by Joker2

I am looking to buy a motor and the guy is telling me that he does not recomend Yamaha motors because they sometimes have big electrical problems that can be expensive to fix, curious to know if this is true? also he told me that motors starting in 2001 use o-rings instead of head gaskets, he said they are very unreliable, is this true? Thanks

Sorry to say this, but I completely disagree with that statement. Yamaha outboards are the best in the business, they are one of the best companies which manufacture top class outboards. I am personally using a Yamaha outboard from past 3 years and I have not faced any such problems, the regular services will keep it fit and fine.

[RidgeRunner]

No way to pin a bad reputation on Yamaha. Parts are high, but so are my Merc and OMC parts. I mean you can get a bad one in any brand. Too many people swear by their Yamaha motors for there to be any widespread problems. Good luck with your search for a good motor, whatever the brand.

[spareparts]

Yamaha makes a very good engine, parts are expensive, regular maintainance items are expensive, their electronics are probably the best. They corrode pretty bad, trim motors usually the first to go. They are very sensitive to low quality fuel

For Mercurys, I can't say anthing on the Verados, I don't have any experiance with tehm, they are heavy, majority of the assembly is now being made offsore. Their electronics have gotten a lot better. I like the opti's(probably what I would buy if I could afford a new motor), parts are avaliable anywhere. They do like expensive oil, they are lighter than most motors. The optis are equal to the e-tecs in fuel consuption and better than most four strokes.

Suzuki makes a good engine, they are far less picky about fuel than a Yamaha, weight is on par with all the other four stokes. They offer a 175 four stroke(Yamaha doesn't). Sem to be a bit cheaper than Yamaha when sold loose. Their warranty sucks, they corrode horribly. If it wasn't for Suzukis, Yamaha would have the worst reputation for corrosion

Johnson /Evinrude. E-tec are the lightest of the bunch, very fuel efficient. Don't use alot of oil. They are the most expesive. You have got to have a good dealer, its a must. The dealer must be very familure with tehm, if they don't know what they are doing, you're going to have problems. Can't say abotu corrosion(not that many around here), they do use the same Showa trim system that Yamaha uses.


When it comes down to it, I'll stick to my old school 2.0, 2.4, 2.5 mercs

[Monkey Butler]

I like my old carbed Yamahas and have found them to be reliable. Except for the corrosion issues they are solid motors as far as I can tell. That said I have run into many people who feel the exact opposite and in almost all cases their opinion was caused by having a bad mechanic try to fix a simple problem by throwing parts at it. I have bought two different motors for cheap money because the owners could not get them to run right even after having spent hundreds of dollars on "professional" repairs. I got both running for less than $200. Ferm and Spare and some other guys on this site seem to be able to diagnose these things in their sleep but for everyone of them there seems to be a dozen so called pros that I wouldn't trust to even change my spark plugs.

[macojoe]

I have had 3 Yamaha now 2 carb and my new to me 4 stroke

The first one was a 175 and a great motor!! The issue was the trim motor rotting and the shift rod, it was a 1989 and the shift rod was fixed after 1994
I also had a power pack go bad but thats it

The 2nd was a 150 Yamaha 1994 that i bought and it came with heat issues and i never kept it, but if I had today and knew what i know now i bet i could have fixed it.

I have nothing to say about the 4 stroke as I have had it ine season and man what a machine!!

All makes have had and will always have some problems! Ask 100 people and get 100 opinions!

Parts can be $$$ and if you are not handy you are going to pay a guy $$$ to maintain!
Get a book and ask questions here or on other sites and you be surprised how easy most fixes can be.
I have had Mers, OMC, Yamaha and they all have had there problems

Good Luck!