Would You Buy Another Tohatsu??

[a64pilot]

Further reading brings me to what I have read before, that it takes a 270 degree rotation of the flywheel to get a pulse that will energize the ignition and fuel injection, but that’s always been the case in any magneto ignition engine, but they will start first pull.
https://www.boatingworld.com/engines/suzuki-df15a-efi/

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by Chotu

33trippindaisy: gotcha.

The outboard never leaves the transom of the dinghy. So it’s stored semi upright all the time.

It struggles to start and run when it’s kicked up then dropped and ran. It struggles when you raise the bow of the dinghy to keep water out of the dinghy.

In any case I am about to pull the lever on the slot machine again today and buy a new 9.9 fuel injected tohatsu. Hoping it doesn’t come up all lemons again.

I just bought the same engine and it runs like a top. I am being very careful with the break-in. I wish I could run it for the full 10 hours straight with varied RPMs. That is the best scenario as I understand it, but I will have to do this over a few trips.

I upgraded from the Tohatsu 4hp and It was great but had the typical carb problems and being 1 cylinder did not run very smooth. But it is reliable and so buying Tohatsu again was easy.
Jim

[Chotu]

The two pull start is directly from the manufacturer and the dealer. That’s what they said.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The two pull start is directly from the manufacturer and the dealer. That’s what they said.

For which motor? Do you have a reference if Suzuki? Interesting that nine does in one pull, and the ones in the article I linked to also did.
However with a sample of one, you really can’t tell anything.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

I just bought the same engine and it runs like a top. I am being very careful with the break-in. I wish I could run it for the full 10 hours straight with varied RPMs. That is the best scenario as I understand it, but I will have to do this over a few trips.

I upgraded from the Tohatsu 4hp and It was great but had the typical carb problems and being 1 cylinder did not run very smooth. But it is reliable and so buying Tohatsu again was easy.
Jim

Many, and I’m in that camp too will tell you that thermal cycles are also required for a proper break in, the clearances are different when cold vs fully warmed up.
But I’m also of the belief that oil should be changed much earlier than now recommended too.

[Sand crab]

My buddy had a new T70 on his Mac26M. That motor overheated every single time leaving and coming back to the dock but once opened up it was fine. There was also this weird gas smell that I couldn't trace, it could have been the tanks, lines or motor. He passed away so never heard what was done to fix these problems.
I had a Yamaha 9.9 on my tri and loved it. It was electric start and started every time. After I sold it there was a carb or efi issue related to bad gas but was fixed with no further problems. That motor was certified to run on the ethanol blend. I think the problem with all modern outboards is the ethanol absorbs water over time which is not good for the engine. New and fresh gas should help.

[CarlF]

I think the answer to this question depends on whether you use ethanol gas. In my experience, you will not be happy with any 15hp or smaller carbureted 4 cycle outboard if it has a steady diet of ethanol fuel - even if you use gas treatments.

For a very small outboard that uses very little fuel, it's completely reasonable to buy the "small engine fuel". Yes it's expensive but your annual cost will be invisible in the costs of cruising (and much cheaper than fixing an outboard). https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vp-Small-...yABEgLHjvD_BwE

My Honda 15 has been completely reliable in New England because - while coming north up the ICW from the Bahamas - I buy enough ethanol free dinghy gas in Virginia to last the summer in Maine. I have 20 gallons of Jerry jugs. There actually are two ethanol free places in Maine but I have found it's not as good as the fuel south of Virginia.

As someone noted, the arrival of EFI (fuel injection) in smaller outboards - including Tohatsu 15 - is a game changer. EFI does not have all the little bits you find in a carburetor. If you can't avoid ethanol fuel, buy an EFI outboard.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

For which motor? Do you have a reference if Suzuki? Interesting that nine does in one pull, and the ones in the article I linked to also did.
However with a sample of one, you really can’t tell anything.

2020 Tohatsu 9.9 EFI

Not a sample of one.

A quote From the manufacturer and dealer.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Many, and I’m in that camp too will tell you that thermal cycles are also required for a proper break in, the clearances are different when cold vs fully warmed up.
But I’m also of the belief that oil should be changed much earlier than now recommended too.

Doesn't hurt a thing to change the oil "early" and it costs chimp change. This is especially true the first 1000 hours or so.


When I was working in the patch, sailing as engineer on utility and crew boats before I got my Master's License, company policy was to change the lube oil in the generators every 100 hours. Just for a little bit of perspective. Every 100 hours in the main engines, too. That's a lot of oil but it was still determined to be cheaper than the potential wear increase from fewer oil changes. How many gallons of oil does that 6HP Tohatsu take per change? LOL. The last similar outboard I bought new, a 6HP Tohatsu BTW, I changed oil after every outing for the first 100 hours of operation. I didn't feel like it was money or time wasted. It is less than a pint of oil, after all and only takes a few minutes.



I just consulted the manual (may vary between models!!!) and it is somewhat ambiguous, says "change oil if necessary" at the first 20 hours and every 100 hours. Later it says overall inspection and maintenance every 300 hours and change oil. Guess where I stand on all that? And don't forget to also change the oil in the foot. Collect it in a glass jar and let it settle, check for water. Always refer to your manual for type and weight of oil. Don't just pour in leftovers from your car's oil change. Hopefully everyone here knows that gear oil and engine oil are not the same thing LOL! RTFM. And yes, the details are important. Not just because you just paid almost $2k for the engine, but because you may well need to depend on it some day and carrying a spare outboard will probably not be practical.

[thomm225]

So I have a 2011 Mercury (Tohatsu) 5 hp 4 stroke extra long shaft bought new.

I've changed the oil once/year since I've owned it. I replace the lower unit gear oil at about the same time.

Impeller change once every 18 months to 2 years.

Fuel filter has been changed once as has the spark plug.

This motor is my main engine so it gets run a lot. Many times on my Sunday am return it will run 4 to 5 hours straight pushing my 6600 lb Bristol home because the wind has dropped

I've used 10% ethanol (as recommended) the entire time adding Stabil in Late Fall and using the remaining fuel over the Winter and the following Spring

This has been a pretty good engine. It gets started all Winter at least once every 2 weeks.

I've also flushed the engine 5-10 times in it's lifetime with fresh water.......

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Many, and I’m in that camp too will tell you that thermal cycles are also required for a proper break in, the clearances are different when cold vs fully warmed up.
But I’m also of the belief that oil should be changed much earlier than now recommended too.

I'm glad to here that as I doubt anyone has 10 hrs to run around in the anchorage (or the want to). I will baby it for 10 hours though!

Jim

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Chotu

2020 Tohatsu 9.9 EFI

Not a sample of one.

A quote From the manufacturer and dealer.

My starts on first pull was the sample of one, and I have looked in the Suzuki manual with no mention of two pulls, so it seems they differ in that respect, the Suzuki doesn’t need a pull to charge up or whatever

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

I'm glad to here that as I doubt anyone has 10 hrs to run around in the anchorage (or the want to). I will baby it for 10 hours though!

Jim

Only time I have ever seen it In writing is for aircraft engines, and you could probably make an effective argument that they are wanting a good post run inspection before first flight, and not just thermal cycling, but it was also pretty universal for road racing motorcycle engines, most would cycle them a few times before putting them on the track and running it as hard as it could be.
Drag bikes we would run them enough to ensure they were jetted properly and no oil leaks etc, then it was time for 8 sec passes. So the absolute necessity of break ins are somewhat controversial, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

[s/v Jedi]

I sure am going to try to start in one pull

[jhulmer]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Only time I have ever seen it In writing is for aircraft engines, and you could probably make an effective argument that they are wanting a good post run inspection before first flight, and not just thermal cycling, but it was also pretty universal for road racing motorcycle engines, most would cycle them a few times before putting them on the track and running it as hard as it could be.
Drag bikes we would run them enough to ensure they were jetted properly and no oil leaks etc, then it was time for 8 sec passes. So the absolute necessity of break ins are somewhat controversial, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Yeah, but I understand that racing engines are built to loose specs to avoid the worry of break-in. Punch-it go fast rebuild it again next week.