Would You Buy Another Tohatsu??

[Little Song]

Hi.

Simple answer: No, I would not!

Best.
Jorge

[a64pilot]

I don’t believe the Suzuki or the Honda is a Tohatsu, and maybe not Yamaha either.

[winschwab]

Probably not. I own a 3.5 and a 6hp 4-stroke Tohatsu. 6hp is used on an inflatable, and the 3.5 is an auxiliary on a small racing sailboat. Both are only a few years old. Always use non-ethanol with Stabil. I still find these motors very finicky. I can usually eventually start them when they are feeling cantankerous, but no way would I ask my wife to put up with the sometimes multiple exhausting pulls to start. No rhyme or reason as to when they act up. Sometimes hard to start after acting fine the day before. Sometimes starting on first pull after sitting for several months. Have disassembled and cleaned the carbs several times, which seems to help some.

[33trippindaisy]

Chotu....I am talking about the storage position required for four strokes vs two strokes. four strokes can not ever be just laid over any which way......just don't work that way. So, I was simply asking if you have an upright bracket to store it on both on land and off, or if you have ever had the engine fall over on its side....specifically the wrong side. also I would agree with others here, you likely have a blown head gasket or a warped head, both likely problems due to overheating.

per Merc's .....Mercury Marine's primary business is outboard motors. Mercury Outboards, 30 Hp and less, are made by Tohatsu in Japan.[1] Mercury Marine builds 40, 50 and 60 horsepower outboard motors in Suzhou, China.[2] Mercury also manufactures engines over 75 horsepower at its facility in Fond du Lac in Wisconsin.

Mercury also makes the MerCruiser line of sterndrives (inboard/outboard drives) and inboard motors. Mercury Racing is the company's division for racing engines tailored for power and speed.

Also Mariner motors are the same, made by Tohatsu.....also Honda makes motors for Tohatsu in the larger sizes over 50 hp I believe......

Suzuki and Yamaha are different it seems. Hard to tell in the under 30hp market these days.

[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.

[33trippindaisy]

Chotu, sounds like a great idea! The reason I asked was because it happened to me (fell over on the wrong side) with my little Yamaha 2.5 hp, then of all things I put the little motor on the back of my 12 ft v hull to go fishing in a local pond, and I guess I went down the ramp too fast as the boat stood up on its tail and sunk in about 5 feet of water. i winched her back up the ramp with my truck, and went home and drained the oil, changed the plug, and the lower foot oil, and BAM she fired right up and worked perfect for about a year before the carb got clogged. So I sold the rig, bought the Tohatsu 20 EFI and all is good. Good luck with your 9.9 it should work great for you.

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by 33trippindaisy

(fell over on the wrong side)

Another prime reason for not having 4 strokes on boats.

When you fly a piston engineed aircraft inverted the sump oil (excluding dry sumps) ends up in the wrong places due to gravity. They have a variety of galleries and or scavenge pumps that feed to oil to the sump and when the plane is the right way up and hopefully while the engine is still running the oil is back where it should be when it stops. Laying down a 4 stroke engine the wrong way while not running allows the sump oil to accumulate in all the wrong places and seep into places it should never ever be.

It irritates me that the eco nuts allow gardeners to pollute the world with millions of 2 stroke tractors, lawnmowers, chainsaws, whackers, blowers, strimmers and whole host of agri machinery. Aviators are still allowed 2 strokes in their paragliders and microlights while because sailing is regarded as a elitist activity with less powerful lobbyists a few thousand boaters have to live with heavy inappropriate outboards.

Sorry I will climb down off of my soapbox now.

[ixnax]

In a heartbeat. I bought a new four stroke Tohatsu 20HP 2 years ago at the Boat show. Electric start and tilt. Light for what it is. Quiet, gobs of power, fires right up, hums like a top.

[a64pilot]

I don’t know about the 9.9 Tohatsu EFI, but if they follow Suzuki’s example the 9.9, 15 and 20 are all the same, so the 9.9 weighs the same as a 20. So it’s a real heavy 9.9.
I would investigate if that’s true with the Tohatsu and buy the highest HP motor that has the same weight.

At a quick glance it seems the Tohatsu 9.9, 15 and 20 all weigh 95 lbs.
That is a light weight 20, or a very heavy 9.9, depending on how you look at it.

I’ve had the Suzuki 20 HP EFI for 6 years now, and it’s been flawless, always starts easily, idles perfectly and, well is flawless.
I did submerge it once in salt water with it running, took I’d guess an hour before I could flush it out and start oil changes etc, that was four or five years ago, and I only had to change the spark plugs and oil / filter of course.

The EFI is flawless, I have stored the motor over Winter with the old fuel in it, have sometimes used alcohol fuel, and the EFI has been flawless.

I have a theory and it’s EFI is a sealed system, no vent, no connection to the atmosphere, fuel can’t evaporate, so it doesn’t varnish or whatever like it can in a carburetor.

I know and understand that a carburetor is low tech and can most often be fixed with a hammer and a screwdriver, where EFI is electronics and no user serviceable parts, but I’d never want to go back to a carb.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

It irritates me that the eco nuts allow gardeners to pollute the world with millions of 2 stroke tractors, lawnmowers, chainsaws, whackers, blowers, strimmers and whole host of agri machinery. Aviators are still allowed 2 strokes in their paragliders and microlights while because sailing is regarded as a elitist activity with less powerful lobbyists a few thousand boaters have to live with heavy inappropriate outboards.

Sorry I will climb down off of my soapbox now.

Ok, that's just silly... "eco-nuts" have nothing to do with "allowing" the continued use of small 2-stroke engines in agriculture...it's simply that it's not feasible to build a lightweight 4-stroke that small. Further, it's just little motors that are 2-stroke; I know of no modern 2-stroke tractors or lawnmowers; they're all now 4-stroke and work just fine. (yes I know that 2 stroke motorbikes etc are more common in developing countries. Economics)

Somebody on our street abandoned an old Toro lawnmower with the venerable Briggs & Stratton engine; I cleaned it up a little, added oil and some fresh gas with a shot of Seafoam, and it now starts first or second pull. Small four-stroke engines just require a bit more attention, especially with using ethanol-free gas whenever possible.

Aviators and other modern two-stroke users exhaust into free air; outboards exhaust into the water, so it's pretty obvious why outboards would be the first to be mandated to be 4-stroke.

I do agree that 2-stroke outboards are simpler, lighter and less fussy, and we are still -ahem- using the old 5 hp Suzuki 2-stroke that came with our little sailboat. They certainly tolerate occasional use and long periods of inactivity better than 4-strokes. But I do also have experience with small 4-strokes and that with care they can be as reliable.

Originally Posted by Chotu

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.

Our 5 hp 2-stroke has the same issue; I can't just drop it down and start it easily. It took us a few years to figure out that if we drop the engine down, connect the gas, squeeze the bulb til hard, and leave it for 5 min, it usually starts first or second pull.

[Chotu]

Well, I got a new tohatsu. 9.9 fuel injected.

Same issue when in the davits. Tip the dinghy a bit to allow the tender to drain of rain water and the outboard is hard to start and burns oil for a bit.

Sucks.

At least the thing is reliable, however.

[vettedude]

I would not recommend Honda at this point very disappointment in a 5 year old 2hp 4 stroke. Repairs are not worth it, motor 5 years old with maybe 20 hours use.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Chotu

My 5 year old Tohatsu MFs 8 outboard has been just awful to me.

It was overheating because the thermostat went. Finally got that squared away and running well, now a month later, there is water in the oil!!

Today, I couldn’t get the pull start going. Seemed seized.

I rotated it by turning the prop by hand and then it started being able to be pulled by the pull start.

Pulled it hundreds of times since it sometimes requires that after sitting in the davits.

Some hydrocarbon droplets were seen in the water, but I figured it might have been a carb overflow from tipping the motor.

After getting too tired from pulling and having it only attempt to start a couple times out of the hundred or so pulls, I decided to check the oil.

The oil spurted out the dipstick hole and overflowed. It was not normal color. Not super milky but a bit milky. Like caramel.

I had been running with no thermostat waiting for one to come in. I have it now and it’s on my to do list. But, now water is getting into the oil.

What the heck is going on with this thing???

Should I cut my losses and get a new outboard? Get it professionally repaired?

Would you buy another tohatsu after this?

Sounds like you overheated it one time too many and you have a cracked block or head.


I have found Tohatsus to be pretty good motors. Honda, Nissan, Tohatsu, all of those new small Asian 4 strokes are surprisingly dependable outboards in my experience.



Always make sure that the motor "pees" when it is running. Watch the smoke... there should be very little and it should be light gray or light blueish-gray. Should always start easy with the choke pulled out. The motor should be mounted low enough that the foot never comes out of the water while it is running. Don't let it run out of oil. They don't burn much oil but eventually it will get low and this will cause overheating and siezed bearings.

[GrowleyMonster]

Also Westcliffe had a good answer. It may not be a crack but instead a blown gasket due to head bolt stretching or head warping. A cracked block? Get a new outboard. Cracked head, warped head, blown gasket, those can be fixed for a fraction of the cost of a new machine.

[hlev00]

Someone pointed to the fact that Tohatsu now have EFI at the 9.9+ HP range. That seems to be a game changer for that range.

For <= 3HP, the electrics seem like a great solution if you are okay with range anxiety. The cost on maintenance will help offset their up front cost.

Consider where the closest dealer is, especially for Tohatsu vs. Mercury. I see Merc dealers quite often, but not so much on Tohatsu. But that may also be a bit of confirmation bias as the only time I need a dealer is when I have a problem and Murphy will leave me with anything but a Tohatsu for our little 6HP.