Life expectancy of Yamaha F150's

[Hookup1]

I have a pair of 2006 Yamaha F150's with 2,100 hours. I wanted to ask if anyone has run a pair to end-of-life and what their experience was. Do they just get tired? Or do they grenade at some point? Right now the engines still perform like new. Only interested in comments from members with first hand experience - spare me from the research or rumor reply.

My engines have been well maintained. Yamaha oil and filters every 100 hours. New fuel filters every season. Mostly REC90 ethanol free fuel. Clean under cowling - no leaks or salt. I have not done a compression check but no smoke. Plugs changed every other year - they look new.

My mechanic said that ring problems are the most common problem with high hour engines. He recommends Ring-Free but I haven't been using it. Also I never shut the engine down the whole time I'm fishing. They are my "generator". Idling isn't the best thing for them. My mechanic says run them hard to blow out carbon when running in. I run them up a bit occasionally to 4800/5000 RPM's but general run in the 4000/4500 RPM range. Can cruise all day at 27 knots depending on sea conditions. 4-blade props gave me great mid-range performance that's easier on the motors.

Let me know your experience with the F150's.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

i had 2006 twin F150 on my Boston Whaler Outrage 23 and sold it 2020 with the same engines but can't remember the hours, I guess around 600. I used the boat for fishing but also with up to 8 divers, gears and tanks.
They performed well, never gave me problems in all this time.

AFAIK: this year/s 2006 had the Harmonic Balancer problem and Yamaha USA issued a recall for that,
you may verify that as replacement would be much cheaper than damage by it.

I probably blew one HDPI 150 because I was not using Ring Free but in this times Ring Free was not available and Yamaha Italy did not informed about using it.

However, the HDPI was a 2 stroke and they have much higher deposits than 4 strokes.
I understand that the use of fuel additives is much higher regarded and considered necessary in US than here in Europe.
Usually I use one high dose of gasoline fuel system cleaner once a year in spring and that's it and I never had issues of carbon deposits inside cylinder on a 4 stroke engine, not on boats and not on 30 near old US Trucks.

If you wann have a look, buy a cheap endoscope camera and stick it inside the spark plug hole and you will see how it looks.

If you wan't to use Ring Free then use it, it will most likely not harm the engine, but your wallet.

I would not worry with the 2100 hours when the engines run fine and have no visible corrosion on steel or aluminum parts.

The third F150 I had was on the dive panga in Costa Rica when I bought her and after some years the motor acted up and to be able to continue working I bought a new Suzuki DF200 and sent the F150 to Yamaha Costa Rica. They cleaned all injectors and replaced one and the engine was running again and I sold it.

Most outboards die of age and not of hours.

You may do your math what would you get selling them now or running them to their end and what would make more sense to you.

Chris

 

[Hookup1]

i had 2006 twin F150 on my Boston Whaler Outrage 23 and sold it 2020 with the same engines but can't remember the hours, I guess around 600. I used the boat for fishing but also with up to 8 divers, gears and tanks.
They performed well, never gave me problems in all this time.

AFAIK: this year/s 2006 had the Harmonic Balancer problem and Yamaha USA issued a recall for that,
you may verify that as replacement would be much cheaper than damage by it.

I probably blew one HDPI 150 because I was not using Ring Free but in this times Ring Free was not available and Yamaha Italy did not informed about using it.

However, the HDPI was a 2 stroke and they have much higher deposits than 4 strokes.
I understand that the use of fuel additives is much higher regarded and considered necessary in US than here in Europe.
Usually I use one high dose of gasoline fuel system cleaner once a year in spring and that's it and I never had issues of carbon deposits inside cylinder on a 4 stroke engine, not on boats and not on 30 near old US Trucks.

If you wann have a look, buy a cheap endoscope camera and stick it inside the spark plug hole and you will see how it looks.

If you wan't to use Ring Free then use it, it will most likely not harm the engine, but your wallet.

I would not worry with the 2100 hours when the engines run fine and have no visible corrosion on steel or aluminum parts.

The third F150 I had was on the dive panga in Costa Rica when I bought her and after some years the motor acted up and to be able to continue working I bought a new Suzuki DF200 and sent the F150 to Yamaha Costa Rica. They cleaned all injectors and replaced one and the engine was running again and I sold it.

Most outboards die of age and not of hours.

You may do your math what would you get selling them now or running them to their end and what would make more sense to you.

Chris

I replaced balancer on both engines - on my nickel. The gear was fine but they were a little whiney.

Not going to sell them and re-power now. Too big a leap.

 

[family affair]

I can't speak for high hours, but can for corrosion. If your thermostat housings are aging well, you then need to consider mid section burn thru. Yamaha actually suggests removing the power head and checking for burn through at 1k hours. While there look at your oil pumps and see if the drive shafts are grooved. If so, expect leaks soon. I didn't have time for all the inspection and wasn't going to pay someone else to do it. I fixed it with a pair of new Suzukis. Truth is they were probably fine, but I didn't want to find out the hard way that they weren't.
I have yet to read of a Yamaha inline 4 with a rotating assembly failure. I think they are stout. Ive torn down enough 4 strokes in my day to never want to risk a sticky ring failure from carbon. The risk is real and easily preventable with Techron (cheap) or Ringfree. Considering how much fuel is ran through these engines and how much the fuel has aged, a quality fuel detergent is a good idea.

 

[Hookup1]

I have a empty 72 gallon aux tank after my tank replacement project. I can shock treat the motors with Ring-Free this Winter and go back to normal operation.

 

[enfish]

I know the Orange County Sheriff Department in CA has a few harbor patrol boats with F200 Yamahas. They get more than 10,000 hours on them, and they spend most of their life idling around the harbors. But they are well maintained and used every day, which adds to their longevity (in terms of hours on the motors, not necessarily years on a calendar).

Since you're looking only for first hand experience, you'll get 3 different answers...

1. They slowly got tired
2. They had a catastrophic failure
3. They were replaced before either one of those things happened.

As with anything mechanical, the answer you get will depend on how well the owner maintained them and how they were used. Idling a 4-stroke all day should not be detrimental to them and gasolines today are well refined and have additives so you shouldn't get much carbon build-up.

 

[Hookup1]

I know the Orange County Sheriff Department in CA has a few harbor patrol boats with F200 Yamahas. They get more than 10,000 hours on them, and they spend most of their life idling around the harbors. But they are well maintained and used every day, which adds to their longevity (in terms of hours on the motors, not necessarily years on a calendar).

Since you're looking only for first hand experience, you'll get 3 different answers...

1. They slowly got tired
2. They had a catastrophic failure
3. They were replaced before either one of those things happened.

As with anything mechanical, the answer you get will depend on how well the owner maintained them and how they were used. Idling a 4-stroke all day should not be detrimental to them and gasolines today are well refined and have additives so you shouldn't get much carbon build-up.

That's good info. Mine are well cared for. I would expect your 3 answers. Thanks.

 

[Fishtales]

I replaced balancer on both engines - on my nickel. The gear was fine but they were a little whiney.

Not going to sell them and re-power now. Too big a leap.

You got your answer. Ride em till one catastrophically fails. Then decide next action.

 

[Hookup1]

You got your answer. Ride em till one catastrophically fails. Then decide next action.

Yes but I would like to know how close to the edge I am. Thanks.

I suppose that I'll know things are going sideways before one grenades.