YAMAHA 350 4 stroke

[Bdsp1234]

Can you guys give opinions of the Yamaha 350 four stroke. Reliability, performance etc

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Can you guys give opinions of the Yamaha 350 four stroke. Reliability, performance etc

A. Yamaha doesn’t currently make a brand new version of the 350hp outboard. They go from 300hp straight up to 425hp with nothing else in between the two. and B. If you’re considering it for your 228 Seafarer then you should think again. Even the newer 228 Seafarer’s, before they discontinued making them, have a maximum horsepower rating of only 300hp. The older ones from 1998 up until 2009 only had a maximum horsepower rating of 250hp.

 

[magicalbill]

Stang65fbk is correct; it's too much weight for the Seafarer, if that's the boat in question.

Reliability/Perf?

The 350C's, made from either 2017 or 2018 and newer are amazing. They are without question the finest outboard I have ever owned. I have them on my Marlin, and it is the PERFECT package. V8 power, 1.3-1.4 MPG in reasonably calm seas and a 35-38 MPH effortless cruise. I haven't opened them up yet, but have feathered them up to 5400-5500 and I hit 50 easily. I know if I firewalled them, I could go past 50, no prob.

The older ones before the "C" Series had their problems and I would stay away from any of those. The Flywheel Issue is the most documented fault of the 350's. I will describe the nature of the problem in more detail if you are interested. Yamaha provides new flywheels at periodic intervals for free for the life of the engine, and this includes the "C" Series. I do not know if that perk is transferable to a new owner of the engine. I do know that I get them replaced for nothing.

I have heard the 350's have been discontinued, although the last time I looked, Yamaha still had them advertised in their lineup. Grady does not offer them in their brochure, so Mustang may be right about them being discontinued.

Darn shame if you ask me. I have raved about the 350C's from the get-go and I haven't changed my mind. I would buy another set tomorrow if I needed them and they still made them. Oh well, it's what it is.

 

[Bdsp1234]

Stang65fbk is correct; it's too much weight for the Seafarer, if that's the boat in question.

Reliability/Perf?

The 350C's, made from either 2017 or 2018 and newer are amazing. They are without question the finest outboard I have ever owned. I have them on my Marlin, and it is the PERFECT package. V8 power, 1.3-1.4 MPG in reasonably calm seas and a 35-38 MPH effortless cruise. I haven't opened them up yet, but have feathered them up to 5400-5500 and I hit 50 easily. I know if I firewalled them, I could go past 50, no prob.

The older ones before the "C" Series had their problems and I would stay away from any of those. The Flywheel Issue is the most documented fault of the 350's. I will describe the nature of the problem in more detail if you are interested. Yamaha provides new flywheels at periodic intervals for free for the life of the engine, and this includes the "C" Series. I do not know if that perk is transferable to a new owner of the engine. I do know that I get them replaced for nothing.

I have heard the 350's have been discontinued, although the last time I looked, Yamaha still had them advertised in their lineup. Grady does not offer them in their brochure, so Mustang may be right about them being discontinued.

Darn shame if you ask me. I have raved about the 350C's from the get-go and I haven't changed my mind. I would buy another set tomorrow if I needed them and they still made them. Oh well, it's what it is.

Stang65fbk is correct; it's too much weight for the Seafarer, if that's the boat in question.

Reliability/Perf?

The 350C's, made from either 2017 or 2018 and newer are amazing. They are without question the finest outboard I have ever owned. I have them on my Marlin, and it is the PERFECT package. V8 power, 1.3-1.4 MPG in reasonably calm seas and a 35-38 MPH effortless cruise. I haven't opened them up yet, but have feathered them up to 5400-5500 and I hit 50 easily. I know if I firewalled them, I could go past 50, no prob.

The older ones before the "C" Series had their problems and I would stay away from any of those. The Flywheel Issue is the most documented fault of the 350's. I will describe the nature of the problem in more detail if you are interested. Yamaha provides new flywheels at periodic intervals for free for the life of the engine, and this includes the "C" Series. I do not know if that perk is transferable to a new owner of the engine. I do know that I get them replaced for nothing.

I have heard the 350's have been discontinued, although the last time I looked, Yamaha still had them advertised in their lineup. Grady does not offer them in their brochure, so Mustang may be right about them being discontinued.

Darn shame if you ask me. I have raved about the 350C's from the get-go and I haven't changed my mind. I would buy another set tomorrow if I needed them and they still made them. Oh well, it's what it is.

Stang65fbk is correct; it's too much weight for the Seafarer, if that's the boat in question.

Reliability/Perf?

The 350C's, made from either 2017 or 2018 and newer are amazing. They are without question the finest outboard I have ever owned. I have them on my Marlin, and it is the PERFECT package. V8 power, 1.3-1.4 MPG in reasonably calm seas and a 35-38 MPH effortless cruise. I haven't opened them up yet, but have feathered them up to 5400-5500 and I hit 50 easily. I know if I firewalled them, I could go past 50, no prob.

The older ones before the "C" Series had their problems and I would stay away from any of those. The Flywheel Issue is the most documented fault of the 350's. I will describe the nature of the problem in more detail if you are interested. Yamaha provides new flywheels at periodic intervals for free for the life of the engine, and this includes the "C" Series. I do not know if that perk is transferable to a new owner of the engine. I do know that I get them replaced for nothing.

I have heard the 350's have been discontinued, although the last time I looked, Yamaha still had them advertised in their lineup. Grady does not offer them in their brochure, so Mustang may be right about them being discontinued.

Darn shame if you ask me. I have raved about the 350C's from the get-go and I haven't changed my mind. I would buy another set tomorrow if I needed them and they still made them. Oh well, it's what it is.

Thanks for your response. This is helpful as the motor is a 2013

 

[Bdsp1234]

No. Not for the seafarer. For a 25

 

[magicalbill]

Bdsp:

If the engine is a 2013, I would certainly have it checked out by a tech you trust. It is the problems of the earlier generation 350's that ultimately tainted their reputation, and probably caused them to be scrapped. I would be very wary of any early models, as I outlined in my answer above.

If the boat is a '25, then a reliable 350 would be a consideration- Again, the 350 "C" Series (2017-2018 and newer) has been great for me.

 

[seasick]

Thanks for your response. This is helpful as the motor is a 2013

Steer clear in my opinion.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Also, have you looked at the Suzuki 350 hp outboard? Suzuki makes a 350 that weighs about 20lbs less than the Yamaha and it's a brand new motor that comes with a 5 year warranty as opposed to buying a used Yamaha. That, and I'll bet if you shopped around a bit that you could get a brand new Suzuki 350 for around the same price as a used Yamaha 350. I'm definitely not affiliated with either company, just from the research I've done, if/when I go to re-power it'll likely be with Suzuki for a multitude of reasons... biggest of which would be the price, the warranty and those that have them I've heard little to no issues about them.

 

[mr_mbuna]

The only meaningful difference between the earlier versions (original, A, B) of the F350 and the final F350C version is the exhaust manifold design. The earlier models would drain cooling water slowly or incompletely so some water would sit in the manifold. If you didn't flush your engine with antifreeze before the first frost, you risked having the water freeze into ice and crack your engine.

I have a F350A. It has been a great engine for me for all the same reasons @magicalbill likes his F350C. I don't live in a place where it freezes so I don't really need to worry about that issue. And the lifetime flywheel replacement program makes that a non-issue for me too.

The F350 has taken a big hit in second-hand values due to its reputation. For me it was worth it - I was able to buy a GW 275 Freedom with a single F350 for $20K less than a comparable example with twin F150s. Because you can buy used F350s for about $10K, my engine could fail twice before this boat ends up costing me more than one with twin F150s.

 

[Dhirsh]

I have twin 350 B’s. They have the exhaust manifold redesigns. There are some smaller changes from the A to the B and C as well, but pretty minor. Mine have over 840 hours and have been flawless. As long as they have had the software updates and serviced regularly, they are great engines. It’s getting harder to find deals on them used now. Great motors for big heavy boats like Grady’s.