Yamaha 150 compression

I have a 2003 yamaha with abou

I have a 2003 yamaha with about 370 hours on it. I have it for about 4 years now with no major mechanical problems. I tried taking it out the other day and it would turn over and run for a few seconds and cut out. I took it up to the marina to have it serviced. They checked the compression and one of the cylinders had considerably less compression. They pulled the head and it had a hole in it above the piston. They gave us two choices either replace the cylinder head not knowing if there was any existing damage or replace the whole power head. They pretty much said the head replacement could either last 5 minutes or five years. Any advice would be aprreciated.

"True, a replacement head coul

"True, a replacement head could last 5 minutes or 5 years (or 20 for that matter), but the same is true for a powerhead replacement (unless you are talking about a new unit).

Did they give you an opinion as to what caused the hole?

I have found the average life expectancy for most outboards up in this horsepower range to be somewhere between 8 to 12 years before they need a rebuild of some sort - and hours of service don't seem to have a huge impact - in fact, those with lower hours are "less durable" than those with 1000 hours on them.

A total rebuild of a V6 outboard (or swap a powerhead) usually comes in at between 2500-3500 bucks. That's about 20% the cost of a "new" motor and a decent rebuild will normally last you 10 years at more - so you have to weigh the value (and check your wallet) and make your decision from there..."

but a cylinderhead is only abo

but a cylinderhead is only about $200 so why not give it a try. sounds like some corrosion issues maybe

"don't you need to know wh

"don't you need to know what caused the hole, corrosion, bad casting, lean fuel mixture? maybe you can have hole welded up, depending on size and location?"

I went with the cheaper altern

I went with the cheaper alternative of replacing the head. I would believe it was bad casting there wasn't any corrosion.