Change to 4 stroke

" My friend is about to change

" My friend is about to change the 150 Johnson (his second one since 89 ) that he has, and go to a 140 Suzuki 4 stroke. While talking with a couple of marine mechanics , they stated the two cycle engines were made with a lot less moving parts , and were a lot less costly to repair. They claim there has not been substantial long time use of the four strokes to compare longevity or durability. I talked with a couple of charter boat people that have over 1000 hrs. on a couple of their boats,with the 4-strokes and have had no problems, and lots of praise on the savings of oil-mix alone! Any imput from 4-strokers??? Thanks Chuck "

" Chuck;4strokes are heavier,

" Chuck;4strokes are heavier, require more maint ,more costly to repair,what they don't have is low,mid-range torque,or any better fuel mileage than direct injection and 2strokes are cheaper to buy.Commercial use is not really a good 'real world'test,I know commercial fishermen that have 6000+ hrs on their John/Rude 2strokes. jupiterzeke "

" chuck,

As a rec. fis

" chuck,

As a rec. fishermen those 4 strokes look nice from a distance. They'll idle right by on the drift and I can barely tell they are running at all. The downside is definitly the cost, weight, and performance - all these things are not matched by 4-strokes. 4-strokes are just as loud at high speeds, and use the same amount of fuel as the fuel injected 2-strokes.. On certain boats, they work well, but the general message I've gotten is for most boats they just aren't yet practical.

1000 hours really isn't all that much, anyone that takes decent care of their old carbed 2-stroke can get 2000. As stated, commercial use is much different than rec; the main difference is the time in which they pack the hours on. I fish rec. 3-4 trips a week all season and have a hard time putting much over 100 hours on. It would take me 20 years at this rate to hit 2000 - by then things will fail from time alone, whether it's a two or four or diesel or whatever..

As far as the oil, I'm not sure why it's considered such a cost.. I pay $10 a gallon or less for decent oil - that adds up to $10 for 50 gallons of fuel, hardly an expense. Another thing to consider is that four strokes require oil changes - like your car. I'm sure in the end two strokes are actually cheaper on oil.

Did I mention all the extra moving parts?.. A rebuild on the four strokes must be a nightmare.

Jon "

" Chuck: I work on both two &a

" Chuck: I work on both two & four strokes and they both have their advantages. The four-strokes are generally a bit heavier. The fuel economy blows all of the two-strokes away except for the direct-injected two-strokes. I work for a dealer that sells Yamaha, Mercury, Johnson, Evinrude, & Honda. I've worked on them all. Suzuki makes the Evinrude 140HP four-stroke - great engine. As for the direct-injected two strokes, the only one that I would have is the Yamaha. I feel sorry for the poor souls with Optimaxes. Every other one comes back with some stupid problem - usually a TPS (throttle sensor), an ECM (computer), or an injector. What do you want for sixteen thousand dollars? The Yamahas and Suzukis rarely come back. I'm sorry I have to say that - but what's true is true. Optimax owners think that you have to buy a powerhead every three years. By the way, the one thing that the four-strokes have all over the two-strokes is low end torque. The boats stay on plane at much lower speeds and the four-strokes turn bigger props. Good luck. "

" Guys, Thanks for all that im

" Guys, Thanks for all that imfo. and your thoughts on this subject.I guess it really helps to know what the different uses of the boats, and engines are being used for.This boat is in salt water, and does hours upon hours of trolling.In my many years of being on the water, i've learned the older two strokes loaded up easily while slow trolling for extended periods. The newer ones are much better.Although the four strokes are heavier, costlier, etc. in this situation it may be the better choice.This is my friends boat and he's already commited to the Suzuki 140.As for myself,my last two boats have been Mercruiser I-O and the biggest outboard motor i have is 18 HP,Thanks for all the input! Chuck "

" Bubba,
You didn't menti

" Bubba,
You didn't mention anything about the Evinrude Ficht DI 2-strokes. I'm hearing that they solved teh problem and that they are now at least as good as Yamaha. I also heard that what you said about OptiMax is correct, but have heard that their 2001 and alter models also had the bugs worked out. Do you find this to be true? "

" I am currently negotiating t

" I am currently negotiating to buy a nitro bass boat with a 2001 evinrude,150 FICHT. Is this a reliable motor? I was also informed that the motor is comparable to the mercury Otimax, Is this true? "

" From what I've heard, Ev

" From what I've heard, Evinrude ahd solved their problems by '01. There were a lot of '98 and '99 Fichts that blew up, about 20-30% of the 150s and 175s, but that problem was soon corrected, but pushed OMC over the brink into bankruptcy. DOn't worry though, Bombardier now owns the Evinrude line and will warranty that engine for 2 years I think if it is new. As to is it comparable to an optimax, yes and no. They are both 2-cycle direct injected, but the Ficht is high pressure direct injection while the opti is low pressure. The comparison is better between Evinrude and Yamaha. If I had teh money and was in the market for a new V-6 I would buy a Yamaha HPDI or Evinrude Ficht. The Optis after 2001 also seem to have fixed their issues. Evinrude and Merc both had issues with their DIs in the early days. Only Yamaha seemed to wait to market theirs until they had worked most of the bugs out of them, but even they still problems with O2 sensors. A lot of this was due to operator error, trying to skimp and use cheap oil bramds like gas staion 2-stroke oil or Lubrimatic. Don't do that to a DI. DOn't use anything other than Ficht Ram oil, Yamalube, Mercury Quicksilver or a high quality synthetic like Amsoil. Good luck. Take care of it and it should take care of you. "

" JDKline, thanks for taking t

" JDKline, thanks for taking the time to answer my question. "