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Self life optimax 115

E

elder

New member
Good morning dears
I would like how many hours medium a Mercury Optimax 115 it can work without it is necessary rework or rectify the superior unit,ex replace crankshaft and connecting rod.thank you very much for the answers.
 
You are asking an impossible question but can give you some generic answers.

The lifespan of a powerhead is dependant on two basic things -

how well it's maintained and stored and how many horses you are squeezing out of the block.

Far more powerheads die (before their time) due to lack of use and lack of proper storage - those are totally within the owners control.

The displacement to horsepower ratio is beyond the owners control but has a definate bearing on the life of the powerhead.

In general, a powerhead with a ratio of 1:1 or less (so at least 1 cubic inch for each horse produced) will last just about forever if it is otherwise maintained.

It has been my experience that ratio's in the 1:1.2 or 1:1.3 range have a shelf life of 8 to 12 years (OR about 700-1000 hours) - after which the internal stress of getting more than one horse from a cubic inch causes fatigue on some of the parts.

The early 115 Opti (upto 2002 at least when the 115 was the smallest horsepower in the line) used Merc's 2.5 liter (153 cubic inch) block which meant at least from that point of view they would last almost forever.

Sometime when I wasn't looking - and most probably when the 75 and 90 horse models were introduced, the 115 got thrown into that grouping and they switched to the Inline-3, 1.5 liter (93'ish cubic inch) powerhead.

So the newer ones have a 1:1.23 ratio giving them an estimated life of 8-12 years of regular use before rebuild.
 
Ok ,Dear Galamb.
Tks for your answer ,realy my engine is Merc.Opti.115 -3cil in line,being like this then can wait it unites useful life at 8-12 years or 1000Hrs ,because I am a very carefull owner and use + - 100Hrs at year.
 
If you take care of it, it could well go on for years without an issue.

A year and a half ago I rebuilt my buddies 1990, 90 horse Force - so 19 years was pretty decent for a "budget, disposable" motor.

Likewise, last winter I rebuilt my 140 horse which had just had it's 25th birthday when I tore her down.

My 8-12 year average is just that, an average. And most of the motors I see with toasted powerheads have very low hours on them - so it's their lack of use and improper storage that smokes them...
 
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