Maintenance Costs

[Fisher Dude]

What type of costs are we looking at in terms of maintaining outboard engines annually?

Give me a feel for the cost of both 2-stroke as well as 4-stroke maintenance costs. (When I say maintenance, I mean normal preventative/winterizing maintenance).

Any comments about 2 vs. 4 stroke reliability?

Thanks - all input appreciated!

[Haybay Larry]

This is a varied subject!
Spring maintenance should be minimal[if done properly inthe fall]. I do my maintenance in the fall to make the spring easier. On going costs through the season are only gas and oil for a 2 stroke. In the fall i would replace spark plugs, lower unit oil, fuel filters. I would also grease the fittings on the motor and apply engine fogger in the cylinders to prevent rust. If you have a trailer, check lights and connections, repack wheel bearings.
The new bombardier engines [some models]have no scheduled maintenance for 2 years from new.
I hope this helps you out...Larry

[Fisher Dude]

Thanks Larry. Sounds like most of this you do yourself. I'm fairly handy with basic engine stuff if it's well documented. Is this the type of thing that is outlined in the owners manuals? Any idea what a repair shop would charge you for a fall tune?

[ady]

I think I paid around $130 for a winterize on my 115 Merc 4s. I only paid for it because of the warranty - they don't do much, just put conditioner in the fuel and run it for a while, grease the engine mounts and seal the prop and change the lower unit oil. I Augment this with WD40 around the engine, general clean and trailer stuff. Regular husbandry of your motor will extend it's life and it's not expensive.

[Haybay Larry]

Ady paid $130.00 which sounds about average.
Generally you won't find it in owners manuals. There are lots of on-line resources you can tap into.
You mentioned you were handy, I'll bet you could do the work. You may allready have a grease gun. One thing you probably don't have is lower unit pump that attatches to a litre bottle. With this small finger pump [about $12-415] you can refill the lower unit with out the possibility of an air lock it makes the job very easy and almost no mess!
The best part of doing things yourself is it lets you become familiar with your motor and can spot things before they are a proble.
My boat/motor is 16 years old and pnly been in a shop for repair once. I have done all the other maintenance.
By the way Ady you didn't have to have a dealer do the warranty work on your engine, you just have to have all the dates and receipts for the parts in case a problem arrises.
One local owner/dealer was very upset when i told him to just take care of a warranty problem and I would do the "20 hour" check. At the time [1991] they wanted to charge me $120 for this service. This was an absurd amount of money.
There is a magazine-Bass and Walleye boats that is just loaded with all kinds of maintenance articles. It is very informative.
I hope I haven't got to carried away!....Larry

[Fisher Dude]

Thanks guys! Appreciate the reasurance.