Out Board engine life

[collard green]

How long will a well taken care of early 90's Yamaha last? what's the consensus? --Collard

[Breakwater]

The answer is.........

There is no answer!
Every engine is going to be dramatically different.
looking at older engines in that range, an engine that has been run more is better than one that has not. (the opposite holds true for the price tag though!)

The reason being that as the engine is consistently run, it is continually lubricated and doesn't have an opportunity to corrode. Especially on piston rings, gaskets and etc.
Also, since it's a 2-stroke it is going to require consistent carburetor rebuilds (which is a maintenence item- not a "broken" item), plugs and etc, not allowing carbon deposits and corrosion in comparison to the one that sits.

This is the exact reason why us northerners "winterize" AKA oil-the-crap out of our engines when they don't run for half the year.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a 2-stroke that hasn't been run consistenly within 3-years.


A hole in the rule-of-thumb is if the compression is bad. (duh) a engine that runs more is more likely to have poor compression. so check it!

[collard green]

Thanks for the tips--they are a big help in my overall quest--Collard