Motor choice

[socalmacer]

I know this is a conversation about Suzuki outboard choices. As the original owner of a 1996 Mac 26X with the original 50 HP Honda still in use I've come accustomed to a very reliable motor. For the 28th straight boating season, I've simply changed all the oils, filters, greased the required spots, put fresh gas in and changed the impeller on my outboard. When I went to start her this year, she kicked over on the first try and still runs smooth after all these years! I still see a lot of old Honda outboards on many of the boats in my area. With that said, how are the Suzuki outboards in terms of long term reliability? I'm considering changing my motor as well but am only considering a Honda or Yamaha at this time due to what I've heard on reliability. I tend to use my sailboat off shore and do not want to risk a break down. Anyway, how do Suzuki outboards compare when it comes to reliability?

[Russ]

My Suzuki DF70 has been flawless for 16 years.

The nearest Suzi dealer is 300 miles away, so I do all my own maintenance which has been changing oils, impellers, filters, plugs and anodes.
She starts right up every season.

It's fuel injected so I believe that eliminates the carb tuning issues that I hear some Honda owners deal with.

The ONLY issue I've ever had was with a non Suzuki fuel filter that had a crack in the rubber line right out of the box. I found it when I went to launch and put fuel in the system.

[kmclemore]

The nearest Suzi dealer is 300 miles away, so I do all my own maintenance which has been changing oils, impellers, filters, plugs and anodes.

Russ, I thought you were in fresh water…. Do you find your anodes are deteriorating and needing replacement?

[Russ]

The nearest Suzi dealer is 300 miles away, so I do all my own maintenance which has been changing oils, impellers, filters, plugs and anodes.

Russ, I thought you were in fresh water…. Do you find your anodes are deteriorating and needing replacement?

Correct. Fresh water.

I think it was this thread that got me motivated.
viewtopic.php?t=27528

When I pulled the anodes out of the motor they looked fine. The anode at the base of the motor mount was not perfect but still serviceable.

I bought the kit so I installed them. Honestly, I've never heard of anodes in motors until that thread. I was doing maintenance so why not?

I also learned there are different metals used for anodes depending on what kind of water you boat in. Zinc is traditionally in salt, magnesium for fresh, and aluminum for both.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

The standard Suzuki Annual (100hr) Engine Maintenance Package I ordered last time only comes with enough anode pieces to only do the external anodes. I was fortunate enough to be somewhat persnickety on the details as when I pulled the in-engine anodes I found that there had indeed been some anode corrosion. Local marine parts supplier had the additional 4 button anodes needed so not a biggie.
NOTE: The DF60AV has THREE removable anode cover holders (which hold the anode buttons) AND there is a FOURTH anode button mounted inside the top anode access portal that is actually bolted to the engine block. You need to make sure you don’t lose the bolt/washer/anode button into the engine water passage!!! My solution to this issue is to take a 3” x 5” rectangle piece of thin stiff plastic sheet (I cut mine from the side of a juice bottle) that I roll to form a tube that fits into the anode portal and can be pushed up against the interior engine block to ‘capture’ the interior engine bolted anode button as I remove / install the securement bolt. This has avoided the potential problem of dropping them inside from ever occurring.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Russ]

One of the first "mods" I did when I bought my boat new was to install an engine hour meter. At the time I thought this would be useful to know when to perform maintenance. Honestly I forget it's there and do maintenance based on the calendar. eg: Change oils annually, impeller every 3 years etc.

I did look at it recently and I have ~ 550 hours on the motor. Still runs like new. I estimate I changed the anodes at 400 hours and they looked fine. I changed them because I had them and the new ones were for fresh water.

There are probably many factors at work here.
My marina has no shore power, so stray currents are not a thing.
I tilt the motor out of the water when the boat is not in use.

[adudinsk]

Noticed the post about having charts and performance data from BWT.
Any chance you still have them?
Just repowered to a Suzuki DF60A wondering what props they tested in that combination.


Thanks in advance..
AD

[kmclemore]

Noticed the post about having charts and performance data from BWT.
Any chance you still have them?
Just repowered to a Suzuki DF60A wondering what props they tested in that combination.


Thanks in advance..
AD

Send me a PM and I’ll see what I have to send. It was a while back, and I’m also not sure what BWY wants publicly shared.