# How to get the most hours from a 2 stroke outboard



## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

I just recently purchased a used 1998 2 stroke Yamaha 200 saltwater series carburated outboard. It has low hours IMO, (290) its in great shape with hardly any signs of corrosion considering its only been ran in saltwater.

My question is how do I make it last? and what is the lifespan of a motor like this?

I read all the time of powerhead failures on motors with relatively low hours. How many hours are considered high?

What are some things I can do or have done to get the most life from it?

Is it good for a 2 stroke motor to be run at WOT ? Ive read where WOT is good for only a short period of time , say for the last few miutes of each trip, and to not run WOT for extended periods.

Is any oil good as any other? Should I run nothing but Yamalube? or does it really matter?

As far as fuel additives such as Ring Free, should they be used? 

What usually causes failures in a 2 stroke ? lack of lubrication? bad fuel? running it hard? 

Looking forward to responses, just wanting to know what I can do to avoid getting stranded and to get the most life from my motor.


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

Run pure gas no ethnol, I run my nissan 18hp WO all the time it doesn't hurt it, i will let off after I get on plane to about 3/4 throttle. But the main thing is run pure gas IMO...


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

Pure gas. Let it warm up good before putting dropping the hammer. Let it cool down before shutting it down. Use quality 2-stroke oil. Change the plugs every year. Don't neglect your water pump.


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## rufus1138 (Oct 29, 2012)

+1 on the water pump, coming from the dirtbike side of the two stroke world i would say to ditch yamalube (its the same stuff they use on the bikes and its a ripoff) go to the motorcycle shop and get motul 2t racing synthetic oil, this stuff is absolutely amazing, ive seen works bikes tested with it and manage to pump out 30-40 hard wrung out hours without loosing any power, no damage to a motor that is usually having a top end done every 10 hours and having a new piston every 20 hours if you use yamalube, motul is worth more than its weight in gold to a two stroke, that being said amsoil is excellent too but i got hooked on motul and stuck with that. also wot is fine for a smoker, they love to be run hard, i just did what i guess you could call a re-break in for a friend of mine that had babied an old smoker outboard on his dinghy and it just wasnt running right and wouldnt stay running for very long, kept having to re-start it, one tank of gas from raceway with motul and a liberal amount of rxp gas kicker and then go beat it as hard as i could and it was happy as a witch in a broom factory again.


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## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

I have 2002 40HP Merc that gets run at WOT quite often year round and never had a problem with it, but I find it hard for myself to believe than I can run a 200 horse motor 40 miles offshore and back at WOT every weekend and not have it fly apart, my thinking is that the bigger motor is under more stress due to pushing 3500 pound boat, heavier motor internals, etc.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

You can run any gas through the engine. I have had 3 - 175s carbed before this 150 E-tec and have used 10% ethanol since it came out. No engine likes water in the fuel the answer to that is have a sealed tank, KEEP it topped off after every trip not before every trip, use it regularly. And have a good filter system on the boat. The only downside to ethanol is you will loose a little mileage but when you are only going to get about two MPG you will never know it.


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## rufus1138 (Oct 29, 2012)

yes the bigger motor has more internal mass but its not like its really running that high of rpm anyways. these motors arent putting out anywhere near the two strokes design limitations in any sense of the matter, when i was in the dirt i was getting almost 40hp out of a single cyl 125cc motor, honda made a 500cc motor in the 80's that made "somewhere in excess of 200hp" thats all they'd admit to, they also had a 1000cc model of the nsr500 motor in the lab that was making "somewhere over 400hp" so....dont worry about stressing the motor just by pushing it at 3800 rpm or whatever the redline is at wot, the internals are easy to fix on a smoker anyway, the expensive and dificult parts of an outboard are the accessories and such, doing pistons and rings on any two stroke of any kind is cake. all it takes is some wrenches and a pair of snapring pliers and mabey a screw driver or two.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

290 hours is low hours. 

If the oil is mixed running a little more oil will prolong the engines life. If it's still using the oil injection add a little oil to the tank. Only use quality oil. Do the other things mentioned. The main reason for powerhead failure is oveheating.


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## TheCaptKen (Mar 14, 2011)

The cause of engine failures is lack of use and fouled fuel systems. The more it's used, the longer it will last. Use a good quality MARINE 2 stroke oil and do use Ring Free. It will keep the fuel system clean along with preventing coking in the cylinders. Do not add oil to the fuel. The precision blend oiling system will inject the proper amount of oil. Too much oil actually creates a hotter cylinder temp and increases coking of the pistons.


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## skiff man99 (Oct 4, 2007)

+2 on the water pump


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## pappastratos (Oct 9, 2007)

In the good days I would remove the gas line & run motor out of gas after every trip, can't do that on modern motors, What do you guys feel about seafoam mixed regularly with gas?


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## bayougrande (Oct 4, 2007)

good news my friend..........you have purchased (IMO) one of the best outboard motors ever built. :thumbsup: unless you just like spending money....you *can* use 10% ethanol in your fuel......here's how you keep that motor running strong....
because of what motor it is...i'm gonna say the oil injection system is still hooked up.....that motor has a flawless oil injection system. In the carb.'d motors you don't need to use synthetic unless you just like spending money. Always change you fuel/water seperators (every qtr.) and here's the number one factor to keeping your motor running strong................................USE IT...USE IT...USE IT... let it sit and see what happens..............other than that.....it's a very very very duriable, simple designed, engine, with a great resale value..........i'd have that motor over alot of these newer one....


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## BlaineAtk (Jun 8, 2010)

Wirelessly posted

That's what I have, a 1998 yamaha 200 saltwater series. I don't know much about them and I'm pretty sure the gauge was disconnected when I bought it not long ago ( original gauge says 55 hrs) but I have heard nothing but great things about them and have had no problems with mine so far. As with anything, just regular maint and flushing will take you a long way!


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## delta dooler (Mar 6, 2008)

bayougrande said:


> good news my friend..........you have purchased (IMO) one of the best outboard motors ever built. :thumbsup: unless you just like spending money....you *can* use 10% ethanol in your fuel......here's how you keep that motor running strong....
> because of what motor it is...i'm gonna say the oil injection system is still hooked up.....that motor has a flawless oil injection system. In the carb.'d motors you don't need to use synthetic unless you just like spending money. Always change you fuel/water seperators (every qtr.) and here's the number one factor to keeping your motor running strong................................USE IT...USE IT...USE IT... let it sit and see what happens..............other than that.....it's a very very very duriable, simple designed, engine, with a great resale value..........i'd have that motor over alot of these newer one....


encouraging words! thanks!


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