How many hours to many on outboard?

[sqdqo]

How many hours are to many on a salty outboard without a rebuild?

[redtech]

depending on how you treat it i've seen between 500 and 3500hrs
don't over prop, good oil and a little decarbonizer every now and then will keep you going for a loooong time.
my self i've repowered boats will 2500+ hrs without rebuilds that still ran strong
my last last boat ran a fitch with 3100 hrs when i sold it (never rebuilt luckly)

[makulaf]

you can check your compression. If it is way off from factory spec, or if the different cylinders are substantially different, chances are you need a rebuild or at least freshened up. you can also remove the plugs, get a bendable small tip flashlight and look inside the cylinders to see if you still have cross-hatching on the cylinder walls. If you see scoring on the walls instead, then time to rebuild. It is easier/better to pull the heads to examine the cylinders, but you will need to replace the gaskets if you do it this way.

[Verytricky]

Exactly how long is a piece of string?

I know race tuned engines that need a rebuild after 1 hour!
My dad still has his 80Hp outboard going some 15+ years later with 100's hours a year.

It really depends on too many factors to give an answer, but basically if it is high performance and/or if you gunn it, it needs work quicker.

[markjisaacs]

I have a friend who ran twin 200hp yamahas commercially for over 5000 hours and they were never opened, infact they were still fine the day he sold the boat.