sneak_e_pete Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Lots of questions these days, but I get the new boat tomorrow and want to know as much as I can. I got a 140 Suzuki. I am a little confused about the break-in. The manual says under 3,000rpm for the first 1 3/4 hours, then under 4,000 rpm for the next 1 1/2 hours and after that, no more than 5 minutes at WOT until 10 hours has been put on the motor. When I talked to the dealer about this...he said "just drive it" and reminded me that they take the boat out before giving it to me and give the motor its paces to make sure it is operating properly anyway. Any thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 When I talked to the dealer about this...he said "just drive it" Just because a guy sells outboard motors doesn't mean he actually knows anything about them. Do what the manufacturers manual says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper D Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 We spend 10's of thousands in building a high performance engine and all the guys i know will tell you , drive the hell out of it before the waranty expiers , if it did'nt blow by that time then it was a good build and will never give you any trouble for as long as you own it , thats been our experience over this way . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 We spend 10's of thousands in building a high performance engine and all the guys i know will tell you , drive the hell out of it before the waranty expiers , if it did'nt blow by that time then it was a good build and will never give you any trouble for as long as you own it , thats been our experience over this way . Actually I've heard that as well,also if it's going to blow,it will in the first year .or first few times out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 We spend 10's of thousands in building a high performance engine and all the guys i know will tell you , drive the hell out of it before the waranty expiers , if it did'nt blow by that time then it was a good build and will never give you any trouble for as long as you own it , thats been our experience over this way . :good: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 We spend 10's of thousands in building a high performance engine and all the guys i know will tell you , drive the hell out of it before the waranty expiers , if it did'nt blow by that time then it was a good build and will never give you any trouble for as long as you own it , thats been our experience over this way . :good: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeontroller Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I'm from the school of thought that says, vary the throttle and slowly work into higher RPMs as you get closer to the end of the break in period. Do not Troll, do not run it at WOT the whole time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I've always assumed the manufacturers tell us to do things for a reason and have always followed the manual. I figure if they wanted us to hammer a brand new motor and run it hard straight out of the crate, they'd tell us to do just that. I always buy everything brand new, do what is recommended and all my gear lasts me a long time, but maybe I'm wrong ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 You have too vary the rpm and keep it down and bring it up in stages to seat the rings. If you just run it like you stole it you likely just cut its life in half. Broke in properly it should live 1200-1500 if its maintained,if you run it hard off the hop it may not blow but you wont be seeing it make 1000 hrs either most of the time. The manual has a proceedure for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooked! Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I just bought a brand new merc 115 4 stroke and I specifically asked about break in - the marine mechanic said "just drive it - you don't need to break in the 4 strokes like a 2 stroke". I've been reluctant to open it right up - I've been trying to keep the rpm's between 2000 and 4000 for the first 2-4 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Drive 'er. Check the oil frequently, change it mid season, and end of season, it'll love ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nope them engineers don't know a darn thing about the products they designed and built. They just write all that stuff about break in to aggravate you. :wallbash: This rates as a 5 on the bonehead advise scale. Really think about it all of the people who say run it like you stole it haven't offered to repair the motor if they are wrong while the deal will if you follow the break in procedure .Just for the know all motors after 2004 have a memory chip that the mechanic can access that tells them how many hours it has been run and what amount of time it was run and at what RPM. It is a good buyers tip to have that information pulled before you buy a used motor. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krixxer Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I'll preface this by saying that I've never owned a new boat motor. I ran track and supermoto bikes, owned several new 2 and 4 stroke motorcycles. In 2 strokes you want a few heat cycles to seat the rings On the other hand seating the valves is what became critical with the 4 strokes. In many jap bikes you have Ti valves slapping Al ports. I had 1 major blow up on a yz450. 1 of the 5 valves shattered on one of the first times out. Take it easy the fist few times, go for long rides and swap out any fluids just to be safe. If nothing weird comes out with the oil you can start having some fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey buoy Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 When I bought my new cx7,they said don't over rev and don't stay at a constant speed for1000km's.That was about it.Oh,and change oil often because of the turbo. All makes sense to me.Really no babying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper D Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Theres a few things i guess i can say about a bone head advice engine scale but i wont as thats another can of worms with no end , i would never want to under mine Lew's or Art's thoughts here on this post as i think its each to his own as thats what we were asked for , Sneak e pete talked to the dealer about this ...... he said "Just drive it" and remined him that they take the boat out before giving it to him and give the motor its paces to make sure it is operating properly , i'd have no problem agreeing to just drive it after this ...... if you get what i mean . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Art touched on the ecu storing fault codes and rpm's, if you didnt follow proper breakin proceedure (they will know) and its blows say goodbye to your warranty,reason enough to follow the manual??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickingfrog Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 The "just drive it" quote also comes from the place that may get your repair business and another sale when the current motor goes blam-o. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) ECU or Engine Control Units control a series of mecanical and electronic components on an internal combustion engine.They can also store a limited number of fault codes that a mechanic can use to diagnose engine problems.They do not log how many times you drove it like you stole it. They do not store an infinite number of these codes, and once the battery is disconected, the codes are erased.At most, they can tell a mechanic what caused a fault during the last operation of the engine. No one is going to look at the info and say"a haaaaa....you drove it like you stole it instead of like you just borrowed it !!!!!" They work the same way as your cars ECU. This info courtesy of Google Edited June 13, 2012 by mercman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Mercman, the E-Tec's store lots of cool information Check out the link.. Although I'd love to see a dealer deny warranty because you didn't follow break-in... These engines are run way before they ever get put on the boat.. http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ETEC_EngineHistoryReport.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Sorry merc man but they do have a permanent memory ans breakdown on over reving and time logged at various rpm ranges, this isnt the same ecu as in your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Well, after googleing extensively, and talking to the Rep who sold me mine, who is an outboard expert, i have to disagree with you Hirk.Doesnt mean you are wrong, just what i understand as fact, is different from yours.He told me they do operate exactly like your cars ecu,but less complicated. But thats all i will say about it. I hate it when these threads turn into never ending arguements. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dara Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 In my opinion you need to follow the breakin period. Make it work a bit to seat stuff but don't go crazy. All the guys on the snowmobile forums say the 4 strokes will burn oil if you don't break them in properly...the last thing you need is a new 4 stroke that burns oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Mercman you are talking 4 strokes and I believe you,Im only talking 2 strokes I know squat about 4's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Mercman you are talking 4 strokes and I believe you,Im only talking 2 strokes I know squat about 4's. i think you may be right, since i have a 4st, i didnt consider that the 2 would be different.Having said that, i think any mature and realistic person when getting behind a new and powerful motor, is going to take it easy for a bit. Just getting used to the power and handling should cover the break in period. But thats if you are mature and realistic, like you and i Cheers Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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