Tohatsu Outboards

[chappo123]

Raiders, I am thinking of purchasing a second hand tinny that has a 25 hp tohatsu outboard on it . My question is , can any one tell me what they are like in terms of reliability and if there is any thing i should look out for. details on the motor are a bit sketchy at the moment but it looks to be no more than a couple of years old tops. Any help would be very much appreciated. thanks everyone

[a boat]

Hi, any second hand outboard of late model are fine outboards IF they have been looked after and flushed. Tohatsu are OK outboards with good reliability due to their simple design. Not as smooth as say a Merc or Yamaha of the same age and HP, but they go well and should last many years with some care. Only critisim I have is on older ones they tend to corrode more than some other brands, but if late model and low hours that should not be a drama.

What are they wanting for it because new 25HPs are pretty good value at present at a bit over $2,500.

Cheers,

Huey.

[wrxhoon1]

Hi, any second hand outboard of late model are fine outboards IF they have been looked after and flushed. Tohatsu are OK outboards with good reliability due to their simple design. Not as smooth as say a Merc or Yamaha of the same age and HP, but they go well and should last many years with some care. Only critisim I have is on older ones they tend to corrode more than some other brands, but if late model and low hours that should not be a drama.

What are they wanting for it because new 25HPs are pretty good value at present at a bit over $2,500.

Cheers,

Huey.

They are quite good nmade by Nissan, some Mercs are a re-badged Tohatsu.

[a boat]

They are quite good nmade by Nissan, some Mercs are a re-badged Tohatsu.

Hi, a little wrong, Nissan is a US brand that are made by TMC (Tohatsu Motor Company) and are the same as the Tohatsus we get here (you can also get Tohatsus in the States as well). Merc owns 50% of TMC so yes some of the smaller Mercs (<40HP) are re badged Tohatsus.

Cheers,

Huey.

[bisso]

gidday.

i am no expert on motors but i have a Tohatsu 70hp. i have had a problem with it once before.... but two years on it hasnt missed a beat. like Huey says, they are no world beater in terms of tech but they are a simple and reliable design that should serve you well for many years.As with any outboard, if you look after it then it will look after you. i'm happy with what ive got and i like its reliability...

cheers

Mick

[chappo123]

Thanks for your advice . Am going to look at it tomorrow and get all the info on boat and motor. I have had boats in the past with yamaha and merc outboards, even had a ski boat with a old chrysler on it that never missed a beat. I have not heard any thing about tohatsu or know any one that has one, so it all sounds good and will look tomorrow. Thanks.

[wrxhoon1]

Hi, a little wrong, Nissan is a US brand that are made by TMC (Tohatsu Motor Company) and are the same as the Tohatsus we get here (you can also get Tohatsus in the States as well). Merc owns 50% of TMC so yes some of the smaller Mercs (<40HP) are re badged Tohatsus.

Cheers,

Huey.

Thanks for the correction .

I got it wrong there, I thought Nissan owned Tohatsu, I was wrong there . I know all Nissan outboards sold in USA are made by Tohatsu , all Nissan outboards sold in Japan are made by Honda and Tohatsu make a lot of Mercury badged engines up to 30HP.

Tohatsu are the second largest outboard manufacturer in the world .

[stingray]

Tohatsu's are made in Japan, so off course they are great quality. You get a lot of outboard for your money when you buy Tohatsu, because you don't have to pay the expensive advertising budgets that you do when you buy a Merc, BRP, Yamaha or Honda. Suzuki are great value for money also. Overall, Suzuki make the best 4 strokes on the planet IMO.

I actually have a 1998 model Tohatsu 25hp, which is virtually the same as the current model. It has been very reliable and has shown excellent corrosion resistance. In fact, corrosion wise, it is near new. The only problem is that it the motor is a 2 cylinder design of 430cc, this makes it rattle and vibrate quite a bit in the lower rev range. Get the revs into cruising mode and it smoothens out quite a bit.

[Juggs]

Tohatsu's are made in Japan, so off course they are great quality. You get a lot of outboard for your money when you buy Tohatsu, because you don't have to pay the expensive advertising budgets that you do when you buy a Merc, BRP, Yamaha or Honda. Suzuki are great value for money also. Overall, Suzuki make the best 4 strokes on the planet IMO.

I actually have a 1998 model Tohatsu 25hp, which is virtually the same as the current model. It has been very reliable and has shown excellent corrosion resistance. In fact, corrosion wise, it is near new. The only problem is that it the motor is a 2 cylinder design of 430cc, this makes it rattle and vibrate quite a bit in the lower rev range. Get the revs into cruising mode and it smoothens out quite a bit.

suzuki priced themselves out of a sale when i recently bought a new yammy

around december they had a 20% increase where the others hadnt passed on the us dollar collapse due to greater stock holdings i guess

isnt suzuki imported by a dealer here in sydney and distributed?

[Geoff]

I actually have a 1998 model Tohatsu 25hp, which is virtually the same as the current model.

I had a Tohatsu 25hp of about the same year , great motor , the only repair it needed over the years was a new diapram in the petrol pump. In expensive & easy to replace.

Are you aware the 25 is a detuned 30. I understand a slight madification to the timing & the carby's & it's now a 30hp.

Unless you realy know your way around outboards then it's best to get a dealer to do the mod.

Geoff

[achjimmy]

suzuki priced themselves out of a sale when i recently bought a new yammy

around december they had a 20% increase where the others hadnt passed on the us dollar collapse due to greater stock holdings i guess

isnt suzuki imported by a dealer here in sydney and distributed?

Suzuki is imported by H****s in Brisbane. Suzuki, Yamaha and other Japanese manufacters would buy in the Yen not $USD. The Yen has had a much greater fall than the USD$ also Yamaha being corperate in Australia rather than a dealer would be able to stave of price increases far better than H****s could.

[Juggs]

Suzuki is imported by H****s in Brisbane. Suzuki, Yamaha and other Japanese manufacters would buy in the Yen not $USD. The Yen has had a much greater fall than the USD$ also Yamaha being corperate in Australia rather than a dealer would be able to stave of price increases far better than H****s could.

ok thanks

we import high end cutting blades out of japan and other tools and they all take us dollars so assumed the same

[CapricornDancer]

I bought a Tohatsu 140hp naturally aspirated engine. It has had a number of manufacturing problems which Tohatsu would not cover under warranty. Carburetor spindle jammed at 3500 rpm after 3 hours use leaving motor unable to change speed. WD40 fixed this but still a safety issue.. Bottom spark plug fouled up after every 100 liters of fuel. After 2 years Tohatsu suggested checking the bottom oil recycle hose which was installed incorrectly at manufacture. Water drops appeared on the lower spark plug regularly when checking for oiling up of plug. Head gasket was leaking and appears to have been leaking from manufacture. After two years and 60 hours of running the head was removed with difficulty as nearly half the bolts were seized due to lack of anti corrosive goo on the bolts. It is widely known that stainless steel bolts in aluminium threads needs a product similar to Duralac to stop corrosion. Three head bolts stripped the thread and needed helicoils fitted when the replacement gasket was installed. It appears that no anti-corrosive goo is used on any aluminium threads on the motor. Oil usage was 33 to 1 after run in. It appears that the swivel shafts for vertical and horizontal movement of the engine are of steel and they appear to rust and seize.

Tohatsu has lovely advertising but stupid errors in manufacturing made my engine less than a delight.

[Guest Aussie007]

I bought a Tohatsu 140hp naturally aspirated engine. It has had a number of manufacturing problems which Tohatsu would not cover under warranty. Carburetor spindle jammed at 3500 rpm after 3 hours use leaving motor unable to change speed. WD40 fixed this but still a safety issue.. Bottom spark plug fouled up after every 100 liters of fuel. After 2 years Tohatsu suggested checking the bottom oil recycle hose which was installed incorrectly at manufacture. Water drops appeared on the lower spark plug regularly when checking for oiling up of plug. Head gasket was leaking and appears to have been leaking from manufacture. After two years and 60 hours of running the head was removed with difficulty as nearly half the bolts were seized due to lack of anti corrosive goo on the bolts. It is widely known that stainless steel bolts in aluminium threads needs a product similar to Duralac to stop corrosion. Three head bolts stripped the thread and needed helicoils fitted when the replacement gasket was installed. It appears that no anti-corrosive goo is used on any aluminium threads on the motor. Oil usage was 33 to 1 after run in. It appears that the swivel shafts for vertical and horizontal movement of the engine are of steel and they appear to rust and seize.

Tohatsu has lovely advertising but stupid errors in manufacturing made my engine less than a delight.

CD how come u kept the engine so long if u were not happy with it?

[bisso]

CD how come u kept the engine so long if u were not happy with it?

I bought a Tohatsu 140hp naturally aspirated engine. It has had a number of manufacturing problems which Tohatsu would not cover under warranty. Carburetor spindle jammed at 3500 rpm after 3 hours use leaving motor unable to change speed. WD40 fixed this but still a safety issue.. Bottom spark plug fouled up after every 100 liters of fuel. After 2 years Tohatsu suggested checking the bottom oil recycle hose which was installed incorrectly at manufacture. Water drops appeared on the lower spark plug regularly when checking for oiling up of plug. Head gasket was leaking and appears to have been leaking from manufacture. After two years and 60 hours of running the head was removed with difficulty as nearly half the bolts were seized due to lack of anti corrosive goo on the bolts. It is widely known that stainless steel bolts in aluminium threads needs a product similar to Duralac to stop corrosion. Three head bolts stripped the thread and needed helicoils fitted when the replacement gasket was installed. It appears that no anti-corrosive goo is used on any aluminium threads on the motor. Oil usage was 33 to 1 after run in. It appears that the swivel shafts for vertical and horizontal movement of the engine are of steel and they appear to rust and seize.

Tohatsu has lovely advertising but stupid errors in manufacturing made my engine less than a delight.

I sympathise with you having had a previously well documented issue with a Tohatsu 70hp engine that seized. i think they are a good simple motor but the dealer lack of support is the biggest downfall. i wont ellaborate further but if you pm me i can fill you in on my facts..