Brand New Tohatsu 8hp Outboard Break-in

Sumner · Jul 24, 2011

I just bought motor oil and can't remember reading anything in the manual about having to use theirs, but I had a lot going on at the time so might of missed it.

I've built a couple car engines and most people that build car engines recommend not using synthetic for the break-in period, but that wasn't for a new car so not sure what they tell you to do now for a new vehicle. Maybe that is 'old school' and doesn't apply anymore.

You will like the engine though, I'm pretty sure of that

. We love our 9.8, which is the same engine,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

MrBill_FLL · Jul 25, 2011

I would never recommend putting motor oil in the gas.

You could put 2 stroke oil in the gas (synthetic 2 stroke preferable (amsoil) ( or some marvel mystery oil)).

you have 2 things breaking in. the pistons/crank, and the gear case.

I would drop both oils after around 10-20 hrs... just to get any metal out...

and of course vary the RPM's...

Sumner · Jul 25, 2011

Sean10633 said:
Thanks Sumner. I wanted to make sure I break it in properly and I know that once you go synth you have continue to use synth, so I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this. For the rebuilt engine, did they say why you shouldn't use synth during the break in?

I'm glad to hear how much you love yours, it was a tough decision between all the different manufacturers. I just got it and it seems pretty big compared to my Johnson, I was a little afraid of having trouble fitting it in the transom area. Did you clamp it there, or did you get a motor mount?

By the way, I looked at your Mac S page and I loved your upgrades, I may have to use a couple of your ideas. Loved the little fold out table design! And the head, wow...I've always wondered what I could do to make the boat more functional down below and moving the head seems to be the best solution. How long did it take you to do that and the extended birth?

The common explanation given for using a non-synthetic for break in is that it is 'too slippery' and doesn't let the rings seat sometimes and other parts also have to wear a little initially to obtain a proper mating surface. Now that being said I don't know Tohatsu's feeling about that or what car manufactures recommend now for new cars. Parts are now made to a lot higher tolerances than they use to be and fuel injection cuts down of a lot of wear that took place with carbs that ran rich in the morning and washed the oil off of the cylinder walls. If you start with synthetic I'll bet you are fine, but also I see no harm at all running a good non-synthetic through the motor until the first oil change and it should happen sooner than subsequent ones.

Yep we love the table. Moves to about....

....any place in the cabin and is easy to....

... store out of the way, which is nice as the cabin is so small....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/inside-19.html

You know I've done so much I really can't remember how long the head took or the v-berth extension. If I had to guess I'd say 25-40 hours total for the basic install including stain and urethane. That wouldn't count the added ....

... shelving around the V-berth or the food....

....storage. The v-berth extension is fast and easy. The head you want to take time to get a good fit on the container for the Double Doodie bags so that it can't move and the lid seals good. Do that and it is a great system. Very few boats, even big ones can go out for more than a month without having to service the head unless they are out past the 3 mile and discharging.

The boat is very functional now and even after 7+ weeks on her this spring we really hated to get off,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

monkeybars · Jul 25, 2011

tohutsu,mercury,johnson, or yamaha none of them make their own oil, it is all purchased from the same 2 or 3 huge motor oil blenders and bottled in branded containers.any marine rated four-stroke oil will do the job nicely.

Sumner · Jul 25, 2011

Sean10633 said:
Thanks Mr Bill, yeah i meant 2 cycle oil in the gas..I just didn't think you were supposed to do that. And you're right, the manual has a strict break in process as far as throttling, but not much on how soon to change out the oil, so thanks for that heads-up!

Thanks Sumner, I love the detail you put into your mod pages, the pictures really help! I didn't get much past your mods to see how you mounted your outboard, did you use a motor mount, or did it fit in the transom well?

Thanks Ray, that makes sense. So do you guys think using synthetic motor oil will benefit the motor in the long run?

-Sean

I agree with Bill's recommendations 100%

and wouldn't add any oil to the gas.

Here is the stuff on how I mounted the outboard and why we bought the extra long shaft, which is why we got the 9.8 vs. the 8 since you can only get the long shaft on the 8. I don't think the extra 1.8 HP is anything to write home about, but wanted the extra long shaft...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-25.html

....good luck,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

timebandit · Jul 25, 2011

No synthetic untill the engine has at least 10 hours.

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Suzuki Marine 4-Stroke Engine Oil 10W-40
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MrBill_FLL · Sep 20, 2011

Sounds like the Lower unit case... but could be nothing.

-you verified that it does in fact have oil in the LU and block? (they don't usually ship w/oil)

If you put it in the water, and ran it even for a short period, you can drop the gear oil, and look for any water. (milky color).

there's (typcially) 2 seals. one from the prop side, (large screw in 'plug' w/ and O ring behind it, and from the top, water pump O ring. and of course the 2 screws in the side for adding/dropping oil.

maybe you should just run it in a trash can for the 1st 2 min...

I would suggest you buying the specific factory repair manual, which normally requires the serial number. my merc was ~$45.

walt · Sep 20, 2011

Hope everything works out, I’ve enjoyed almost the same outboard.

Maybe not related or useful in this case but I’ve had sort of a similar experience.

On two different small outboards that I have owned, if I leave the outboard laying down and the prop is supporting part of the load (for example, the outboard is layed on a flat surface and the prop is contacting the flat surface), I will have oil leak out at the prop.

On both of these outboards, if I never put any sort of pressure on the prop itself, I don’t get any oil leakage. Even after having the oil leak problem, if I keep any pressure off the prop, I have no more oil leakage. For example, if I keep both of these outboards on the back of a boat where the prop is not supporting anything - never any issue..

Both outboards manuals seem to imply that you can lay them down (on the correct side) but if I do this, I make sure the prop itself is not at all taking any of the load.