new tohatsu outboard is this normal

[katana750]

I'm sitting on a beach on kootenay lake bc. Just trying out my brand new tohatsu outboard I bought online. I have to say I am pretty disappointed. I just swithched my 9.9 yamaha two stroke 1993 for this one. The old yamaha in comparison to the new motor is quite drastic..before I could carry on a conversation in the cock pit and it was relativly smooth

The tohatsu at maybe quarter throttle.....just breaking it in....we are barely having a conversation....definatly really raising our voices and the vibrations are not pleasant....my feet were kind of numb and hanging on to the tiller for a long time wouldn't be very comfortable. The whole boat buzzes and its mounted on a rubber pad. It just doesn't seem right. I didn't think that four strokes were generally noiser and vibrated more than two strokes

From what I read people seem very happy with the motor and I know noise and vibration are subjective. Maybe the yamaha just spoiled me. I am having trouble getting hold of a dealer further up the lake and I thought maybe I could ask here. It has always been helpful in the past.

Thanks
Dave

The motor seems to run fine. Pushes the boat great. I was just really disapointed and I'm well under half throttle. I really hope there is some thing wrong here or somebody can tell metthat's just how it is with four strokes....its my first one

 

[BudGates]

I can't speak for a Tohatsu but my 1977 Honda 4-stroke 9.9 runs pretty quietly. At 3/4 throttle I can carry on a normal conversation. At idle I can't always be sure if it's running or not.

 

[katana750]

Hmmm interesting. The motor is quite at idle but man does the vibration increase with throttle. It vibrates my bolts off the new fuel filter I just installed. It sure would be nice if this isnt what I have to live with

 

[MrBill_FLL]

check/swap the prop?

 

[katana750]

I was wondering about that....I bought the 7 pitch 4 blade one as an extra....of coarse I didn't bring it. Although this one is brand new out of the box. It could have a manifactures flaw. The one on my yamaha had a good chunk out of one of the blades. It was still very smooth . I'm going to take a closer look to see if something is obvious

 

[BudGates]

First make sure the prop is on tight. Assuming it is, trying another prop is a good plan. You can also see how it does without a prop (at the dock or in a tub of water of course).

 

[walt]

Is the prop you are using the four blade 5 pitch that comes with the 9.8 hp?

I didnt like this one.. it worked seriously well in reverse but it always had to run at fairly high rpm in forward to get the boat up to the speed I liked to run it at. Noisy and too much vibration. After using it for a couple weeks, I bought a three blade about 8.5 pitch more conventional swept back blade prop which has stayed on the outboard siince then. Except for the great reverse, I like the more conventional prop a lot better. It still stops the boat fine. Last time I had the boat out in Feb, I got it up to full forward speed, put it in neutral and then reverse full - it stopped the boat in about 10 seconds. The four blade 5 pitch would have probably taken half the time to stop the boat - but I just didnt like the forward tradeoff.

FYI, I think that 4 stroke Tohatsu/ Nissan 9.8 runs fairly quiet...

 

[kito]

Is your motor mount rated for the increase in weight? I know a 9.9 4 stroke weighs a bit more than it's 2 stroke version. Could be as simple as tightening up some bolts too. Or maybe that prop got through QC without being balanced.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I would be curious how it does at 1/2 or 3/4 throttle. You may just be at 1/4 throttle hitting the natural frequency of the boat and thing are just getting excited. Does it do any better at higher RPM's?

 

[katana750]

I would be curious how it does at 1/2 or 3/4 throttle. You may just be at 1/4 throttle hitting the natural frequency of the boat and thing are just getting excited. Does it do any better at higher RPM's?

Thanks for all the replys. I'm sitting down below deck right now it reminds me of a turbo prop airplane. I have the five pitch prop on now. I wish I brought the other one. We are running up to a marina maybe I can buy one. I am still breaking it in I have it up to half throttle now. We almost yell to talk....this can't be right. I'm not terrible picky but from what I have read and what everybody has said about them here it should not be like this. At full throttle ill be putting on ear muffs. I have used a johnson as well as the yamaha on this boat both two strokes neither of them mafe me think holy smoke are these noisey. My little five year old just came down I can't even here her talk to me.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

a 5 pitch prop sounds very low, and very high rpms.

careful of the redline on the engine.

 

[katana750]

The five pitch is what comes with the outboard and it may be the problem I took it off and ran the motor made a big difference with the vibration I was feeling. Ill see if I can find a new prop in the morning. The noise is the other problem....every where I read on the net people are pleased with how quiet and smooth the tohatsu is. I really can't say this yet. I was sitting in the campanion way and had trouble talking to my wife who was sitting inside. Does this sound similar. I dread trying to explain this to a tec if I can get hold of one....I'm sure they will just say its normal....its not like the motor is shaking and rattling around but compared to my two other two strokes there is no way i could say this motor is quiet....except at idle or maybe up to 1000 rpm after that it sounds like a cheap air cooled generator.

The only other thing I can think of is its mounted to a rubber transom pad and not directly to the hull....I would think this would only help with my issues not cause them but who knows.

 

[BudGates]

Oops, posted in wrong thread....

 

[Sock Puppet]

I have a Mercury 9.9 4-stroke, so it should be very, very close to your Tohatsu. I run a Solas high thrust prop on mine. It is incredibly quiet and smooth, even at 3/4+ throttle. I suspect something is not right with yours, and you are probably on the right track looking at the prop. I never ran the factory prop that came on mine, so I have no comparison.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I don't know. I am not sure I would spend the money on a new prop just yet. If the motor is bad or has a bent crank or something is wrong in the lower unit, the retailer will have to make that right. I would try it on another boat or at the dealers on a bench test. If it's the motor and you buy another prop, you will loose that expense.

If it's new get the dealer involved and ask for it to be looked at.

 

[Chief RA]

I have a new 2013, 9.8 Tohatsu, 25" shaft, electric start, 4 blade prop, that just finished its break in runs. Mine is VERY quiet, powerful at all rpm's, minimal vibration and just sips gas. I have much experience with small engines as I am an ex Yamaha dealer. The advice to get it back to the dealer is perfect advice. Since it is very loud I suspect that one of its problems stems from engine/exhaust malfunction. You have the right to make the dealer take the motor back and get another one. I would NOT keep that engine no matter how much they work on it!
Having a great summer/fall in the water at Bodega Bay! Chief

 

[katana750]

Thanks for all the responses. It really helps. I'm anchored in front of the authorized dealer now. The only proplem is he is a very nice guy but he isn't really familiar with the motor he doesn't sell to many. He is going to call tohatsu in the morning for me. I made a mistake when reasearching a tohatsu. I looked for dealers near me. This is the closest one about 2.5 hous away. The others are about four....not too bad if a had a major problem I thought it was a bit odd when I got here and he told me he didnt have any for sale. So while I was waiting I starting looking at the other authorized dealers web sites....and they don't even mention they sell outboards. I found one that does in vancouver 8 hours a way. I may be screwed here.... how do you convince somebody it sounds loud and vibrates too much if they are not familar with the motors. I wasn't sure what to expect myself until I talked to you guys what normal should be. Its not like the problem is obvious. The best way to discribe it is the whole boat buzzes. My pop top screws have vibrated off. I can't leave a plate at the companion way.....it just vibrates off.....it vibrates my butt through cock pit cushions all this at half throttle and it only gets worse. Its a subjective complaint but when you search the web I don't see many complaints about noise and vibrations and whishing they went back to there 1990 s two strokes.

They guy has a tohatsu with the remotes cut off in the shop. I'm going to see if I can make it worth his while to swap motors as a test or at least let me borrow the propellar. Or maybe tohatsu will get back back to him and completely agree something is wrong and let him try to fix it.....that would be some amazing customer services....I won't hold my breath

Thanks again and ill let you know what happens.

 

[katana750]

I have a new 2013, 9.8 Tohatsu, 25" shaft, electric start, 4 blade prop, that just finished its break in runs. Mine is VERY quiet, powerful at all rpm's, minimal vibration and just sips gas. I have much experience with small engines as I am an ex Yamaha dealer. The advice to get it back to the dealer is perfect advice. Since it is very loud I suspect that one of its problems stems from engine/exhaust malfunction. You have the right to make the dealer take the motor back and get another one. I would NOT keep that engine no matter how much they work on it!
Having a great summer/fall in the water at Bodega Bay! Chief

It completly confirms my thoughts but I guess ill be the example why not to buy an outboard online. I think its going to make things tough. On the other hand my closest dealer for any outboard is almost three hours away. Ill just try my best but it has a clearly stated no return policy but who knows they have been very good to deal with so far. Ill just have to see how it pans out. I like the outboard its very nice under 1000 rpm but it just goes down hill from there. I have about six hours on it now so I can experiment a bit more but I don't think I can get the boat to go faster than a high five knots.....but I pull a dingy I'm going to drop it and try a few things while I'm waiting

 

[Chief RA]

I pull a 10.5' inflatable dingy w/ 15hp outboard on it and hit full hull speed at about 50% throttle. I had the same thing happen to me with an 8.5' inflatable Zodiac brand. It was terrible construction and porpoised like mad. I returned it to the dealer and insisted he test it. I requested a receipt that he had it, and got it. I then contacted my card company and they stopped payment on the boat! Needless to say, he doesn't like me much! ha
Don't back off, contact Tohatsu directly.
Good luck, Chief

 

[Cruiser1]

I have a Mercury 9.9 4-stroke, so it should be very, very close to your Tohatsu. I run a Solas high thrust prop on mine. It is incredibly quiet and smooth, even at 3/4+ throttle. I suspect something is not right with yours, and you are probably on the right track looking at the prop. I never ran the factory prop that came on mine, so I have no comparison.

Just as a matter of interest SP, what are the specs and part number on your Solas prop?

I have been thinking about getting a Solas high trust prop for my 8HP Nissan 2-Stroke. As far a I can see the Tohatsu/Nissan/Merc 8/9's are pretty much the same motor.