Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
This question comes up frequently. I purchased one sometime around '07 or '08. It has been flawless with the exception that the low speed idle jet needed to be cleaned twice. That was before I started running all the fuel out of it after an outing. Hasn't been a problem since.
I will give the same advice I do when this question comes up. Spend the extra money and get a Mercury. It is built by Tohatsu. However, Mercury places the controls on the tiller and you don't need to reach back to put the motor in forward or reverse.
I have had zero problems with mine in the year and a half that I have owned it. It was just less than a year old when i got it. Controls on the tiller would be a plus depending on the added cost.
Spend the extra money and get a Mercury. It is built by Tohatsu. However, Mercury places the controls on the tiller and you don't need to reach back to put the motor in forward or reverse.
If I were of the mind to go with brandy new... I'd give Lehr propane a fair shake. I don't want to start yet another debate about issues with gasoline, but it goes without saying that any fuel quality issues disappear with propane. There are some other advantages as well, including generally a more stable fuel source that can also be used in a grill.
My 5 year old Merc Bigfoot, Tohatsu power head, had a cracked fuel nozzle in the carb once. It has had no other problems, so I'll attest to the Tohatsu powerhead. The Bigfoot has a real price premium over the Tohatsu. The Bigfoot has some other advantages besides the single twist for F/R and throttle- bigger gears and bearings and a more gear reduction for a displacement hull, but the Tohatsu delivers reliable power for a good price. I was going to get the Tohatsu, but the Admiral said that for as long as these things last, you might as well spend the extra. Who can argue when the Admiral suggests spending more boat bucks.
I also have the Mercury with the gear shift in the throttle. I do NOT like the arrangement and would much prefer to have the gear shift on the side of the motor.
Reasons: It is difficult for a novice to determine which way to rotate the throttle to shift into which gear. Sometimes I get confused and I have used it since 2005
It requires more force to shift gears than what I am used to with a 'normal' shifter on the side of the motor.
Maintenance on the throttle is more complicated.... cable connections rather than a simple mechanical linkage.
So in conclusion: would I buy another? Probably not however I would try a 'normal' shifter again before I would make the final decision. The 'idea' of a shifter on the throttle is very good, just don't like Mercury's execution of the idea.
Thank You for your opinions. Of all that I have looked at, Tohatsu 9.8 offers alot for the money,especially weight,thrust(prop),charger and easy shift(front).
I believe that the Tohatsu and Nissan motors have the shifter in the front of the engine, on the left, no longer on the side of the engine. Makes it much easier to reach.
I just recently launched after 18 months of storage. It was stored upright but transported on it's side as the owners manual says. Once launched, the motor wouldn't start due to oil in the cylinders. Other message boards agreed that they had the same problem.
One of the reasons car manufacturers list a time and mileage limit for oil changes is even if you have low use of an engine the oil retains the corrosive elements that combustion creates and over time these elements will attack the internals of the engine. If you are removing an engine for storage it would be a good idea to drain the oil first to eliminate the corrosion threat and also to avoid the possibility of oil seeping into the cylinders. 9.8 Tohatsu's use less than a quart of oil so it is definitely time and money well spent.
Anyone have any idea if tohatsu's have a wasted spark ignition system? Meaning the spark plug fires every revolution. Or if they only fire on the power stroke. Much appreciated.
Don't know for sure, but the Mercury version has electronic ignition. I would be surprised if any current outboard has wasted spark, a leftover from the days of straight magneto ignition. Magnetos, of course, are still present, but the control module distributes the spark
Thats what I would have figured but Im getting weird readings from the tachometer I installed. It just wraps around the plug wire and you set it to pickup either from every other revolution, every revolution or twice a revolution. I first set it on every other revolution because that seemed to make sense for a four stroke but I was getting strange readings. I set it to every revolution and that seemed to be closer at least at idle, but when out on the water with the motor up what seemed to be pretty high it was only showing like 2,300rpm rather then the 5,300 of the operating speed. I expected it to be lower because of the incorrect prop which is really the reason I installed the tach, so that I could really determine if it is smart for me to get a different prop. If I set the tach to every other revolution that should double the reading to around 4,600rpm which would make a little more sense but then my idle i definitely too high. I'm goin out this evening so I change that setting and see the difference it makes.
We have a tach on JD's Nissan, it too has the lead that wraps around the ignition wire.
We typically motor at about 1900 rpm at 4~5 knots, rarely do we take it above 2100 rpm and that is nowhere near Wide Open Throttle (we have never wound it up that far!)
Here is a discussion of the Tohatsu vs. Yamaha. The Yamaha's controls and performance are better than the Tohatsu. More expensive, but worth the money in my opinion.
Note that he was comparing a standard shaft Tohatsu to an XLS Yamaha with a high thrust prop. 9.9hp is 9.9 hp at a given RPM. Power at the prop can vary between manufacturers d/t gear train design, but a 9.9 standard shaft anything will be a terrible performer. Put a bigger, flatter prop on any XLS and it will move our boats fine. There are other reasons to choose a particular brand, but how it moves your boat means that you must compare equivalent models.. That Yammy still has a Tohatsu powerhead, just like my Mercury.
I have one purchased in 2007 and on a moored boat in salt water. Up until this past year it has mechanically operated flawlessly - ad I love the combination of low weight, electric start, and decent power. The cover/cowl/hood has been a problem since day one as it does not want to stay on the engine. As I bought it from Online Outboards and it was shipped to me I have thought that possibly the cover and/or metal base was damaged in shipment causing the problems. As dumb as it may seem, the cover has almost fallen off in rough water and is a real concern. This past year the carburetor failed, most likely because of the combination of lack of use (I often sail off and onto the mooring) and the gas used. Regardless, the fact that their are so few Tohatsu service dealers has been a concern. And IF a qualified dealer were available these combined issues, I believe, would be resolved easily. So, in your decision tree consider who will be servicing the engine and if they are comfortable with the Tohatsu brand. I am still looking or a qualified mechanic to get mine back into service however if I can not find someone I will be forced to look into buying an engine from a more mainstream supplier, such Yamaha or Mercury.
My 5 horse has a sticky float valve that sometimes decided the gas will not flow. I understand all orifice are smaller on 4 strokes so more likely to have issues.
...Im getting weird readings from the tachometer I installed. It just wraps around the plug wire and you set it to pickup either from every other revolution, every revolution or twice a revolution. I first set it on every other revolution because that seemed to make sense for a four stroke but I was getting strange readings. I set it to every revolution and that seemed to be closer at least at idle, but when out on the water with the motor up what seemed to be pretty high it was only showing like 2,300rpm rather then the 5,300 of the operating speed...
Could it be that the wire is sensing the pulse in the other spark wire? Do you have it wrapped at a place where it's reasonably separated from the other wire?
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.