4 stroke outboard break-in yes/no and story

[sh00ter]

Was afraid the gearheads was all car and the hunting & fishing forum didn't seem right either.

50hp fourstroke, I was a little disturbed when the mechanic at "that big store on memorial rd" shunned the idea that you "really" had to follow any break-in procedure. He told me "just go out and run it". ALL boats they sell get lake tested first and he told me they go out and "run em' hard" before the customer picks them up. Luckily, I opted out of the lake test because I didn't trust anyone to run my new boat but me. However, he did say they ran it on the trailer with muffs so I hope they didn't rev it way up.

So I took it out to the lake for the first time and had my wife and 5yr old with me and I wasn't disciplined enough nor had enough time (it was evening) to follow the break-in 100% but here is what I did and I want to know if it will be okay considering the alternative the "that big store on memorial rd" uses for all their other new boat sales.

1.) Idled boat to get out of long no-wake zone so I assume it was warmed up enough
2.) Ran mostly 3500 RPM or less for about 10-15min (did hit 4k RPM a few times though)
3.) Had to stop and let the 5yr old swim, so I took the time to test out the trolling motor while I was waiting
4.) After an hour, started back up and ran 4k RPM or less (mostly 3500k or less) for another 25-30min of run time
5.) Then took it up to wide open for maybe 30sec to a minute
6.) Then ran another 45min or so at variable RPM from 1k - 5k (mostly 3k - 4500k) with about 3 wide-open 6k RPM runs that last roughly a minute or so
7.) Then ran it easy back to the dock and idled though the no-wake zone

SO far I guesstimate 1.5hrs of run time, maybe 2 if you count some idling and whatever "that big store on memorial rd" did on the trailer.

My questions are if what I did is okay considering what it would have gotten if "that big store on memorial rd" had lake tested it for me and if break-in has any room for flexibility at all?

ALSO, they used Mercury 10w30 oil...I'd have preferred to break-in on the 25w40 but I wasn't given the option; I hope that is okay.

 

[NightShade]

It's pretty much similar to a car engine, the biggest thing is to change the oil after the break in period is up. There will be assembly lube and some coatings that come off that you want to get out of it. Then pick your oil and filter and keep it clean.

 

[sh00ter]

Yeah I believe Mercury recommends a 6hr break-in total and to change the oil before 20hrs if I'm not mistaken. Thanks for your input.

 

[GLGAR]

I put a 2014 Mercury 60hp four stroke on a pontoon and ran the early hours about like you did. Great motors, even if they are made in China. A Smart Craft monitor is a good addition if they didn't include one in your boat. Records hours, fuel used, rpm, engine temp, etc. Good luck with it.

 

[sh00ter]

Hey thanks for making me feel better that someone else didn't religiously follow the guidelines...normally I'm the type to be by the book and I figured considering the circumstances, I did "good enough".

The mechanic told me about those monitors but I'll have to get a new phone which might be awhile. my understanding is they need a android or iphone to work.

Thanks again; no idea they were chinese! The EFI OEM-branded motor on my cub cadet is chinese...apparently very heavy duty specs though, held up well so far so hopefully the Merc will...are ALL of them made there or just the low HP models?

 

[GLGAR]

I think all the 40, 50 and 60hp 4 strokes are built in China. The Smart Craft monitor is a Mercury part, just a dash gauge and a cable to a plug on the motor. Simple set up, easy to hook up and doesn't require any thing else. No phone, android etc. no idea what the mechanic was talking about. Good description on the Mercury website.

 

[dancer4life]

I have a 2016 tritoon,with a 2016 Yamaha 115hp 4 stroke engine.\

This is the break in procedure from my owners manual: