2016 Mercury 200 Optimax

[retired chem teacher]

Need some expert advice.  Looking at a Lund pro v bass -- with a 2016 Merc 200 Optimax with 300 hours on it.  Could someone give the good--bad --ugly about the motor before I continue. 

[fishinwrench]

Nice BOAT. 

I'm no "expert" on the DFI Merc's. I've tried but pretty much given up. And any tech that claims to be.....is probably lying.

If you can get it bought for a price that allows you to repower within 2 years without being completely upside down in it financially, then it's certainly worth considering.  

Of course this is dependant on whether or not it currently has the original powerhead on it.    The majority of 2014-2016 Opti's have already blown the original powerhead......and will likely blow again within 300 hrs.  

It's as if they are programmed/designed to do so.  🤷‍♂️

[Dutch]

I am anything but a tech.  I did own an Optimax 225 for 14 years.  When I sold it, it had over 800 hours on it.  It only had regular maintenance done on it by a friend of mine who is a Merc factory trained mechanic.  His advice from the get go was never leave the launch unit the Smart Craft gauge showed at least 120°.  I always followed that procedure and still do with my 7 year old Verado.  

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Dutch said:

I am anything but a tech.  I did own an Optimax 225 for 14 years.  When I sold it, it had over 800 hours on it.  It only had regular maintenance done on it by a friend of mine who is a Merc factory trained mechanic.  His advice from the get go was never leave the launch unit the Smart Craft gauge showed at least 120°.  I always followed that procedure and still do with my 7 year old Verado.  

That's impressive 👍......if true.   But I'd sure challenge that claim. 🤔

But even if so, here's the thing.......The whole reason behind computer controlled DFI technology was to allow seamless operation & clean emissions during all circumstances.    

I must tell ya that if I had to sit and idle until my 1986 Evinrude XP (that is still on its original powerhead BTW) reached 120° before taking off everytime.....I wouldn't be fishing much during the coarse of a day. I'd be sitting there idling all day.    Metal & aluminum really doesn't change integrity much between 60 & 120 degrees, and in a DFI system neither does fuel atomization..... or lubrication .

Just out of curiosity....how many of those 800 Opti-hours do ya reckon were spent sitting at the ramp......or waiting to warm up before moving to a different fishing area ?   😅  The Verado has to take twice as long.... because it has a gallon of oil to WARM UP too.  

Am I making sense to anyone?   If not I'll just STHU 🙂

[Dutch]

I really don’t care what you think but I don’t appreciate the fact that you are basically calling me a liar, but what can I expect from a guy who knows everything about everything.  I think you are showing a one sided bias in your total support for items that have gone belly up and haven’t been produced for quite a while.  
 

As far as your beloved Johnrudes go I owned several and only had one that didn’t blow up.  

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Ive read that same thing all the years i had an Opti. Most failures are from cold seizure. The metal heats up at different temps and causes the issues.  There is mountains of info from Merc Techs online about it. My opti had 870 hours when i got it and i put over 250 on it. I always let mine warm up too. Mine was also a 75hp which didnt have near the issues as the 150+engines

That being said i was always scared mine was going to pop from all the stories you here, coils, air compressors, oil pumps, and the list goes on. 

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I see it every time i go to the lake, people dump their boat in and fire it up and take out on plane instantly.  Most people dont even think about it, just like in there cars.  Hell i went to buy a boat once with a Yamaha 200. The guy put it on muffs when i got there and as soon as he fired it up he threw it in neutral and revved it to red a few times. I passed on that one

[fishinwrench]

I wasn't calling you a liar, I was challenging the claim that your Opti had 800 actual hours worth of trouble free service.   

Do you realize how much water can be covered in 20 hours .... Much less 800 ? 

I'm doubting the accuracy of the ECU..... I'm not necessarily doubting what you were TOLD by the guy that pulled that data. 

32 minutes ago, Dutch said:

but what can I expect from a guy who knows everything about everything

 

You obviously missed this......

4 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

 

I'm no "expert" on the DFI Merc's. I've tried but pretty much given up. And any tech that claims to be.....is probably lying

I'm always honest about what I know, and what I THINK I know.    And I'm smart enough to know the difference.  Sorry I hit a nerve, dude 🤷‍♂️ 

Is there anything that you know alot about....besides ME ?

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

This is the best explanation i have read from a large Merc dealer

 cyl bore on a 200/225 Opti is 3.6265 in. (std.) The piston has approx. dia. of 3.6210... So you have approx. .0055 piston to cylinder wall clearance...
Now when a motor heats up it expands...So when it's up to normal operating temp. the piston and cylinder wall are both a larger diameter.
When you run a cold motor hard or up to WOT real quick what happens is the piston gets hot much faster than a cylinder wall that has cold water against the outside of it....The hot piston expands but the cylinder wall hasn't yet.

[fishinwrench]

16 minutes ago, aarchdale@coresleep.com said:

This is the best explanation i have read from a large Merc dealer

 cyl bore on a 200/225 Opti is 3.6265 in. (std.) The piston has approx. dia. of 3.6210... So you have approx. .0055 piston to cylinder wall clearance...
Now when a motor heats up it expands...So when it's up to normal operating temp. the piston and cylinder wall are both a larger diameter.
When you run a cold motor hard or up to WOT real quick what happens is the piston gets hot much faster than a cylinder wall that has cold water against the outside of it....The hot piston expands but the cylinder wall hasn't yet.

This is inaccurate, at least in the wording.

Piston to cyl. clearance is .005 .....PER EVERY INCH OF BORE ! 

A 3" cylinder will have .015 from the factory.   

Ring gap is the same.....for the SAME reason.   

Pistons (aluminum) transfer heat very rapidly.   Expansion of a piston skirt, or piston head is an issue that isn't even truly considered in the design of a combustion engine.   If it were then how would you explain ring pins?    

How do you think ring pins and wrist pins stay in place ?