posted 11-20-2004 10:51 AM ET (US)            

"Dear Mercury Customer:

"This is to inform you that we are currently assessing some performance related problems in our 2001 model year 3.0 liter 200 and 225 horsepower Optimax engines. Regrettably, we have decided to discontinue shipment of these engines for the balance of the 2001 model year. A Mercury team is working on developing a solution that will incorporate into the 2002 model year a 3.0 liter 200 and 225 horsepower Optimax engine. Mercury Marine is committed to providing quality products to all its customers."

[This letter was read into the pubic testimony before the U.S. International Trade Commission on outboard engines from Japan and charges of dumping.]

The dock talk on this situation was given some spin that the problem was traced to some bad parts from a vendor. This was little consolation to people who bought the engines. The cowling said "Mercury", not the name of the vendor who made some bad parts.

Here is another Optimax 225 customer's story:

http://www.complaints.com/directory/2004/august/16/26.htm

Read it and weep.

Eventually there was a class-action lawsuit brought against Mercury for these engines. It was settled with offers of coupons or discounts against future purchases for the owners of Optimax engines. You can read all about this settlement by following these links.

In early 2004 the word from Mercury was that they have fixed all of these problems, and the engine is bullet-proof. Warranty costs for 2004 models were very low compared to 2003. Warranty costs for 2003 models were down 80-percent from 2002. This trend, in itself, really says quite a bit about the engines made in 2001 and 2002, if you think about it.

Mercury poured a ton of money into trying to fix these problems. They gave people new powerheads. Or two new powerheads like our customer linked above. All of this had to cost a fortune. It also cost Mercury a lot of reputation. It cost the owners of Optimax engines a lot of money, too.

Even if you have an Optimax 3.0-liter 225 that has been running like a fine Swiss watch since day-one, its value has been reduced by all of these horror stories.

Now, all that said, there are many people--the majority of Optimax owners--who can say with no hesitation that their engines run perfectly, are reliable, and deliver excellent performance and very good fuel economy. However, they do have a reputation for needing lots of spark plugs.

posted 11-21-2004 07:15 PM ET (US)            

Thanks again for your replies.

posted 11-21-2004 11:54 PM ET (US)            

My 2000 225 Optimax has several hundred hours on her pushing my 6000lb 25' Whaler. When she is started, I can hardly hear the motor and I need to check the rpm's to make sure she is running.
While at 40mph and 5500rpms, she can be heard, but with the wind passing by at this speed, who can hear/talk on the phone and VHF?
If you have a completely enclosed, insulated cockpit, then at WOT, the db's don't matter.
Come on, let's keep to the truth. Any motor at high rpm's and with limited sound dampening will have high db levels.
How do you measure the db's of wind passing by your head at this speed and is this really a concern to you speed junkies? If you want a quiet motor, keep your RPM's low and never hit WOT.
What I want to know is who is the guy holding the db meter as I blast along at 5500rpm's? Where is this measurement taken and can you really hear the stereo/VHF/cell phone at this speed in an open cockpit?

Ihookem,

Go for the motor that will best suit your needs. My situation will differ from yours and others. You can get the newest and latest on the market or a tried and true preformer. You can take my advice or that of the other forum experts (not saying I am an expert).
Either way you go, the decision is yours.

Stories are like anything else, there are 3 sides. Yours, mine and the truth...

Good luck and remember, your 22' Guardian is still a Whaler, no matter what the power.

Andy

posted 11-22-2004 01:07 AM ET (US)            

There have been many explanations from Mercury for all the problems in the field. One explanation was the battery being used was not adequate. The Optimax engine apparently is really a very big electrical consumer, and at low speeds its charger output may not keep up with electrical demand. It needs a very strong battery to start and run properly.

The Optimax is rather notorious for fouling plugs. I am not positive, but I believe the recommend spark plug has changed a couple of times on the engine. I also think you have to index the plug (i.e., install it so the electrode is facing a certain position in the cylinder). Problems with wrong plugs and improper indexing have also been blamed for causing problems in the field. Plug life has been a problem, too. Many of these low emission engines fire the plug multiple times each cycle to make sure they get good ignition of the fuel. All those multiple spark plug firings eat into the plug life. If the plug fires four times instead of once, after one year of use it is really four years old in terms of the number of firings that has taken place. This is why platinum electrode plugs are often recommended. They last longer. Some of these plugs are expensive, maybe as much as $20 retail at list price. On a six cylinder engine that can add up.

Another source of blame: the oil. I don't know exactly what the current situation with the oil happens to be, but there is a premium oil available that is recommended for the Optimax. Mercury can't actually tell you that you must use this oil to preserve the warranty (because if they did they would have to give it to you under the Magnusen-Moss Warranty Act), but I bet they'd be happier if you did use it. You probably should plan on feeding the Optimax the premium, OEM-branded oil if you don't want your mechanic telling you that it is your fault the engine is not running right.

Now you don't hear this said directly, but you do get the impression that a lot of the problems with the Optimax might be blamed on this EPA regulation. If these darn environmentalists weren't screwing around with the outboard motor business, things would be fine.

The Optimax does get good fuel mileage--better than a comparable four-stroke by 20-25-percent according to the claims from Mercury.

The Optimax is a low-emission engine. It is compliant with the EPA and most of the CARB ratings are Three-Star, although some models are Two-Star.

The Optimax, when it is running right, is also reported to be a strong performer. It will have a better horsepower-to-weight ratio than a four-stroke. It may be faster accelerating, too.

The Optimax is a direct-injection engine, and the amount of fuel being used is under the control of the microprocessor on the engine. It actually does not know how much fuel is really getting used, as it just sends electrical signals to the fuel injectors that tell them to stay open for a certain amount of time. In order that the precise amount of fuel gets injected, everything has to be right. The fuel rail pressure has to be right. The air pump pressure has to be right. The injector nozzle has to be right. The injector itself has to be right. There can't be crud or dirt or bad pressure regulation in any of these steps. The microprocessor just tells the injector when to open and for how long. It takes it on faith that the fuel gets into the cylinder in the right amount.

If the microprocessor is really sophisticated and has plenty of sensors, and if the engine designers were really sophisticated and did plenty of testing and measurement, they built into the memory of the microprocessor many tables of information about how much injector time to use for every combination under the sun of throttle position, engine speed, engine temperature, air temperature, etc. From all their testing and experimentation comes the "intelligence" of the engine controller. You hit the throttle and the microprocessor in the engine looks up what do to about it, how much fuel to inject, and other important stuff like ignition timing advance, spark plug firing, etc. If they put the right data into the controller, then the engine will run just like they designed it.

Now doing all this would be made much easier if the engine could just be designed to run like a champ and have this great torque curve and smooth response, but your environmental friends in Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1990 and gave the EPA authority to regulate emissions from outboard motors. Now the designers have to keep a close eye on emissions--a very close eye. To keep the emissions down they sometimes have to tune the engine in such a way that it is running not quite as smoothly as you'd like.

The real danger is getting the fuel mixture too lean. When a cylinder runs lean it gets hot. Since most of the engine is made from aluminum (to keep the weight down), it does not like heat. If you get aluminum cylinders and pistons too hot, they blow up. If one cylinder is not getting as much fuel and maybe also not getting as much cooling water, that is the one that blows up first. Ask those bass fishermen.

If the mechanical components of the fuel system are working perfectly, and the electrical injector is working perfectly, and the computer is working perfectly, and--and this is really the most important element--if the guys who designed and built the engine and its electronics did their job perfectly, then the engine runs like a champ.

But that is a big "if". It turns out that boaters can figure out situations to run their engine that the designers never tested for or never considered. So like those bass boat contestants that start their Optimax engines up on a cold morning at the fishing tournament and hit the throttle to the wall, they found out that the "intelligence" in the Optimax controller was not quite smart enough to keep the engine from blowing up a cylinder.

Or maybe the boater is a guy who trolls for six hours and then reels 'em in and heads for home at 65-MPH. The engine designers might not have accounted for that, and you've got fouled plugs and a lousy trip home.

I imagine that over the years the engineers at Fond du Lac have added some more tables and maps into the memory of the Optimax to the point where they have stopped it from blowing up cylinders on a cold morning or from fouling plugs when trolling for six hours.

From all accounts, from the glowing press releases and catalogues, from statements to investors by the CEO, from field representatives, from salesmen at boat shows, the Optimax has reached a point now, in the 2005 model year, where all of these problems are behind it. They've worked out all those bugs, they say. No more bad fuel rails. No more wrong spark plugs. No more low battery voltage. No more fouled plugs. No more cylinders blowing up. No more second or third powerheads. They've got the engine controller programmed for everything. Just "zoom--zoom--zoom" for the Optimax. And it meets the EPA regulations. So here we are fifteen years after the notion of emission regulation came into law, and approaching ten years since the finalization of the outboard emission levels, and we've got an Optimax that is a great running engine and is compliant with the 2006 standard.

posted 06-26-2007 10:58 AM ET (US)            

Watch the Batteries and replace to keeep the 1000 & 800CCa going.

Dumfounded last year , mechanic did the Computer check , no propblems just reprime the oil reserve to get the alarm off.

2006 - Spent the rest of the year trying to get up on plane ~ 4200 max RPMs , well it turned out to be fouled plugs , My Guess is the #6 was the worst , and $4 &5 were not too far behind. Replaced all and everything is back to 5750 and on plane in 3 seconds.

2007 - had some problems with some lose wires , all good now , but now I am getting a Engine alarm going off periodically of the Smart Gauge. Could be when I get up to 5800 Rpm, will continue to moniter.

Were do I find #'s for Engine Issues?

This has been a great engine the past 5 years, It may be time to do major maintenace , having trouble finding a competent optimax mechanic 60048.

Thanks for any help North Eastern,IL , Southern Eastern, WI

posted 06-28-2007 08:50 AM ET (US)            

Is there a list somewhere of the recommended parts upgrades or service work that needs to be done to update these motors?

If I buy this boat, I recognize that a repower will be in my future, but how "used up" are optimaxes with over 1000 hours on them?

posted 07-01-2007 11:11 PM ET (US)            

One thing about a 1999 OptiMax that stands out: not ready for SmartCraft instrumentation. Cf.: