225 opti vs v max

[jeff]

it seems most of the used boats 1999-2001 are rigged with the yam v max or the merc opti max. Any pro or cons of these models. Or any years i should shy from.

[TimnIowa]

Jeff,
I had a 99 225 Optimax and I have to say it never missed a beat in 3 summers. good on fuel, no smoke and runs good

[jeff]

What i really want to know would you NOT buy a boat because it has on the the above mentioned motors?

Are they both decent enough to buy a used boat with that motor.

Would eother one a a drastically better gas mileage or performance?

[tom]

What really counts the most for you on either of these used motors was if the original owner broke them in correctly. I was just told yesterday at a ranger dealer that if you open these motors up wide open in the first hour of breakin you have just cut their life by 37% if not worse.

I do not know what year they started(Optimax's) but service technicians should be able to hook up to the engine and tell if it was broke in properly. At least this is what a sales person told me.

[eyewitness]

I'm not knocking Merc. or the Opti line (I have a 150 Opti that I love to death), but the big block Opti's (200-225 HP) were stopped in production because of problems. I'm pretty sure because of problems with the computer run fuel mapping system in the mid range area. I know there are a lot of them out there that have run well, however there are just as many stories about repeat problems with burn downs. Personally, I wouldn't touch one, especially out of warranty. The Yamaha however has a great track record. You should call a couple of dealers and ask for the service dept. and talk directly with a mechanic. Sales floor folk are rarely gonna tell you what the Real story is. Also, call a dealer who deals with a lot of Opti's. Surprisingly, there are quite a few out there who don't deal as much with the Opti line and won't have a good background with them. There are also archived threads here on WC that go over these motors pretty well. I'd look them up. Good luck.

[Jim]

Good question. I'll tell you my experience, which may or may not help you with your decisions.

I purchased a 2000 triton with the 225 opti on it. It ran great. I live in Co. so I don't see much big lake action, thus not a lot of hours on my main engine. The next spring the engine siezed up. When i took it to my dealer he told me he was sure the 6th cylinder leaned out thus ruining the engine. Sure enough he was right. The engine had less than 28 hours on it and showed it was broke in properly.Told me Mercury was replacing these power heads right and left. He also said it would be at least 4 weeks to get another power head as they are being taken as fast as they can rebiuld them.

Mercury, got wind of my problem and next day shipped me a power head. Dealer still jacked me around but that had nothing to do with the product. Got the boat back and went fishing. With less than 20 minutes on the engine it blew up again.

Dealer and I got crosswise and he refused to work on it for eight weeks. (Alex's Marine) Mercury found a dealer to start on it right away. He reported that the 6 th cylinder leaned out. At that time I tried everything possible to get Mercury to give me an EFI even if itcost me some cash. They refused. Then suddenly the report changed from a leaned out cylinder to a pinched oil line. They refuse to start my warranty over from the time of replacement. From what I expierienced it is obvious Mercury is just putting bandaids on the problem until the warranty expires. Now, I have a new engine but will be hard put to put 20 hours on it before it runs out of warranty. Convienant , huh.

Suggest you go to a dealer and tell him you have a 225 opti you want to trade on a new engine. When they get done laughing or lying make your own decision.

[Jim]

I know I sounded bitter but what do you expect? I did want to amend my earlier message by saying that the Triton 205 has so far been a great boat and don't want you to judge the boat because of the engine. I would strongly advise you to never buy anything from the Co. Triton dealer. I could tell you horror stories about that dealer but I would use up to much space.

[guest]

The problems they had with the 200 and 225 optis were simple and easy to fix. The first ones overheated and they added an extra water pick up and that solved that. This was back in 97-98. The recent "shutdown in production", was less than 2 weeks. The supplier for the fuel rails changed and the new part didn't work right. Recalled motors were quickly fixed and the problem solved in production by going to original rails. These are solid, dependable motors that get better range than the new V-6 4-strokes.

[guest]

Yamaha's a great motor till you need it worked on. There is no part stocking requirment for yamaha dealers. I've waited 8 weeks for parts before. Merc. will overnight parts to dealer if it's not in stock and the customer is willing to pay overnight rate. Merc. also has the most service centers on North America, incl. Canada and Mexico.