My brother is considering getting a Tohatsu TLDI 2-stroke outboard for his boat, and was wondering how good these engines are. I know very little about outboards, so I thought I'd ask here. Are Tohatsu's good units? Any problems with the TLDI system? Oil recommendations? Thanks for any info.
Tohatsu Outboards?
- Thread starter 416Rigby
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Have seen several at marina we used to stay at. Nobody ever seemed to have a problem with them. Been told they made under 50 hp engines for Johnson/Evinrude a few years back.
They are very reliable motors. Here is a link on the oil recommendations from Tohatsu:
Tohatsu Oil Recommendations
IMO, any high-quality outboard oil will do fine, Joe
Tohatsu Oil Recommendations
IMO, any high-quality outboard oil will do fine, Joe
I have a 140 and a 5hp. The 140 smoked like crazy when new and the dealer turned the pump down, I turned it down more, and continued to check the oil usuage at way more than 50:1. I tweaked the linkage mount alitlle till it was right at 50:1. It's been great even since and never missed a beat even trolling it. I will say that my old big cubic inch 'rude 90/115 pulled just as big of prop and yanked ski-ers up as well as the smaller ci 140 'hatsu. The 5hp longshaft is a putt-putt single cyl and shakes more than the small twins but will troll down so low you can count the strokes, all day, on sips of gas. I'd buy another one if the price was right. I'm really liking the 4 strokes though.
Tohatsu is the 'KIA' of outboards.
They make a couple of models for Mercury Marine, but had to improve their quality a good bit before Merc would sign the deal.
They make a couple of models for Mercury Marine, but had to improve their quality a good bit before Merc would sign the deal.
ive got a tohatsu outboard. i noticed one day while looking at new outboards that my tohatsu is the exact same thing as a nissan. only difference is the stickers.
every single part is identical.
every single part is identical.
Tohatsu has been making outboards for 50 years or so and are renowned for their reliability. They are also marketed under Nissan. The downside is when you do need service dealers are few and far between. Resale could be a factor since the brand is not that well known in the U.S. although it's been here a good while.
Thanks for all of the replies. I'll pass it on to my brother. The main concern was all of the electronic controls that the TLDI engines have on them. I would think that would make them less reliable in a marine environment, but that's just a guess on my part.
Except for Suzuki and Honda, Tohatsu makes all the 9.9 hp and under outboards. Small Mercury motors are the same as the Nissan and Tohatsu exactly the same engines except for the name on the engine cover. I have 4 stroke and its wonderful. Also easy to work on. They are excellent reliable engines.
I just bought a 6hp four stroke Tohatsu to power a 12 foot Portabote. What's the best oil for the break-in period, mineral or synthetic? The manual doesn't say one way or another. I'm assuming it would be like with automobiles whereby the manufacturers generally start the break-in period with mineral oil. The manual does say the break-in period for this outboard is 10 hours.
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