Mercury Horizon 8.1 life in hrs?

[mathews_hunter]

Does anyone know in general how many hours a mercury 8.1 horizon motor is good for before needing any major overhaul?  It has 2700 hours on it most are trolling.  Will the 8.1’s last to 4000 trolling hours before needing major work?

[AnglingAddict]

Should but you never know - did the previous owner change oil at recommended intervals - proper weight oil.  Did they run it hard right to the pins when running or were they easier on it - in general as long as you keep oil pressure up in those motors trolling you should be fine - running too low on the RPMs is worse than running the motor hard all the time in my opinion.

[bearhunter]

My brother in law had 11,000 hours on his 1985 sportcraft 250 fisherman when he retired from chartering in 2005. Never had the motor apart. Rebuilt the outdrive 4 or 5 times but never rebuilt the motor. Changed the oil faithfully. I mated for him (Witch charter and guide service) out of salmon country marina, before i became a charter captain so i have first hand knowledge.

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[mathews_hunter]

Thanks. I’ll keep trying to get maintenance records of the boat