nissan/tohatsu TLDI MD115 on seacraft20SF?

[KenB]

Has anyone done this? Any numbers to share? This is the old 90/140 inline4 block with TLDI direct inject.

Also, any news on TLDI 135?

A bracket and one of these would be pretty nice, I think.

[Fr. Frank]

Ken, that Tohatsu 90/115/140 has been in use by commercial fishermen in Asia and South America for 30+ years. Used to be a carb'd outboard and Tohatsu began making the injected motors in '02, and went all EFI for the US market in '08 (I think). The design is actually based on the mid to late 70's Cabrera outboard motors of 75 & 100 Kilowatts sold in Europe, which were made by a Suzuki and Yanmar cooperative effort. (Cabrera also made small 25 & 30 Kw rotary-engined outboards, and 15 & 25 Kw diesel outboards that used the same exhaust housings and lower-units as the rotary motors)

Pro's: Very reliable and durable, lightweight, easy to start, more fuel efficient than a carb'd motor, parts are not nearly as expensive as parts for an Optimax or Etec.

Cons: Dealers are not plentiful, not as efficient as 4 strokes, Opti, or Etec. Has a history of severe rusting of steering arm and powerhead bolts/nuts, requiring replacement after only 4-5 years. Tohatsu didn't go to all SS hardware on the powerhead until '07. It lacks adequate grease fittings to easily grease everything so regular maintenance takes longer when you have to disassemble stuff like the linkage to grease or lube it.

My Opinion: It's a great motor if you're good with and don't mind regular maintenance, and don't mind spending money on FluidFilm or Boeshield and using it to create a waxy barrier coat.

[KenB]

OK that was exactly the reply I was looking for, thanks!