So week 8 and my fly skiff is still sitting motionless waiting on a powerhead for its MFS60. This is my 3rd Tohatsu and 3rd powerhead . I take care of my engines as I am also a mechanic.
P.s. save the Tohatsu’s are great engines b.s. I’m $30k deep into these damn things.
That sucks Ron, sorry you are dealing with this. Once you grenade this one are you getting an F70?
Yes, going with something proven
That sucks. I have a buddy with lots of tohatsu 60 issues. Why not Suzuki 60? A little lighter and a little cheaper most likely.
Ugh, that absolutely sucks, is there a root cause to the issues? I haven’t read much if any major issues with Tohatsu.
He fishes too much, that’s the root cause 
That sucks, I wish Yamaha made a 15” 60. I’d have one in a heartbeat. No issues with my Tohatsu yet, but I will also end the year with a whopping 30 hours or so on my motor haha.
The technician in me is curious of the failure mode of the 3 different powerheads. Can ya give some more details please?
I’m a bit amazed how many Tohatsu 60s are sold….they are loud and lack durability vs Yamaha, which to me seems like a lot to sacrifice for ~30lbs in weight. You could say the difference in cost on a percentage basis is also a positive, but not when you spread over the expected life of each. Of course I am currently smitten after the first few hours of running my first F70 
Argghhh
Dang
That was going to be my next engine
I have not heard of any issues. But yeah I also want some more details. I wonder if squeezing that last 10 out was too much and compromises the reliability?Because the 50s and 30s were reliable as anything out there. I just swapped a f70 for a customer that had really low compression on a cylinder with only 400 hours on it.
But three power heads is definitely unacceptable
For several years I have been thinking about Jerry rigging an older 2stroke 15” shaft to a f70 power head with a Zephyr Cove pickup. Don’t care if mid cowling fits. Anyone know if this is possible?
I remember a few years ago there was a rash of guys shearing prop shafts.
I also know a guy that had issues on his Tohatsu 50. Specifically , the casting on the midsection was thin in one area and water would get into the oil or something like that. I know at one point he had a couple of spare midsections on the shelf in his shop. I don’t know if that has been resolved or not.
Then our very own @hipshot had upper end destruction on his Tohatsu 30. Not sure if he knows what caused it or not.
Worth looking in to. I have looked at just adding a short shaft midsection and lower unit to a F70 but the engine mount and steering pivot tube (whatever it is called) is the biggest limiting factor. What 2 stroke Yamaha short shafts are out there? Maybe an old 50?
I had a Tohatsu 60 on my Chittum. I do not intend to have another Tohatsu on any future boats.
Dang, that’s awful. If Yamaha made a 15” Shaft 30-40hp then that’s what I would have. So far I have owned a Tohatsu 40TLDI and a 50MSF with zero issues. But I do tend to get a new motor every 5 years or so.
I had a little clip (unknown function) on the camshaft shatter. Pieces migrated through the oil passages all through the powerhead, and it said, “CRUNCH”. My warranty registration got lost, and the new powerhead’s shipping was temporarily delayed until that got straightened out. The Tohatsu tech told me it was the first powerhead he’s seen do that. I believe I’ve got about fifty something hours on the new one now. No issues yet……..
One of our Guides sheered a shaft on a 15” 50.
I guess I will be painting my 2015 white and running it till it blows
I agree Yamaha should offer 15” in their midrange outboards. 30hp and up is where the 20” lowers start. Thats why people go with tahotsu and mercury in that range. I think mecurys up to like 40hp are tohatsu anyway. Knock on wood my 2011 f70 has been and still is a real machine. Like most things with engines the worst thing you can do to any of them is let them sit still. Do the normal maintenance and run em often. That likely has nothing to do with the powerhead issues just me inputting an extra 2 cents. My middle son has a 2010 merc 9.9 that started making horrible knocking/clapping noises at certain rpm under load. The dang powerhead mounting bolts had backed out. Pretty sure its made by tohatsu. Sad because I felt that that was a good thing since mercs midrange are from china i think. Please correct me if wrong.