Looking in to buying a 1998 27 foot Grady with HPDI’s on it. I really have never heard much on these motors and was wondering if anyone could give me some ■■■■■■■■ (good or bad) such as dependability, fuel consumption, power.
dependes on what your working with. 200 is a great motor. 250 is problem child. either use fuel treatment or ethanol free gas, an untreated hpdi is not a nice motor. Not sure about the 225 but believe it falls inline with the 200. Some people do not like them but to me the 200 is one of the best motors ever made by yamaha. Completely trouble free with 800hrs. would buy again if I choose to stay with the outboards
bulletsrcheap
Had a pair of 150’s - great engines.
Gotta 92 200 yammy with a slight tick at idle that has been bullet proof.(so far)
I have been using WalMart oil in it for the last 8-10 years no special treatment what-so-ever…
I bought my rig cheap because the seller knew it was fixin to blow.That was almost 10years ago.
Excuse me while I go find some wood to knock on…
supposedly the 2.6l hpdi motors were great (150hp, 175hp & 200hp). the issues were with the 3.3l hpdi motors (200hp, 225hp, 250hp & 300hp)
that’s the word on the street at least.
The only problem yamaha had is with the 300, That is why they seized production of it 200-250 great running motors. They like to be ran frequently.
My 150 HPDI has been great! Stay away from the 250’s and 300’s.
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quote:
Originally posted by ShainDThe only problem yamaha had is with the 300, That is why they seized production of it 200-250 great running motors. They like to be ran frequently.
the 250’s fall in the same category as the 300’s and had plenty of issues. I would stay away from both the 250 and 300
as mentioned, the smaller hpdis are good motors, but are very finicky with todays fuel. Use it often, keep the fuel fresh and filters clean.
Thought I would be upgrading several years ago by trading in my 225 OX66 Yamaha with 750 hrs for the 250 HPDI. Really expected better fuel mileage and less oil burned. BIG MISTAKE! Blew three power heads on the HPDI within a two year time period. Burned the same amount of fuel as the OX66 and more oil! Got one of the local dealers and long time sponsor of this site involved since Yamaha was originally just going to continue to replace power heads under warranty. The local dealer went to bat for me and convinced Yamaha to take my 250 HPDI with now 300 hrs on it and give me a brand new 250 four stoke fully installed for $4500. I never looked back. While the four stroke burns almost the same exact amount of fuel as the OX66, no more oil to purchase and the motor has been great.
I too have heard the problem I had with the HPDI was just related to the 250 and 300’s.
Avoid 250 and 300HP HPDI’s.
150 and 200 HPDI’s are gold.
You absolutely must use ethanol free gas or if ethanol gas then treatment in it. I use Ring Free Plus with the ethanol treatment additive sold by yamaha. Takes one oz to ten gallons. This stuff is not a gimmick. You can test what it does against corrosion and preventing phase separation with a clear mason jar at home if you don’t think it’s worth the $$$.
You absolutely MUST use high quality oil. These motors are very different from the ox66 or other yamaha efi or carbed motors. The fuel and oil systems are extremely sensitive to anything not going exactly right. Bad stuff happens when the engine isn’t happy is all I will say. hasn’t happened to mine, but you will find plenty about it on the net regarding all direct injection 2 cycle outboards. It is very simple. Pay me now or pay me later…
Yamalube, west marine DFI or premium blend or pennzoil synthetic blend for oil at a minimum. Quicksilver premium or full synthetic pennzoil if possible. You can tell a difference when running different oil. Plugs look different and the smoke will be unnoticeable altogether or noticeable. If it’s smoking, you are building crud up. Build crud up, and these really finely tuned systems on the HPDI will foul up horribly. Decarb at least once a season.
4 strokes need the same. 2 cycles carbon up from oil and additives mostly. 4 cycles carbon up from the fuel additives.
You will also need to clean the plugs or replace every season if you troll a lot. yamaha updated the computers to have less plug fouling on the 150 and 200 in 01/02. My 01 200 still has the old computer and takes the original type plugs. It uses more oil than if not, but I am perfectly fine with that. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I have over 1000hrs on mine so…
When you mess around with these motors not staying clean and running perfectly right, you will get problems like blown head gaskets or worse. Keep them running tip top, and you won’t have any issues. If you want bulle
^ what he said.
I go as far as to change main filter about every 50 gallons. Seems ridiculous but if not, the junk gets sucked through that filter and clogs up the more expensive ones. I also removed the screen from my HP fuel pump but that’s a whole other story.
My 200 is a beast and when it runs…it runs strong, but (**() shes a finicky girl when it comes to fuel.
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www.SouthernTailCharters.com
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“While the four stroke burns almost the same exact amount of fuel as the OX66, no more oil to purchase and the motor has been great”
well, for you, that is probably accurate, because they are very similar at WOT, however, the 4 stroke and the HPDI burn considerably less at cruise speed than an OX66
the 150-200 hpdi are very good motors
Actaully Chris I very rarely run WOT in my Contender. I rarely did it in my younger days and even more rarely now since fuel is so costly plus it is not that often that you are able run that fast offshore in a 23 CC. Assuming a most common 2 to maybe 3-foot day I typically run my 4-stroke right at 25 knots on the way out and on the way home. Same speed I ran the OX66 ten years ago and the same speed I ran the HPDI six years ago. If I run 25 knots to Edisto Banks, troll perhaps to 226 then back toward the hill from 7 am to 1 pm, then run home I burn right at 65-gallons. Within 3 to 5-gallons of what I burned with either of the two other motors. Plus as I said before I now burn no oil as compared to over a gallon with the other motors. The only explanation I have for the factory performance curve is the way I run my boat. I have to run my boat with alot of tab, head sea, quatering sea, even a following sea I have my tabs down. The bow on a 23 likes to sail, but the boat rides best when it eats. Therefore I always run with the motor trimmed all the way down and with at least 120 quarts of ice in the front fish box plus heavy tabs. With that said, particaullary the part about the tabs, perhaps the difference in performance and fuel is torque. If the 2-stoke generates more torque than the four, then maybe the 4-stoke is having to work harder with the added drag of the tabs down to push the same speed as the 2-stoke. From my experience with dirt bikes and four wheelers though; most four stokes generate more torque while the two stoke generates speed quicker. I don’t know if that applies on outboards or not? And just so you are aware, exact same prop used on the HPDI as on the 4-stroke. 4-stroke was tested with Yamaha representative in the boat and he said prop/rpms/speed was perfect. The same was said by the dealer when they installed the HPDI. All I know is the fuel burned is withing 3% from engine to engine.
What we have cleared up though is to stay away from 250 and 300 HPDI!
Have you calculated your fuel economy at all w/ the F250?
The only other performance test was with a Z300 and a different prop…The F250 did do better of course…
Maybe if you caught more fish you could back off the tabs a little C1 
