Tohatsu Reviews

M

Madifonzo

New Member
Sep 30, 2013
716
Boston, Ma
Boat Info
2005 280
Zodiac Zoom 310 9.9 Honda
Engines
Twin 5.0 MPI with Bravo III Drives
I am considering buying a Tohatsu 6HP. My understanding is that these units are made by Mercury (or that at least the Mercury unit is identical to the Tohatsu). Mercury's are $600 more in price. Anyone have some feedback on Tohatsu quality and why the price variance?
 
+ 1 Tohatsu makes small mercs <40HP. Same for Nissan. The bigger question is are they identical and built to the same specs?
 
Madifonzo said:
I am considering buying a Tohatsu 6HP. My understanding is that these units are made by Mercury (or that at least the Mercury unit is identical to the Tohatsu). Mercury's are $600 more in price. Anyone have some feedback on Tohatsu quality and why the price variance?
Click to expand...

Tohatsu makes the motors for Mercury and Nissan. I am not sure how mercury gets $600 more but they do, it must be the name and dealer network that people willing to pay for. I did some research this winter and reviews look good on them. I just bought one from Boats and Motors out of Wakefield MA. They are a mom and pop shop and they were great to deal with and gave me a Great boat show price of $1275. I have not used it yet but have run it in a barrel at home and it seem relatively quite and runs smooth for a single cylinder motor.
 
Madifonzo said:
I am considering buying a Tohatsu 6HP. My understanding is that these units are made by Mercury (or that at least the Mercury unit is identical to the Tohatsu). Mercury's are $600 more in price. Anyone have some feedback on Tohatsu quality and why the price variance?
Click to expand...
i purchased the 6hp Nissan last year, basically the exact same, I am pleased with it, runs good, not a lot of power but it gets us to the beach so we don't have to swim in the frigid Lake Michigan waters. I have noticed that the four stroke vibrates more than my 2 stroke did.
 
I bought my 6hp Tohatsu online in 2008 and it has been great. It will get my 10'2" Mercury Sport on plane with 1 person. Solid motor. Mine started the second pull out of the box after adding oil. Just make sure you run the fuel out of it after using it. I had to clean up the carb after letting it sit for a month.
 
I really can't find anything negative about them. I am planning to purchase a 6hp tomorrow. I just sold my Honda 9.9. Great engine but I really wanted something more portable and with built in fuel. The tohatsu seems like a great unit...small and portable but retains big engine features like thruprop exhaust and f-n-r functionality and is liquid cooled.
 
I was looking at Merc and Evinrude 9.9s last weekend. I was told the engines are both made by Tohatsu. All have good reputations here.
 
Bought my Tohatsu 9.8 two years ago and haven't had any issues with it at all. Very smooth and quiet engine. Yes, Tohatsu supplies Merc with the same unit, but adds a feature of having the shifting mechanism built into the tiller. Other than that and a different cowling, I believe it is identical to the Merc.
 
I've had a 6HP Tohatsu/Merc since 2001. I've had to clean the carb twice because of bad fuel, but I can't blame the engine for that. The carb is also very simple and easy to clean. The impeller lasted 10 years, but it gave no warning when it gave out, so now it's on my preventive maintenance list. (the blades remained intact, but became too weak to pump) It's not quiet, it's not smooth, but I've had no problems with it that weren't fuel related. It will get me on plane, but if I add a kid or a dog, it'll plow. Forget about speed with 2 American-size adults - it becomes a 3-speed: slow, loud & louder.

Part of the fuel problem is that it hardly burns any. I run it dry before long-term storage, and that requires patience!
 
I can attest to the quality of the Tohatsu brand. In 10 years and 3 inflatables we have had 4 Tohatsu's. 6hp,9.8 hp, 20 hp electric start,20 hp electric start w/power tilt that we have had for 3 years now and all were perfect with no issues. Great on fuel and only service was to winterize.Each motor gave us 90% of what we bought it for for resale. Keep it polished and run it dry (fuel shut off ) after each use and again no issues.
Hope this helps,
Tom
 
I'll also chime in that Tohatsu's are pretty good. I had a 2011 6 hp. It ran quite nicely for what it was. It has the integral tank which was nice. I did have some trouble engaging the neutral interlock so it would start - that was a PITA.

I got a new, heavier RIB and the 6 wouldn't get it up on plane. I sold the Tohatsu to buy an older 15 HP 2 stroke. Now my RIB is a rocket sled.
 
Well I pulled the trigger today. Nice little unit. I am looking forward to using it. Ended up buying a dock box as well. Visits to marine stores never end with the original reason I walked in the door.
 
So just to bring this thread back alive and since I started it I wanted to share some feedback.
Since the weather has turned I have been using the dingy almost every weekend to get to shore and do some exploring. Although I am happy with the power of the engine (coming from a Honda 9.9 to the Tohatsu 6) as it's what I expected. What I am not impressed with is the amount of pulls it takes to start hot or cold. My Honda would start first or second pull every time. This unit has taken up to 7 pulls. It's still new and if I had to guess I would say there is less than 10 hours on the motor. Perhaps once it is fully broken in it will start better.
 
I bought a new 6hp back in march and I just started it last night in a bucket and it took 6-7 pulls to start it dead cold but once it was warm it started on the first pull 3-4 times. I hope it take less pulls than that from dead cold in the future. My 2hp air cooled Honda started the 1st or second pull everytime. I will be interested to see how it performs as well. I am going to use it for the first time this coming weekend.
 
My tohatsu 6 hp starts on first couple of pulls...maybe a few more when empty of gas and on its side for a few weeks. The mercury my neighbor has looks exactly the same from a parts perspective. Mine is 6 years old. So far....so good...
 
That's strange. I've had a rough season with mine. Corngas deteriorated my fuel hose late last season and bits of rubber clogged the filter and the jets gummed up. I rushed my first carb cleaning to no avail, only to realize that the internal fuel hose was compromised too, so I had to take it apart a 3rd time. Even after each carb rebuild however, it still started on the first pull. It almost always has (even if it stalls at idle).

What's your starting procedure? I make sure the choke is open (pushed), throttle closed, and then I squeeze the prime bulb until it's pressurized. Then I pull the choke, advance the throttle the the starting position, and pull the cord gently to get past the first compression cycle, I then pull the rest of the way.

note: the online Tohatsu guru recommends draining the carb bowl after EVERY USE. I think that's extreme in most cases, but if I plan to go more than a week or suspect any corngas is in there, it's a good idea. There's an easy-to-reach drain plug in the bottom of the bowl.
 
I've got a 6hp Tohatsu. The only time I ever pull it more than 2 or 3 times is when the float bowl is dry. It only took 4 pulls to start it for the first time this year after about 8 months of storage!
 
I am using the built in tank. So no priming that I am aware of. Cold start full choke and throttle cracked to re-start. Pull six times then close choke and pull another 3...with throttle wide open. I haven't been running stabil in it...maybe I should start.

i loved my Honda...maybe I am just too spoiled.
 
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