Hey guys, buying my first mud motor...What is the typical life expectancy of a motor? $$ is an issue so I'm going used, is why I ask. Thanks a lot, Matt

How long does your typical lawn mower last? They are typically seldom maintained too. So if you maintain them Id say a long ass time.

The engines that are run are just lawn mower motors that in a summer of mowing yards get at least 300 hours put on for true lawn business people the biggest difference is mowin yards doesn't take quite as much rpm as runnin a prop on water but even then not that big of a deal

as far as the drives the clutch, bearings, seals bushings will probably fail and need to be replaced before anything else but depending on how hard you run it could last forever

I got a 1988 Snapper with 11 hp Honda still running strong. Fires up first crank since I'm to cheap to buy a new battery. No backfiring, sputtering, and haven't done a thing to it besides change the oil, plugs, and air filter.

We run aircooled engines on carpet cleaning truck mount machines......

I have 2 units that have over 4000 hours each. They will run a loooong time IF you take care of em.

if money is tight i would get a simple motor. GDLT or something with very few parts. Most SD MM have alot of parts and eventualy they will all go out. I have 89 hrs on mine and have spent alot of time with a wrench in my hand.

NOTE. The stuff that you will be fixing is due to errors on your part. I have only had to replace one part that PD had issues with and that was my tilt bar. it was undersided a few years ago and it finaly busted on my.

good luck and save money for props....lol

they will last a good while my pd is only 10 months old and I have put 376 hours on it and it is still running just as good as the day i picked it up i change the oil and foot oil every 100 hours changed the spark plugs a 300 hours and if it didnt have the tack on it to tell the hours you probably couldnt tell the differance between it and a brand new one

It all depends on how you run your motor.

A stock MM is going to last longer than a modified wanted by alot of speed junkies.

When running hotter carbs, lifters, cams or whatever else, you are increasing the temps on the oil & cyliner heads which causes greater wear.

Heat is the engine killer!!!

Here's an example using a 0540/260hp vs 0540/290hp AC engine.

The average oil temp running a stock 260hp engine @ 2200rpm's w/o a cooling shroud is 180 degrees.

The average oil temp running a stock 260hp engine @ 2200rpm's with a cooling shroud is 135 degrees.

The average oil temp running a modified 290hp (hotter cam/dommed pistons) engine @ 2200rpm's w/o a cooling shroud @ is 180 degrees.

The average oil temp running a modified 290hp (hotter cam/dommed pistons) engine @ 2200rpm's with a cooling shroud @ is 125 degrees.

@ the high temp's after 100hrs, pink hot spot will begin to appear on an most air-cooled engine.

THat's the first thing we should look for since they may be hidden under the shrouds.

The above #'s don't take into account the real engine killer though.

Cylinder head temp's!!!

This is where many modified MM's builders "don't" take a temp reading from.

My rant being "cylinder temp" is the true killer on any air-cooled engine.

The lower you can keep these temp's whether stock or modified the longer your engine will last.

As far as comparing a lawn mower vs MM or an airplane vs airboat, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

The lawn mower & airplane engines a run over their lifes @ a consent RPM's here a MM & airboat engines are not.

This is also why these engines don't last as long in the applications we use them for.

BTW, my (10) ten year old stock GD 25hp LS blew out a head gasket last season @ (375) three hundred & seventy-five hours.

Those were "hard hours!!!"

Good luck with your purchase!!!