If you have a tohatsu then your engine has the potential to last a lifetime, these outboards, originally designed as commercial engines have grown to become amongst the most reliable ever made. Most tohatsu engines are 2 strokes, having only branched into the 4 stroke market in 2003 with the 4/5/6hp single cylinder 4 stroke outboard engine, and the 9.9/15/18hp twin cylinder overhead cam motor which was exactly the same powerhead as the yamaha of the same era. Tohatsu manufacture all small engines for brunswick marine who own mercury outboards and mariner outboards, brunswick marine also have shares in tohatsu themselves (around 40%), tohatsu and brunswick have factories around the world, but the majority of tohatsu engines are manufactured in japan and china. Brunswick have a large factory in china where the mercury / mariner 40hp 4 stroke is manufactured. Tohatsu outboards branched into the public sector in the UK in around 1995/6 and although they were less than well received initially with a few models that were less than bulletproof - namely the light weight 9.8hp 2 stroke which was very mechanically noisy, and the 40C twin cylinder and 50D 3 cylinder which also suffered from the same problem. Tohatsu soon got their act together and the 9.8 and the 50D became some of the most sought after and reliable used outboards around buy the mid noughties. Best known for their light weight and brutish power delivery!
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