Suzuki DF175 Intake Manifold

[WEDOCQ]

I just picked up a 2008 Suzuki DF175 with about 800 hours on it. I have been doing exhaustive research on this motor to try and find any "known problems". For the most part it seems to be a pretty good motor. However, one thing has come up repeatedly. On motors with over 1000 hours, the plastic butterfly valves on the Intake Manifold become brittle and tend to break apart, launching themselves into the combustion chamber. Some people get lucky and the broken pieces get jammed up before entering the combustion chamber, some people have lost their engine, and sometimes the broken pieces get jammed into a valve, without causing damage.

My questions:

1. Has Suzuki fixed the issue with the new intakes? The cost of this plastic part is over $400, so I would hate to replace mine with something that will do the same thing eventually.

2. Has anyone tried to engineer their own butterfly valves out of stainless or brass? The butterfly valves just open and close to control air flow. they rotate on a metal rod. Why couldn't I replace the cheap plastic valves with something that wont break?

3. Has anyone found a place that sells something like this?

4. Are there any other "known issues" that I haven't come across yet?
Thanks!
-Shawn

[Harper]

Have no answers to any of those questions. Actually, I think the answer to all four questions is "No." I have the DF150, and it has the same intake butterflies. There is nothing that has been done that I know of.

[WEDOCQ]

Mike,
The answer "no" is definitely great for number 4! I scoured the internet for hours (actually several days) looking to find any known issues with this motor. It really seems to have a great track record. In my opinion, these intake valves should have an easy fix that doesn't cost $400. Maybe I will manufacture up a prototype and sell them on a website? haha. It does make me a little nervous tho.
-Shawn

[WEDOCQ]

Mike,
I just noticed your thread about engine height. What kind of boating do you do? That seems a little high for offshore, which is what I do.
-Shawn

[redlowrey]

Mike,
The answer "no" is definitely great for number 4! I scoured the internet for hours (actually several days) looking to find any known issues with this motor. It really seems to have a great track record. In my opinion, these intake valves should have an easy fix that doesn't cost $400. Maybe I will manufacture up a prototype and sell them on a website? haha. It does make me a little nervous tho.
-Shawn

''Í wouldn't get too over the moon about them, and defiantly change the butterflies.

[Harper]

Mike,
I just noticed your thread about engine height. What kind of boating do you do? That seems a little high for offshore, which is what I do.
-Shawn

Most all of my boating is offshore. And that's the beauty of the hydraulic jackplate. I do have to lower it in higher seas. But it also allows me to do some bay fishing in areas that I couldn't access before, and for those rare calm days where I can go in the gulf off the Texas shore, when I want to venture out 30-40 miles, I can jack it up to the optimum level and cruise there and back with minimum fuel. My boat is just a 20 footer, so I don't often go out that far, since it usually takes all day just to get to one of the fishing reefs or deep water oil rigs. On a calm day, I can do it in 1½ hours.

[WEDOCQ]

Well my 175 is going to be on a manual jack plate. Not as convenient as hydraulic, but I definitely can fine tune the height a lot easier (and more precisely) than a fixed bracket.

Your type of fishing sounds pretty cool! Some day when I when the lottery, I want travel the world and meet some of the guys and fish with them.

-Shawn

[WEDOCQ]

''Í wouldn't get too over the moon about them, and defiantly change the butterflies.

When I win the lottery, I am definitely coming and fishing with you! Haha! So what did you mean by this? Don't worry too much about the butterflies?
-Shawn

[redlowrey]

What I meant was make sure you change the butterflies, and keep an open mind, there was a lot of oil burners and bottom end problems with them. But in saying that I know a lot of people that have got them and they lovem. In my neck of the woods late April is a good month for tuna and albacore, your welcome any time.

[WEDOCQ]

What I meant was make sure you change the butterflies, and keep an open mind, there was a lot of oil burners and bottom end problems with them. But in saying that I know a lot of people that have got them and they lovem. In my neck of the woods late April is a good month for tuna and albacore, your welcome any time.

Oh great. Low end problems? That's not something that really popped up in my research.

I know it's not scientific, but I have a formula/theory I developed over time that helped me find a motor. I am not a rich man by any means, and boating/fishing can be a rich man's hobby. So as not to break the family budget, I have been parting out motors on Ebay to supplement my huge fishing budget. So over time I really got to see what motors were available to buy and part out because they had catastrophic failure. Far above all other brands that I have seen available, Etec seems to be the worse. The market is FLOODED with used Etec parts because so many of them fail. Without throwing every brand under the bus, I will say I became really impressed with Suzuki. I noticed the Suzuki 175 several years ago. When this one popped up, I snatched it! So hopefully it will be a decent engine.

I albacore fish here in the US (Washington State). They say ours are just juveniles here, usually in the 20-30lb range. I think Australia would be an awesome place to visit someday!
-Shawn

[Harper]

What I meant was make sure you change the butterflies, and keep an open mind, there was a lot of oil burners and bottom end problems with them. But in saying that I know a lot of people that have got them and they lovem. In my neck of the woods late April is a good month for tuna and albacore, your welcome any time.

Suzuki does not offer the butterflies separately. One must purchase the entire manifold.
Also have not seen any oil burniing problems unless the motor was not properly broken in. But yes, when prescribed break-in procedures were not followed, there have been a number of oil burning problems.
My DF150 doesn't burn a drop of oil between oil changes.
Haven't had any bottom end problems either. There have been a few reports on the forum of cracks developing in the gearcase housing.