Does anyone know at what point an outboard becomes unreliable with regards to the number of hours on an engine? Is there difference in this figure between prop and jet, and fresh and salt, any other factors? Thanks for the time!

Check out the topic from late Dec. it was called 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke. It had a interesting article,about longevity in outboards.

I have seen and ran motors with lots and lots of hours.. as long as the maintenace is done properly and it is still running well go for it!
dave

I had a 1969 outboard that gave me good service until 1990, when I sold it. I saw the guy I sold it to using it 2 years after that. That's for a kicker. It was beat by that point, but still running. Probably had about 2500 hours on it.

Lots of guides run motors for a year and then sell them. Figure 200 days a year, 8 hours a day, that's 1600 hours.