etec longevity,reliability and fuel/oil usage, honest opinions.

[lembo]

hi guys
ive been looking at upgrading my boat as im after more speed, and a possible replacement has come up at a very appealing price.
only thing is , it has twin 115 etecs.
now im a 4 stroke man but for the right boat id consider etecs but honestly guys im always seeing etcs on ebay and gumtree for sale for parts which is not a good sign.
so i have a few questions for etec owners and blokes who know a lot about them.
how many hours do these motors normally last for ?
what would fuel consumption on a pair of 115s be like compared to say a pair of 115 Yamaha 4 strokes ?
Do they have reliability issues or common problems?
Do they chew through the oil?and can you run them on a cheaper oil? that stuff is liquid gold.
any input will be appreciated thanks.

[Darren Mc]

What year are the Etec's?

[hainsofast]

wouldn't touch an etec with a 10ft barge pole, hunks of total poo

[Dignity]

Is it my imagination or are the number of etech dealers shrinking,

[myusernam]

The 90's certainly have their fair share of issues, but the 60 deg v4 that yours are based on are pretty good. Resale is an issue esp because of ill informed knobs who have a 40/yam 4 and think they experts

[lembo]

year is 2008,
its ok if you wont touch an etec with a 10 foot pole but why ?
that's what im asking, what are the reasons? i want to hear proper reasons proper issues and things.
and i also don't want to hear about how good your Suzuki or Yamaha are. the boat has etecs. so that's why im asking.
good ,bad i don't care but why there good or bad is what im after thanks guys.

[Rip it up]

My mate has just converted a 6.5m cat from single inboard to twin 115hp etec. And I was skeptical.

Only having done less than 30hrs so far they have impressed me. Quiet. Powerfull and surprising good on fuel. Cruising at 45kph the combined fuel burn is 1L per km. Pushing 6.5m with 4 POB offshore.

A lot more boats are being supplied etecs from the factory which means the are willing to put their resale values on the line in favor of new technology.


Damo's dodgy boat building repair centre.

[davo]

A bloke up the road from me blew up two 75HP Etec's within a year of each other ( twin motor installation). He repowered with Etec's again. One thing he did say that his 2009 model engines had a lot more oil ports on them. Another bloke I work with blew three out of four injectors in the first year from new on his V4 115HP Etec. These are people I know not mate of a mate etc..... The brother in law has a new 40HP Etec and has had no issues. These are my experiences.

[hainsofast]

year is 2008,
its ok if you wont touch an etec with a 10 foot pole but why ?
that's what im asking, what are the reasons? i want to hear proper reasons proper issues and things.
and i also don't want to hear about how good your Suzuki or Yamaha are. the boat has etecs. so that's why im asking.
good ,bad i don't care but why there good or bad is what im after thanks guys.

everyone I know who has had one has had issues and it has cost a fortune to fix, that is why.

[hainsofast]

My mate has just converted a 6.5m cat from single inboard to twin 115hp etec. And I was skeptical.

Only having done less than 30hrs so far they have impressed me. Quiet. Powerfull and surprising good on fuel. Cruising at 45kph the combined fuel burn is 1L per km. Pushing 6.5m with 4 POB offshore.

A lot more boats are being supplied etecs from the factory which means the are willing to put their resale values on the line in favor of new technology.


Damo's dodgy boat building repair centre.

that is pretty good, see how they are after 400 hours or so, don't forget the oil is very expensive for them too.

[Shark Poker]

Sorry hainsofast i just got excited and clicked buttons.
Confusion may be iminent but not intended.

[Cods Whallup]

Are you buying the boat to use? Or to sit around so you don't put too many hours on it to help resale? If its a good price, then buy it! Use the hell out of it! If anything goes wrong then hopefully it is one at a time, at least you should be able to get back in! If you have a look at every motor on the market you will see pros and cons for all of them! There is no guarantee that if you buy a brand new of anything that it will last, or that this second hand motor will last longer than the next! They are direct injected 2 strokes, you get power, fuel economy and they are quiet! Get a mechanic to have a look over them, get a diagnostic readout, then make a decision! Once you commit just enjoy it for what it is!

[Darren Mc]

I just asked about the year because the Etec I had was a 2008 model 150hp. Different engines I know but of the same year.
I was wrapped with my 150, loved the sound, torgue and wasn't to bad on fuel either. Until my problems started.
First an injector failed(open circuit), ruined the fishing trip but got fixed under warranty. The next problem was the EMM crapped itself, had to be towed home by coast guard($400). This happened just out of warranty and I was quoted a few different prices between $1800 - $3000 for a new one including fitting etc.
Lucky for me my dealer went into bat for me vouching that the outboard was in excellent condition and had been properly serviced by them and only just out of warranty, so Evinrude supplied me one fitted for about $850(from memory). This was due to the fact that it was an internal failure inside the EMM itself I was told. I can't complain about the service I received from Evinrude at all.
After that one I just wasn't comfortable or confident in my Etec anymore, constantly thinking about what's going to go next.
Tried to repower my boat and was offered $2500 for it in supposedly perfect running order with about 130 hrs on it(roughly). It cost me over $18000 3 1/2 years before that.
So I sold the whole boat with the Etec.
So factor in the crap resale value in your decision.
My Etec was programmed to use the xd100 oil but if you drive it hard you notice it still uses a fair bit of the stuff.
Maybe I just got a dud, I don't know but i'm not gonna risk it again that's for sure.

[scottar]

Reports vary. I went through the same dilemma a few years ago - wanted a particular hull and they were pretty much all factory fitted with E-Tec outboards. Everyone told me not to touch them but life experience has told me to do my own research and make my own decisions. In the end I purchased the boat and to date have been happy with the performance of the motor. Mine is a big block V6 and it is thirstier than a four stroke at medium cruise revs but uses less fuel at idle and at WOT. Hole shot is great. The XD100 oil is expensive but with my typical usage pattern, I am well ahead with the servicing if I was to use a mechanic. Second hand outboards can be a minefield no matter what brand they are - take for example the threads doing the rounds at the moment on a few Yamaha engines - arguably the most respected name in the business. If you are interested in the boat, make sure you get a reputable dealership to give the engines the once over and get a printout of the ECU download. The best site for E-Tec research I found was Etec Owners Group. Some of the guys are very pro Evinrude but have a read and make up your own mind

[NothinSuss]

Lembo- ETECS well here goes... I dont own one but know plenty of fellas who have/do. All sorts of HP range from 40hp-250. A list of events below.

- mates 250hp on a 6.5m platey, blew the side out of the gear case, bearing failure motor had done 350hrs and had its first 300hr service just before, towed him 40km. The dealer wrote the motor off and replaced with a new donk, impressive service! Second time, gear failure in the leg, towed 60km, dealer replaced the leg under warranty.
- A fella I know from a comp, 150hp on a skeeter, spat the oil seal in the gear case, dropped the oil, he ran it 1/2 a day with no oil then it shit itself, he was towed 87km back up the river.
- Same fella with the skeeter,rang the dealer on the sat phone, the dealer brought a leg down for him that night 200km drive, fitted it took the shit one back, and arranged a warranty deal with the swapped leg.
- Fella with a 5m glass CC haines, 115hp, left the ignition on drove to the ramp, boat in the water turned the key, motor was blowing smoke something shocking, tried to get going, motor wouldn't rev above 2500rpm, rang the dealer, advised that the motor had gone into winter storage mode, hence all the smoke, bombed the motor with oil. Not the most useful feature in Darwin ( winter mode ). Was told to conduct a sequence with the ignition, key on,off, then on and hay presto reset to normal mode, went fishing.
- Same fella as above 5m glassy 115hp, 70km down the river, seen him putting along in the middle of the river with cowling off, went over, motor wouldn't rev over 1000rpm, no clues as to why, no alarms, no lights, everything normal. towed 70km, rang the dealer, dealer said do thew reset code again, did it and hey presto, away he goes.
- Same fella again, 115hp, seen him on the river, boat porposing real bad, then he stops, then goes again, boat starts off ok then starts porposing after a few minutes, I catch up to him, he gives me the thumbs down, we stop, I watch his motor running at idle trimming itself up, leg out of the water and still running, he shuts it off, trims it all the way down, starts motor and says watch this, then it trims itself up with motor idleing. towed him 40km home. ( gets home, unbolts and took to the dump, repowered with Yammie)
- Mate won a 40hp in a door prize at a comp, took it home bolts in on his 4m dinghy, wife and kids heads off crabbing, starts, runs, off he goes, 20km down the system, thinking what a winner, quiet, smooth, punchy 40, nek minnut- motor stops, starts it again, into gear, wont rev over 1000rpm, goes through the list, fuel, battery, oil, no real reason why. 1000rpm back to the ramp into an outgoing tide, wife and kids not happy. Rings dealer, dealer looks at it and say hmmm, dont know. Un bolts off the boat, advertises for sale for 3k, no one bought it, brand new motor. He hooks up some fuel one day in the shed, fires it up, it revs out, goes into gear then revs normally. Tries to sell it again... still in the shed as an ornament.
- Mates skeeter with a 175hp, pops an injector at full noise, towed 60km home, delaer changed all 6 under warranty, went ok for a few months, bang another 2 injectors went, replaced again. Third time went into limp mode 130km from home, no real reason. got home eventually, un bolted it and replaced with a 4 banger.
- Mates 200hp on a 6.5m platey, did 570hrs with no issues, then it spat the gear case, bearing failure, big time ka bang, bent the drive shaft, stripped some splines on the bottom end on the power head, just in warranty, dealer wrote it off and replaced with new. The new one did about 700hrs and is still going strong. He uses it alot, I think thats the key with etecs.
- mates 60hp on a 4.5 tinny, has always had a miss form 1000-2000rpm, blows a shit load of smoke at WOT, but then at troll speed is great, quiet, uses no fuel, no smoke. Done a heap of hours, nothing major, but it has a hissy fit now and then and wont start, turn key off and crank again then it goes, he had a few times where it wouldn't turn off, fkn weird,

Theres a few for you, I can think of lots more stories. In summary they seam to be a fussy motor to me, too many weird electrical things happen, maybe it's the NT humidity. Gear boxes seam to be a problem. The ignition codes catch a few unaware. The dealer here seams to be very good with the warranty and justy replaces the broken bits. But his yard is always full of boats with motors with either legs off or power heads off, and then the wait for parts.
I like the 2 stroke power, they sound good, go great, are pretty good on fuel, but the reliablity and resale is a real problem.

If they were a proven motor in reliability I wouldn't hesitate to put one on a boat, just seen to many random problems.

For instance I know that a 140hp suzuki, has a history with the oil cooler, white wire syndrome, internal corrosion, throttle sesor, and oil sensor, but these are knowns, and when monitored they wont catch you out.

People get caught out with random things with ETECS.

Hope that helps.