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wareaglecat.
I have stewed over this for about twelve hours since I got home yesterday and I have to say something. This might not belong on this board and if so BCB has my permission to yank it but this is an opinion of mine and I want to voice it. I fished out of my partners Ranger this weekend because I had been out of town all week and didnt have time to get my boat ready so I met him at the lake saturday morning for a tournament on one lake and we went to another one at another lake on sunday. 2006 Evinrude Etec 225 2 miles from take-off sunday morning lower unit goes out. FOR THE SIXTH TIME IN FOUR YEARS!!! This one actually lasted 7 months (only 25 powerhead hours). What is the deal with these motors? Why cant they get this right? Hes had enough – its coming off and a pro-xs going on it which I told him to do from the start. And hes not the only one around here, I know another guy who owns one and as of last fall he told me he had just put his 7th on (its a 2009 250). My opinion – THESE MOTORS ARE JUNK DONT BUY ONE RUN FROM IT!! I have now officially logged in twelve hours stranded on the Mississippi river because of this motor and had to troll around in high winds trying to fish yesterday for another 8 hours of wasted tournament time. Just wanted to voice this – CONSUMER BEWARE!!
I feel your buddys pain. My 08 150 e-tecs lower went out Saturday morning. I have also had a lot of problems with the no oil alarm going off. I have 123 hours on the motor. I am getting pretty frustrated with evinrude. Seems like everyone that has one has had lower unit or powerhead problems.
There have been some issues on the larger HO series in the 225 and 250 block, not as intense as has been discussed on this board the last 48 hours we feel. The small 175 and smaller engines, even the 200 engines have have not presented any issues out of the ordinary. The 115 and smaller are actually extremely great engines and perform well.
All I did was put mine in reverse while unloading from trailer. Luckily I was at the ramp and not in the middle of the lake. Doesnt make me feel warm and fuzzy about my e-tec.
W and i were talking about these engines this weekend,,,,,and he stated ” I dont know how they sell engines”!Hes on his third powerhead on his HO, and seems to really like my Pro XS !To make matters worse,,,, i grew up with Evenrudes on my boats, and they were great engines like BCB stated, and the small engines still are. I hope they get the kinks worked out, but imagine theres alot of parts out there to use up.
We have a conference call this week to go over the new engines and changes they have made. Apparently the failure rate on newer product is way down. Though we dont know how low it is.
I have an 09 200HO, I bought it new last year and put 80 hours on it. During a tournament I had the “no oil light ” come on, which put me into “limp home mode”. Evinrude replaced the EMM and oil pump under warranty, Ive run it a couple more times and put it away for the winter. I have been optimistic about the motor, other than the one problem it has run great. I have 4 more years on the Evinrude warranty and most everyone has good things to say about their warranty program. I researched a lot before I bought the PIV/200HO combo and it seems like the 200HO does not have the problems in the same scale as the bigger motors. I lost a tournament day in an Optimax the year before so I think that the stresses we put on these motors will break all of them from time to time. Im keeping my fingers crossed, and the hotfoot to the floor. Mike
The PIV hull really likes the 200 HO gearcase, and the engine is strong. I dont think theres a better engine out there in that class, but issues with the larger engines have got to be tanking sales. I personally like the Evinrudes smooth idle, quietness, and all around performance, but my Pro XS has been almost flawless, and the time it did lose a coil i was able to get in.They will all have issues in time, just want the best overall for my area(mechanics and dealers), and that seems to be what im running. To each his own, im not knocking anyones engine preference, they all cost too much !
I have owned Mercs and Rudes. My last Rude was the 93 model XP. That engine was bulletproof. I am of the opinion that things should be better now than they were then since technology is so much more advanced but it just does not seem to be so which is dissapointing to me. I liked that engine and was considering getting one on my next boat because of its dependability all those years ago. My dealer carries both Evinrude and Yamaha and while I get a very sweet deal on either of them, he is really discouraging me from Evinrude based in large part to the things I am reading here. He also does not think much of the entire Etec system either. I think I am gonna get the SHO next time (Flyswatter sold me on that one) and let her fly. Its true that they all break down usually but I dont care to be 40 miles from the ramp on a Wednesday afternoon without cell service and no way to get back. This Evinrude talk scares me in that regard. Incidentally I find it funny that my dealer sells Evinrude and Yamaha but has Mercs on their race boats. Go figure.I cant believe that Brannon has not chimed in on this thread yet.
Had an 07 Etec on a Ranger. In less than 12 months I had over $10,000 of warranty work done on the motor. Power Head, starter, 2 lower units, and fuel pump assembly. Not all bad though because I was so scared of the motor running out of warranty I traded into a Basscat with Merc 250 Pro XS and have not looked back since. Someone would have to give me a Etec and then probably pay me to ever run one again. I use to love Evinrude since it was on my very first boat as a kid 4 H.P. and on my grand dads boat who taught me how to fish. I think the 4 horse is a 68 and the 50 was a 72 and they still run like champs at our lake house. Leak gas and smoke but still run great.
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