Etecs, whats the problem ?

Landlockedpirate · 20 May 2014, 18:34

Didnt want to hi jack the dealers responses thread so here goes.

Someone help me out.

We put a new 90hp Etec on a 19ft centre console boat in 2006, it gets used and abused and rarely looked after (its out in the med). Its been frugal, quick and faultless and we are happy with it.

I know that a few Etecs have broke saddles, but I must have missed the other common problems to cause the level of love/hate on various forums over the Evinrude.

Its a genuine question (not trolling), we are currently looking for a new 70hp outboard for my dads sailing boat and at the moment its between a new Yamaha (Cos I love Yams and its staggeringly light) or a new Etec (cos our other one has never let us down.)

Mollers · 20 May 2014, 18:47

Etec is the smart engine for the smarter user. ;-)

henryfreston · 20 May 2014, 19:00

I don't know enough about them to say my opinion.

However, I think many people perception of them is of a very complicated, electronic piece of machinery. Then that leads to- if it goes wrong, it's going to be damn expensive, or there is more to go wrong etc etc.

This is not necessarily right, but what I believe to be many peoples perception of them...

Festinghouse · 20 May 2014, 19:28

im not fan, but my opinion is that they are like the old rover k series engine - small light and powerful, and you either had a good one or a bad one. marmite really, love it or hate it.

Bigmuz7 · 20 May 2014, 19:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by henryfreston

I don't know enough about them to say my opinion.

However, I think many people perception of them is of a very complicated, electronic piece of machinery. Then that leads to- if it goes wrong, it's going to be damn expensive, or there is more to go wrong etc etc.

This is not necessarily right, but what I believe to be many peoples perception of them...

Well .. being a two stroke theres no valve gear like all the new 4's use, no compressor like opti's use, and they are light unlike most 4 strokes, should all mean fewer moving parts, with no oil changes to worry about to conform to warranty periods. Also .. for me, it might be left to stand for long periods, so, I didnt want fuel left in the engine like you would get with 4's ... there was a lot to like about Etecs for me.. I cant say any more till Ive used it an anger though ... but I'm looking forward to it

henryfreston · 20 May 2014, 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Well .. being a two stroke theres no valve gear like all the new 4's use, no compressor like opti's use, and they are light unlike most 4 strokes, should all mean fewer moving parts, with no oil changes to worry about to conform to warranty periods. Also .. for me, it might be left to stand for long periods, so, I didnt want fuel left in the engine like you would get with 4's ... there was a lot to like about Etecs for me.. I cant say any more till Ive used it an anger though ... but I'm looking forward to it

As I said, not my opinion. I like DI two stokes- I have a TLDI myself. Just what other people may view them as.

kerny · 20 May 2014, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landlockedpirate

Someone help me out.

I know that a few Etecs have broke saddles, but I must have missed the other common problems to cause the level of love/hate on various forums over the Evinrude.

As far as I am aware I'm the only Etec leisure owner to have a saddle break on me whilst on my hols on the west coast of Scotland.

I do believe that some racing boats have experienced broken saddles using Etecs but I guess that can also have happened with other makes of engines as well due to the extreme forces that can be applied on them when racing.

matt h · 20 May 2014, 20:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

im not fan, but my opinion is that they are like the old rover k series engine - small light and powerful, and you either had a good one or a bad one. marmite really, love it or hate it.

The K series was the worst engine that Rover ever produced! I remember walking through the warranty dept and there were literally hundreds of engines all within a year of being on the road!

Festinghouse · 20 May 2014, 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

The K series was the worst engine that Rover ever produced! I remember walking through the warranty dept and there were literally hundreds of engines all within a year of being on the road!

i agree, and again im not a fan

Dry Run · 20 May 2014, 20:55

Like they say on Dragon's Den "I'm Out".

matt h · 20 May 2014, 20:57

Im guessing thats why the RNLI use yams and mercs/suzukis due to reliability etc. you wont see many etecs being used in 3rd world countries either. Its always yams and mercs. Many of these later four strokes i believe are lighter than some etecs also.
Havin said that when they do go they go very well as im a fan of two strokes!

Mollers · 20 May 2014, 21:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

you wont see many etecs being used in 3rd world countries

Or Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Mahindras are the way to go!!

colcreate · 20 May 2014, 21:20

I am biased having bought a new 90 e-tec at the end of last year for a 5.4 Searider and I love it!
I looked at quite a few options at the time the others were; DF90 Suzuki, Tohatsu 90Tldi, Selva 80 Tigershark and Optimax 90.

Engine weight is an issue with the Searider so this had a huge bearing on my engine choice. Especially considering the diving kit that we sometimes carry.

The Suzuki was good on weight but heavy on price nearly £2k more than what I ended up paying. Same with the Tohatsu good weight but a more expensive option. The cheapest by far was the Selva Tigershark, I don't have a problem with Selva's as I was running a Selva at the time (and still have 2 others in my workshop) but decided the 80hp and smaller displacement wasn't going to be enough.

It came down to the e-tec and the Opti and the Merc was winning on price (Bill Higham "boat show" 7 day offer) until I stood next to one on a display stand.... they are huge.
I was concerned that the size and weight of the Merc (described as "a lardy lump" which is a bit unfair) so went round to Liverpool Power Boats and talked to Ian to see if he could do anything on the Evinrude price. In fact I phoned every Evinrude distributor in the country over a 3 week period and the price difference only varied slightly whereas the quality of reply was another matter...
In the end Ian came up with a deal I was happy with the e-tec was fitted.

It is compact, quiet, extremely good on fuel, starts instantly, the torque/holeshot is fantastic and so responsive, the trim range and lock to lock range is better than I'm used to which makes it very agile.
The five year warranty is peace of mind as is the 300hr/3year service interval so hopefully running cost should be low.

I've got to admit though the Optimax 90 does look a nice (BIG) engine and I would love to try one on an SR for a day. And if I had a RIB which was rated for a heavy transom weight I might still be wondering if these e-tecs were any good.

Bigmuz7 · 20 May 2014, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by colcreate

I am biased having bought a new 90 e-tec at the end of last year for a 5.4 Searider and I love it!
I looked at quite a few options at the time the others were; DF90 Suzuki, Tohatsu 90Tldi, Selva 80 Tigershark and Optimax 90.

Engine weight is an issue with the Searider so this had a huge bearing on my engine choice. Especially considering the diving kit that we sometimes carry.

The Suzuki was good on weight but heavy on price nearly £2k more than what I ended up paying. Same with the Tohatsu good weight but a more expensive option. The cheapest by far was the Selva Tigershark, I don't have a problem with Selva's as I was running a Selva at the time (and still have 2 others in my workshop) but decided the 80hp and smaller displacement wasn't going to be enough.

It came down to the e-tec and the Opti and the Merc was winning on price (Bill Higham "boat show" 7 day offer) until I stood next to one on a display stand.... they are huge.
I was concerned that the size and weight of the Merc (described as "a lardy lump" which is a bit unfair) so went round to Liverpool Power Boats and talked to Ian to see if he could do anything on the Evinrude price. In fact I phoned every Evinrude distributor in the country over a 3 week period and the price difference only varied slightly whereas the quality of reply was another matter...
In the end Ian came up with a deal I was happy with the e-tec was fitted.

It is compact, quiet, extremely good on fuel, starts instantly, the torque/holeshot is fantastic and so responsive, the trim range and lock to lock range is better than I'm used to which makes it very agile.
The five year warranty is peace of mind as is the 300hr/3year service interval so hopefully running cost should be low.

I've got to admit though the Optimax 90 does look a nice (BIG) engine and I would love to try one on an SR for a day. And if I had a RIB which was rated for a heavy transom weight I might still be wondering if these e-tecs were any good.

Thanks fella thats given me some peace of mind after Ive just bought one for my 5.4 Tornado ... thats the best review Ive 'never' had

cos I did a bit of looking for some stuff on it

willk · 20 May 2014, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Thanks fella thats given me some peace of mind after Ive just bought one for my 5.4 Tornado ... thats the best review Ive 'never' had

cos I did a bit of looking for some stuff on it

Make sure that the battery connections are always 100% and never run one with the battery disconnected. Never "switch" the battery isolator when one is running. The EMM is horribly sensitive and horribly expensive. All the rest is excellent! I had two of them and they were great.

colcreate · 20 May 2014, 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

Make sure that the battery connections are always 100% and never run one with the battery disconnected. Never "switch" the battery isolator when one is running. The EMM is horribly sensitive and horribly expensive. All the rest is excellent! I had two of them and they were great.

Good point, some dealers do tell you about this and build extra into the "fitting cost" for a new battery, battery leads, terminals etc. They will not allow wing nuts on battery cable terminals either, in case they work loose?
I had just fitted all new high spec gear on mine so they were happy to fit to my existing stuff.

Bigmuz7 · 20 May 2014, 22:01

Thanks for that boys

willk · 20 May 2014, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by colcreate

They will not allow wing nuts on battery cable terminals either, in case they work loose?

Yeah, those. Or dodgy crimped connections. Did I mention that a secondhand EMM cost £800 in 2010. Each.

GordyP · 21 May 2014, 08:09

The only issues I had with the etecs were caused by water in the fuel, not sure how other brands would have coped with that differently. Other than that they were fantastic, quiet at tickover speeds, huge holeshot grunt and very good economy. They were considerably more compact and lighter than other brands as well.

Bigmuzz, make sure you have really good water separators fitted and just be careful who you use to fit and maintain it!

Tadpole · 21 May 2014, 09:13

I fell foul of the dodgy battery connector problem on my Etec 90.
Blew the EMM and had to be towed in by the lifeboat.
My fault, I did the connections but was blissfully unaware!

Apart from that it's been faultless since 2006.

Just bought a 30hp one to go on an Orkney Strikeliner.
Went for the manual start model, so no battery connections to worry about!