Evinrude to discontinue outboard engines

[MikeyGnz]

What can I say other than .......... good riddance!

I don't know anyone who has bought an eTec who would ever buy another, and my outboard mechanic mates refuse to touch them!

That's an interesting data point. Most owners I know of in NZ are happy with theirs but many were bought when 4-strokes were not as good as today. Dealer who worked on both Etec and Suzuki once told me both were good engines, but Suzuki had the edge in reliability. Of course there were a few people on the NZ forums who could tell of sudden dramatic failures.

Had a ETEC 90 on a 5m boat. Moved up to an ETEC 130 on a 6m. Both great engines. Had one stuck exhaust valve fixed under warranty but even with the valve stuck the motor ran fine and didn't drop into get home mode.

For us we went 2 stroke because the boat is stored and used in a remote area and having to get it to a dealer for a service only once every 3 years instead of once every 6 months makes a lot less pissing around.

[Aripeka Angler]

I’m well into year two of owning twin ETEC 200HO motors on a 26’ center console. So far, so good. I’ve had zero issues and zero maintenance.
The fuel economy is much better than the 2004 F200 Yamahas that were removed. Power wise, there is also no comparison. The Evinrude motors plane faster and the top end speed is higher than the Yamahas. The only complaint I have so far is the steering is weird. Very hard to get used to, it doesn’t take much of a turn of the wheel to get an instant response. So in essence, the boat is somewhat twitchy. Running a narrow channel in the dark requires complete concentration. It’s really something I need to address with some sort of steering stabilizer.
Full disclosure, I’ve owned 7 Yamaha motors in my lifetime.This was somewhat of an experiment, one with an annoying outcome. I had a buddy that warned me against buying ETECS, I should have listened to him. When I repowered, the larger Yamaha motors were back ordered. They said 6 months so in the grand scheme of things I wish I had waited. The bright side is at least the ETECS are running fine and plenty of parts are available.

[OneWayTraffic]

So you have more powerful, more economical engines: Is it just the fact that they have been discontinued that makes it annoying? The steering issues seems fairly minor, and easy to fix?

I have an E-tec on my donor boat. I am still waiting to get the trailer back from being re-galved but I expect it to be as good as any 2007 engine. Nothing lasts forever in the salt so sooner or later I'll buy a new one. If I get a good 10 more years out of it I'll be very happy. Although 2007 the motor was only installed in 2012 and has under 200 hours so I think this reasonable.

[Aripeka Angler]

So you have more powerful, more economical engines: Is it just the fact that they have been discontinued that makes it annoying? The steering issues seems fairly minor, and easy to fix?

I have an E-tec on my donor boat. I am still waiting to get the trailer back from being re-galved but I expect it to be as good as any 2007 engine. Nothing lasts forever in the salt so sooner or later I'll buy a new one. If I get a good 10 more years out of it I'll be very happy. Although 2007 the motor was only installed in 2012 and has under 200 hours so I think this reasonable.

Yes, the fact there was no warning of the ETEC motors going defunct is the source of my irritation.
The motors are 2019’s.
The steering is fixable I’m sure. The steering on the motors is electrical but receives a hydraulic signal from the helm. The lack of feedback and sensitivity is my issue.

[OneWayTraffic]

Well it could be worse, at least BRP is still in business and making parts. In my view, if working well they are the best engine out there. But reliability trumps all, and E-tec does not have the reputation of Yamaha 2 strokes.

You may want to consider adding some TCW3 oil to the tank at 200:1. The older etecs like mine injected a small amount of oil into the fuel prior to the high pressure pump. This helps keeps the injectors clean. This discontinued in newer models, but not for reliability reasons aparently.

You can read about it on the etec owners group. Few threads about it here and there.

https://www.etecownersgroup.com/post/ol ... rail=15#11

https://www.etecownersgroup.com/post/ad ... ?&trail=15