Quote:
Originally Posted by Rybones
. . . If anyone sees this in time, any suggestions about questions to ask or things to look for? ..... (Shifty eyed emoji)
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If you haven’t already checked it, there is a small cone shaped fine mesh filter in the vapor separator tank where the fuel return line attaches. Some dealers don’t even know about it because it wasn’t shown in the early parts books, so they often don’t check it. I ran my motor for 6+ years on E10 fuel and that filter clogged up. There were two 10 micron filters between the tank and that filter on my boat, so the black tar-like stuff evidently came from the fuel lines that were being dissolved by the E10 in the fuel! (I believe they upgraded fuel lines after my motor was built in 2006, so if an older motor, it might be worth upgrading to the latest lines.) If it’s clogged the same stuff will also be in the injectors. (Fuel Injector Man in Venice, Fl. has a special set up for flow testing and cleaning E-TEC injectors.) Easiest way to diagnose this problem is to check HP fuel pump discharge pressure at the Schrader valve fitting on the pump. It normally runs only about 35 psi (same simple Carter pump as used in most port injected cars!), but mine was 65 psi and I was having a problem with rough running at 900 rpm, but only when cold.) Since I had the 7 year warranty, BRP replaced all 6 injectors (worth about $2400!) and the motor was running like new with about 900 hrs on it when SSPBill bought it. Except for the fuel lines, the E-TEC injectors & pumps appear to be very tolerant to E10 fuel, but I only ran Rec 90 fuel after that!
If you have to change that filter in the vapor separator tank inlet, be very careful to minimize force on the nipple where it lives, because it’s easy to break off that plastic nipple! There is a little tang on the Oetiker clamps; if you cut it off with a Dremel tool, the clamps are easily removed.
One other comment regarding the 135/150/175/200 hp 2.7L E-TEC power ratings. They are all basically the same powerhead, but BRP appears to be very conservative on the power ratings on the lower HP versions. NAEBM requires that true HP be within
+10% of advertised rating, so true HP on the 135/150 is about 10% more than advertised, and maybe +5% on the 175 and maybe 0 to -5% on the 200! So bottom line is that the lower HP motors are surprisingly stong and if you’re looking for a used motor, they may be a much better “bang for the buck” than the 200! Your WOT speed with a 200 may only be 2- 5 mph more than you’d get with a 150 or 175! Intake and exhaust port location (analogous to cam timing on a 4-stroke) and exhaust tuning tweaks often used to get max hp on 2-strokes may also adversely affect mid-range torque, so engines with a lower hp rating may actually have MORE mid-range torque that you want for getting on plane with a heavy load or hanging on plane at lower speed in rough seas! My experience is that a strong mid-range power band is typically more useful and desirable than a few mph at WOT.