Blew Up the 225 Opti - New Power for 23 Sceptre

[SECF3114M73J]

A friend of mine has a 225 Etec. The motor blew up last fall with 460 hrs., it blew up again 2 weeks ago with 60 hrs. on the new power head. Another 200 Etec at the marina blew up with 5 hours on it. To Bombies credit the 225 was back on the water with comletely new power heads- new electronics, injectors, etc. in a week both times it blew. The 200 was replaced with a complete motor, also within a week. The guy with the 225 has had a lot of problems , after numerous trip back to the dealer he was only getting 60 hours out of a set of spark plugs. Etec aren't as perfect as you would be led to believe.

[Fr. Frank]

E-Tecs around here are getting mixed reviews, as well. But even those who have had problems are very happy with the warranty service they have received. Fast, without nickle-and-diming the customer. BRP has a good handle on that. But E-Tecs DO fail. I have a grand total of 5 friends who own E-Tec motors. 2 of the 5 have experienced catastrophic engine failure.

A friend with a 175 E-Tec on a 20' Pro-Line has had his powerhead blow twice: replaced powerhead once, then got a whole new engine the second time it blew. Less than 50 hours before each failure.

My neighbor down the street bought a new pontoon boat with an E-Tec 75, and the powerhead seized the very first time he used the boat, same day as delivery. The local dealer replaced the entire boat, motor, and trailer the next day. Just swapped the whole thing out.

I have an '06 Merc Opti 90hp that now has 78 hours on it without a hiccup. My '91/'02 Xr4 150 carb model had 1100 hours before being remanufactured for low compression in 2 cylinders (but still running), and has had about 230 hours since.
Call me biased in favor of Mercs.

[CarlaDee]

Thanks for all of the great feedback. I am anxious to find out what joema means by the 30" transom. Can anyone elaborate. I doubt that i am going to go w/ a bracket (now) b/c I want to be able to use the boat for the rest of this fishing season.

Would the zuk 250/300 be too heavy w/o a bracket? Anyone have any real world experience??

Help!!

[joema]

I rebuilt the tramson ,raised it 5 inches and closed the motar cutout into 32 wide i think from origanl 48 weight know problem wood transom .got rid of lockers in back to save afew pounds.Ithink itt goes 38 knots 5900 rpm 16 20 3blade prop cavation plate 1inch above keel cruse 4200 30 knots 2.8 mpg best ican tell. no more 2stroke for me i,ll change my oil any day

[Bigshrimpin]

I've heard the same from more than one ETEC mechanic. There seems to be a number of powerhead failures with these DI motors. Personally I don't think you can beat Suzuki for reliability. Lots of Commercial guys are running these motors . . . to give you a few examples. Roy Zancudo Lodge in Costa Rica runs 24 115hp Suzuki motors . . . This year they are replacing their first set with over 5000 hours of trouble free service.

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"I just purchased a pair of 140hp's I have not taken delivery of them yet. I wanted to see the differance in the fuel consumpton. They use 85% same parts as the 115hp. One thing I can say is suzuki makes the best motor on the market some of our engines have 5000 hours on them. Those are the ones that I am replacing for next season. "
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Also San Francisco Bay & Delta Vessel Assist runs a 115 Suzuki with 2000+ hours of hard towing . . . Again 0 problems.

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[Ryank]

Wew were just out for the first day of scallop season on the Homossassa river and a big boat with a 250 suzuki tore past us I heard more of the water from tehir hull then I did the motor. Even opened up it was quiet. I would go either Honda or Suzuki. I get great performance and decent economy ou tof 225 yamaha fi but I had honda 225's on a whaler that went 5400 hours and still ran great just leaked a little. my 2C.