Karen,

I am looking at a 2004 Alumacraft 17.5 foot boat with a 115 Evinrude Ficht
motor. This boat and motor has about 200 hours on it.
Should I really be worried?
Didn't most of these motors that were bad "blow up" within a few hours when
new? Also I seem to remember reading in this N/G that if they got past the
first few hours of operation without breaking you probably had a good
engine.
What percentage of failures did the manufacturers have?
Weren't the bigger motors, i.e..; 200 hp and above really the majority of
the problems.



OBTW 3 weeks fishing starts today!!!!!!!!!!! No more inspecting new
cars for 3 weeks!!!!
Nothing but wind, water, good friends, fishing, and a little beer ;-)

Fredo






"K. Smith" wrote in message
...
The E-Tec range of OB engines are now getting sold in numbers into
various markets & their ads are a total pain. So some anti-ads are in
order.

In our opinion E-Tec have the potential to be an even bigger
consumer disaster than the first time when they were called Ficht &
marketed in the main by the same dealers/riggers who were then placarded
OMC.

The reasons for holding my opinions of what we say are E-Tecs design &
other problems are many, too many for one short NG post, they fall into
numerous categories any one of which, on it's own, is reason enough to
stay well away from them.

(i) The basic concept of running internal combustion engines with lean
mixtures at power, as opposed to overrun (doesn't happen in boats:-)),idle
or high speed very light throttle cruise (again doesn't happen in boats).

(ii) The Direct Fuel Injection (DFI)into the combustion chamber (DFI)

(iii) The fuel injector nozzle.

(iv) The fuel injector

(v) The oiling system

(vi) The ignition system.

(vii) The engine displacements.

(viii) The latest version changes.

(ix) The "potential" for union labour to be used to build them.

(x) The "potential" way the manufacture is funded

(xi) The dealers/suppliers involved & the way/amounts they get paid

(xii) The marketing claims

(xiii) The warranty.

(xiv) Common sense.

I'll make a series of posts dealing with each category & if
needs be sub category. Needless to say, similarly I tried to warn you
through this NG about our "opinions" that Ficht would fail, "before" it
had become the disaster it did.

I was viciously & personally attached in this NG by those mostly with a
vested interest in selling/supporting known defective Ficht engines to
consumers. The dealers of course, the union thugs who had the undeclared
invested interest in the funding of OMC & a gaggle of sad simpletons who,
despite ample warnings in this NG, had fallen into buying one & could only
try to deny the obvious to save some value to their boats & pride to there
ego. Alas all sunk along with OMC when it fetched up on Ficht reef. Save
one true fool who went the next step & just kept claiming he had bought
another one every time the subject came up, which would make him the most
stupid person ever into rec.boats, a seriously sad thing given some of the
simpletons we've had & still have here over the years:-) It's very
possible he's just making it up about
buying more of them because if he had, I doubt his brain stem would even
support cardiac functions & remember a heart continues to beat even
outside the body.

Before we go onto series 2 I better thank all those who responded to
series 1, thanks. I note there were no technical objections raised that
warrant my attention & I thank Del for his usual attention to detail on
running engines lean while at power.

SNIP