'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

Bendover:

"My 150 etec is close to its first 300hr service so I called the dealer
to see what it would cost for him to do it. I normally do everything
myself on my phoenix and past outboards and I/O's but wasn't sure about
the warranty issues that go along with it. Well to do everything water
pump, gear oil, plugs, filters, etc. will be between $700 and $800. I
almost sh*t myself. This is absurd. It really sickens me to think that
someone would pay this. $300+ is to just change the water pump. As long
as there is no warranty issues with me doing the work, it will never see
the dealer for maintenance. If I can change powerpacks on a EMD diesel
and MOH's on 3500 series CAT's, pretty sure I can handle changing a
water pump. Prices like that are why people should learn how to do this
kinda of stuff. Thats a whole summer's worth gas down the drain."


There's no free lunch: you pay now or you pay later.


snerk

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Feb 23, 1:10*am, "Billgran" wrote:
"My 150 etec is close to its first 300hr service so I called the dealer to
see what it would cost for him to do it. I normally do everything myself
on my phoenix and past outboards and I/O's but wasn't sure about the
warranty issues that go along with it. Well to do everything water pump,
gear oil, plugs, filters, etc. will be between $700 and $800. I almost
sh*t myself. This is absurd. It really sickens me to think that someone
would pay this. $300+ is to just change the water pump. As long as there
is no warranty issues with me doing the work, it will never see the dealer
for maintenance. If I can change powerpacks on a EMD diesel and MOH's on
3500 series CAT's, pretty sure I can handle changing a water pump. Prices
like that are why people should learn how to do this kinda of stuff. Thats
a whole summer's worth gas down the drain."

A complete waterpump kit is about $70 and labor runs about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
You are right, $300 is pretty high unless they charge $115 per hour.

It is important that the computer be checked for any error codes and any
software updates installed. You can do the compression, plugs, gear oil (use
only E-TEC Ultra-XR oil), filter, and greasing. Be sure to remove and clean
the exhaust pressure sensor and inspect the thermostat and idling
temperature. Only pay your dealer for the computer diagnostics and checkover
time.

Buy a service manual for your motor so you have all the specs, torques, and
correct procedures on hand.

Why not call around to various Evinrude dealers to find out what others
charge.

Bill Grannis
service manager- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That's what used to get me about working on cars... I knew advanced
electronics, hydrolics, combustion, mechanical systems, haz mat
handling, spent hundreds of hours in schooling and staying currant
with technology... etc. etc. etc.. and my job meant folks lived or
died... But folks can't see why a engine mechanic should be paid half
of what they will pay an electrician or plumber to come in and install
a sink or electrical socket in a wall.;)

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Feb 23, 2:01*am, wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:51:56 -0500, "Billgran"

wrote:
My sentiments exactly. They also don't take into consideration the cost of
tools, test equipment, and specialty items needed to work on today's motors
that a mechanic has to buy.

That is one frustrating thing about all of these computer controlled
engines. (cars and boats) If the manufacturers had used some kind of
standard interface for the diagnostic port there would be a lot less
you would need to look at the logs and error codes.
I guess that is how they make you go back to the dealer.
Even back in the olden days with the original GM computers they had a
"one wire" serial port for the data stream but they used a strange
protocol that you couldn't see on a PC async port. There were some IBM
guys who had cracked the code but they still couldn't use a regular
serial card to read it.

I think it's a deal with "snap-a-long" so they could sell you the
reader and seperate cards for every other car;)

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

"HK" wrote in message
...

Bendover:

"My 150 etec is close to its first 300hr service so I called the dealer to
see what it would cost for him to do it. I normally do everything myself
on my phoenix and past outboards and I/O's but wasn't sure about the
warranty issues that go along with it. Well to do everything water pump,
gear oil, plugs, filters, etc. will be between $700 and $800. I almost
sh*t myself. This is absurd. It really sickens me to think that someone
would pay this. $300+ is to just change the water pump. As long as there
is no warranty issues with me doing the work, it will never see the dealer
for maintenance. If I can change powerpacks on a EMD diesel and MOH's on
3500 series CAT's, pretty sure I can handle changing a water pump. Prices
like that are why people should learn how to do this kinda of stuff. Thats
a whole summer's worth gas down the drain."


There's no free lunch: you pay now or you pay later.


snerk

Sounds kind of like having a Lexus or other high end car completely serviced
by a dealer. Come to think of it, if I had my Lucernes serviced by the
dealer it would run considerably than that over a three year period.

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:01:39 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:51:56 -0500, "Billgran"
wrote:

My sentiments exactly. They also don't take into consideration the cost of
tools, test equipment, and specialty items needed to work on today's motors
that a mechanic has to buy.

That is one frustrating thing about all of these computer controlled
engines. (cars and boats) If the manufacturers had used some kind of
standard interface for the diagnostic port there would be a lot less
you would need to look at the logs and error codes.
I guess that is how they make you go back to the dealer.
Even back in the olden days with the original GM computers they had a
"one wire" serial port for the data stream but they used a strange
protocol that you couldn't see on a PC async port. There were some IBM
guys who had cracked the code but they still couldn't use a regular
serial card to read it.

They're just fault codes, and all you need is the code descriptions.
I *never* had an issue reading GM OBDI codes using a paper clip, or
ODBII codes with a cheap code reader. And there are chain auto shops
that will read codes for no charge. Helps them sell parts.
Chevy, Pontiac, and Olds are the ones I've worked on.
Not saying the codes tell the whole story, but they are easy enough to
retrieve on the cars above. OB's are another story. There was a
thread a while back on getting codes from I think a Merc. I looked
for the readers on the net. Expensive. But if you want to do your
own work, you need the right gear. With something expensive you might
partner up with others who can use the same reader.

--Vic

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:28:50 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:01:39 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:51:56 -0500, "Billgran"
wrote:

My sentiments exactly. They also don't take into consideration the cost of
tools, test equipment, and specialty items needed to work on today's motors
that a mechanic has to buy.

That is one frustrating thing about all of these computer controlled
engines. (cars and boats) If the manufacturers had used some kind of
standard interface for the diagnostic port there would be a lot less
you would need to look at the logs and error codes.
I guess that is how they make you go back to the dealer.
Even back in the olden days with the original GM computers they had a
"one wire" serial port for the data stream but they used a strange
protocol that you couldn't see on a PC async port. There were some IBM
guys who had cracked the code but they still couldn't use a regular
serial card to read it.

They're just fault codes, and all you need is the code descriptions.
I *never* had an issue reading GM OBDI codes using a paper clip, or
ODBII codes with a cheap code reader. And there are chain auto shops
that will read codes for no charge. Helps them sell parts.
Chevy, Pontiac, and Olds are the ones I've worked on.
Not saying the codes tell the whole story, but they are easy enough to
retrieve on the cars above. OB's are another story. There was a
thread a while back on getting codes from I think a Merc. I looked
for the readers on the net. Expensive. But if you want to do your
own work, you need the right gear. With something expensive you might
partner up with others who can use the same reader.

--Vic

BTW, I jumped from a '76 (no OBD) to an '88 (ODBI) car, so I'm dumb
about anything between.

--Vic

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Feb 22, 6:55�pm, HK wrote:
Bendover:

"My 150 etec is close to its first 300hr service so I called the dealer
to see what it would cost for him to do it. I normally do everything
myself on my phoenix and past outboards and I/O's but wasn't sure about
the warranty issues that go along with it. Well to do everything water
pump, gear oil, plugs, filters, etc. will be between $700 and $800. I
almost sh*t myself. This is absurd. It really sickens me to think that
someone would pay this. $300+ is to just change the water pump. As long
as there is no warranty issues with me doing the work, it will never see
the dealer for maintenance. If I can change powerpacks on a EMD diesel
and MOH's on 3500 series CAT's, pretty sure I can handle changing a
water pump. Prices like that are why people should learn how to do this
kinda of stuff. Thats a whole summer's worth gas down the drain."

There's no free lunch: you pay now or you pay later.

�snerk

It took you 4-5 years to get 115 hours on your last boat, so unless
you are using this one a *lot* more (and that would be great!) that
$700-800 is going to be $1000 before you go in for service- but it
will only amount to about $100 per year. It would be wonderful to
learn that you enjoy your new boat so much more frequently than your
old one that you are already approaching the 300 hour service.

Boating is not cheap.
Maybe the only thing more expensive than paying a pro to work on your
engine is doing it yourself if you're not 100% qualified, or taking it
to a shade-tree wrench who thinks he can fix anything with a handful
of tools and a roll of duct tape.

My favorite service parable. A man noticed his basement was filling up
with water and he called the local plumber. The plumber was able to
come over within an hour, and he put on his waders and ventured into
the rising pool of dirty water and floating heirlooms. After about two
minutes, the sound of rushing water stopped and the plumber waded back
to the stairway. "I tightened a loose joint in the main line, and
pulled a stack of newspaper off the top of your floor drain. All this
water should be gone in an hour or two. That will be $145, please."

"What?!" excalimed the homewoner. "You've only been here for about
five miutes! How can you possibly charge $145 for tightening a joint?"

"Oh," said the plumber. "I'm only charging you about $10 for
tightening the joint, the other $135 is for knowing which joint to
tighten and how to go about it."

And Harry, I assume the mechanics at any shop you deal with receive
full union benefits. All that free health coverage, dental and vision
insurance, three weeks paid vacation, non-contributory retirement
system, 15 paid holidays, and $1600 per week base salary has to cost
somebody something......guess who?

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:43:28 -0500, wrote:



It was certainly easy enough to "flash" out the codes but you couldn't
see the data stream without the GM adapter and software for your lap
top. All the adapter had in it was a special Uart that could handle
that data stream and convert it to regular async. I had a copy of the
CD

Right you are. I once looked into going that route, deemed it too
expensive and overkill for me. Reading the fault code is all I've
ever needed to fix a problem, except for one time when it didn't throw
a code. That one time I had the ECU attached to a data stream reader
it couldn't find the intermittent problem, which was the engine
killing a few times for no reason.
My mechanic used the car as a utility vehicle at his shop with the
laptop hooked up whenever it went anywhere.
After a week I wanted my car back and he agreed that it would be best
to just wait until a failure, when the weather warmed up. It had just
turned cold the day I took it to the shop. Never had a problem all
winter, but the first warm day in spring it wouldn't start.
Bad ECU.
Did you ever get the your laptop diagnostics going, and was the data
useful?
Have you looked into code readers or stream readers for your outboard?

--Vic

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:55:12 -0500, HK wrote:

Well to do everything water
pump, gear oil, plugs, filters, etc. will be between $700 and $800.

Bull****....

'No service for ETECS until 300 hours, and then...'
 

On Feb 23, 10:43*am, wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:28:50 -0600, Vic Smith





wrote:
My sentiments exactly. They also don't take into consideration the cost of
tools, test equipment, and specialty items needed to work on today's motors
that a mechanic has to buy.

That is one frustrating thing about all of these computer controlled
engines. (cars and boats) If the manufacturers had used some kind of
standard interface for the diagnostic port there would be a lot less
you would need to look at the logs and error codes.
I guess that is how they make you go back to the dealer.
Even back in the olden days with the original GM computers they had a
"one wire" serial port for the data stream but they used a strange
protocol that you couldn't see on a PC async port. There were some IBM
guys who had cracked the code but they still couldn't use a regular
serial card to read it.

They're just fault codes, and all you need is the code descriptions.
I *never* had an issue reading GM OBDI codes using a paper clip, or
ODBII codes with a cheap code reader. *And there are chain auto shops
that will read codes for no charge. *Helps them sell parts.
Chevy, Pontiac, and Olds are the ones I've worked on.
Not saying the codes tell the whole story, but they are easy enough to
retrieve on the cars above. *OB's are another story. *There was a
thread a while back on getting codes from I think a Merc. *I looked
for the readers on the net. *Expensive. *But if you want to do your
own work, you need the right gear. *With something expensive you might
partner up with others who can use the same reader.

--Vic *

It was certainly easy enough to "flash" out the codes but you couldn't
see the data stream without the GM adapter and software for your lap
top. All the adapter had in it was a special Uart that could handle
that data stream and convert it to regular async. I had a copy of the
CD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

yo mean... you didn't count the flash's on the radio LED's?