Bardy Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Hi all.. How many hours would you expect to get out of a well maintained 90 ETEC ? Now I know this is like asking how long is a piece of string but what I am asking is, if you look after it and don't give it a hard time and also get it regularly serviced etc etc.....how many hours would you resonably expect to get from it?.... 600 800 1000 more? Interested in your thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2k Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 More. Used regularly at least 2500 hours, wouldn't be suprised it was 5000 and time will tell if them make it to 10k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Hi Mate, we have many pro users will upto 3000 hours on 90HP E-TEC and the compression is as good as the day it was new. The facts are that you see 30 year plus old 2-Stroke still running today and for the recreational boater, who does about 50 hours a year a 90HP E-TEC will last a LONG time. As I say to people, if anything mechanical is going to break ,like a con rod or the like, it happens early in the life of an outboard. Lets take the 90HP Evinrude as the example, if that engine has a bad part from new it will not last the 5 year warranty period and then break, it will break in the first 5 hours of operation and trust me I have seen where and how these outboards are made and it is impressive. All clean 90HPs are good engine and in fact I drove the new model 90HP Suzuki the other day and it was impressive also, but in my opinion the jury is still out as to whether in 30 years time we are still going to be seeing all the 90HP available today still running like I can show you 30 year Evinrude and Johnsons if you came in to our workshop today. Set-up and propped right (which is where experience plays a part) a 90HP E-TEC will give you years of enjoyment and also be the best value to own and operate over that time. Why do you ask? Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zook2001 Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I do not believe your going to mechanically wear out a modern engine the question is how long will the engine management computer and sensor will last.I recently forked out for a second hand thottle body/air/fuel sensor for my twelve year old suzuki 4WD and the new price was $1200 for this bit. The good news is if these parts do not fail within the engines first few hour then these parts are very reliable, I've just turned the key and my car has run faultlessly for twelve years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evets Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 The best advice I was given by an old marine mechanic is to start the motor up fairly regularly if its not being used. Supposedly keeps all the important bits oiled up, stops the rubber bits from becoming brittle and keeps corrosion in the water galleries down to a minimum. Kinda makes sence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WANNAFISH Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 As long as you got proper maintainance done regularly and properly you shouldnt have a problem. But there is wear and tear thats gonna happen w/in an engine and all other moving parts that causes friction. It wont run forever but it will just slowly reduce the performance during the years it gets used. It can go after 1000 hrs or it can go 20000 hrs. It really depends how your engine will adjust to other parts thats got friction with. As for the electronic part of things. Most of these parts are transistorised or parts that will generate heat during its operating periods. Where u got electricity u got heat. Heat that is generated more than the electronic part is designed to absorb will generally will break down overtime. Thats why there is a term in electronics close / open circuit w/c is commonly used. For example you hooked up a fish(close circuit) you started reeling it in and the line broke(open circuit). No connection no fish. Its like no continuity(line) theres no current travel(fish). I hope I enlightened u a bit that no mechanical or electronic part will last forever. These parts has their own life span and no one can dictate whats going to happen. Cheers, JON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardy Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Thanx to all for your valuable opinions... Thats pretty much made my mind up on what I will be handing over my hard earned for.... I feel relieved...the search is over...... Pb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanx to all for your valuable opinions... Thats pretty much made my mind up on what I will be handing over my hard earned for.... I feel relieved...the search is over...... Pb Why did you not ask the guy who you are buying from or do you not trust his response? Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardy Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Whats wrong with asking for 2nd opinions?... Not sure where you are going with this Huey? Why did you not ask the guy who you are buying from or do you not trust his response? Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Hi, nothing wrong with asking for a second opinion, but as with anything some opinions are worth more than others and as mentioned I guess you did ask the selling dealer and you were not confident in his response, so I hope you are confident in his ability to set-up any brand of outboard and more importantly any modern clean engine that requires more training and knowledge. If you are confident than that is great and you should enjoy your new outboard no matter what brand it is. I wish you all the best. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Whats wrong with asking for 2nd opinions?... Not sure where you are going with this Huey? Nothing wrong at all with 2nd opinions bardi , but Im sure Huey just wanted the member to have the most accurate information available. All too often people have been misled by supposedly " reputable / knowledgeable " dealers , we see this quite often in the forums . Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bardy Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 For the record...Craig has been fabulous throughout this whole episode.... Nothing wrong at all with 2nd opinions bardi , but Im sure Huey just wanted the member to have the most accurate information available. All too often people have been misled by supposedly " reputable / knowledgeable " dealers , we see this quite often in the forums . Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WANNAFISH Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Remember bardi, Craig from Huett will be the guy to advise you of anything about boating. Most of the dealers Ive talked to, they just wanted to sell and most of the time they are clueless of what they are talking about. Theres a few of them out there that will steer u to the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Remember bardi, Craig from Huett will be the guy to advise you of anything about boating. Most of the dealers Ive talked to, they just wanted to sell and most of the time they are clueless of what they are talking about. Theres a few of them out there that will steer u to the right direction. There's a lot of sales talk in the boating industry which does make it confusing and disheartening for a potential buyer. This mainly involves bagging the competitors product. The 4-stroke dealer will bag the Etec and vice versa. They both then bag the carby two strokes! The story I have heard from both sides is that carby two strokes will be banned in a couple of years and they will be nearly worthless used. Now I wouldn't mind getting a used two stoke for next to nothing myself! Another is that I would save the price difference in a couple of years because a 4 stoke 90 would use half the fuel of a carby 2 stroke. Now there is a 4K price difference and I think the claim of half the fuel usage is rather optomistic. Even then on my calculations I would only save a few hundred dollars a year which would barely cover the higher service costs of the 4 stroke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 There's a lot of sales talk in the boating industry which does make it confusing and disheartening for a potential buyer. This mainly involves bagging the competitors product. The 4-stroke dealer will bag the Etec and vice versa. They both then bag the carby two strokes! The story I have heard from both sides is that carby two strokes will be banned in a couple of years and they will be nearly worthless used. Now I wouldn't mind getting a used two stoke for next to nothing myself! Another is that I would save the price difference in a couple of years because a 4 stoke 90 would use half the fuel of a carby 2 stroke. Now there is a 4K price difference and I think the claim of half the fuel usage is rather optomistic. Even then on my calculations I would only save a few hundred dollars a year which would barely cover the higher service costs of the 4 stroke! It would be dependent on how much you use your boat and motor for petrol savings,some use their boats every weekend and go many many miles offshore and the savings would soon add up then I am thinking. I have a 4 stroke Suzuki and have found the services reasonable and the fuel I use is bugger all and I use my boat heaps,happy ? you bet. Regards Swordfisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flightmanager Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Lets keep it on topic fellas , the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke debate is for another thread. Any recently manufactured "clean" engine , whether 2 or 4 stroke , should , with proper maintenance , should give you many , many hours of reliable service. Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) Lets keep it on topic fellas , the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke debate is for another thread. Any recently manufactured "clean" engine , whether 2 or 4 stroke , should , with proper maintenance , should give you many , many hours of reliable service. Ross Well the topic does raise the question which will last longer. Huey makes the point that the Etec is still a two stroke and some 30 year old two strokes are still going. I think that this would be the exception. I have always heard that after a thousand hours a two stroke is starting to wear and there is a higher chance of a failure occuring. Whether the Etec lasts longer than an old tech 2s is another matter. There still seems to be a question mark over the longevity of 4 strokes. It would appear that a rebuild on a 4 stroke is not cost effective (cheaper to buy another engine), whereas a two stoke can be worth re-building. Edited May 14, 2009 by billfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WANNAFISH Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Billfisher, Craig helped me on what motor to fit my dinghy. He didnt force the etecs on me but advised me which one to get for the amount of money Ive got or what the best value I can get. Even if I didnt buy the motor off him he was still happy to talk me thru how to install it properly on my dinghy. I reckon he is the type of guy that would be happy to help even he doesnt get anything out off it. See if you can get a dealer to do that for u. JON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) Billfisher, Craig helped me on what motor to fit my dinghy. He didnt force the etecs on me but advised me which one to get for the amount of money Ive got or what the best value I can get. Even if I didnt buy the motor off him he was still happy to talk me thru how to install it properly on my dinghy. I reckon he is the type of guy that would be happy to help even he doesnt get anything out off it. See if you can get a dealer to do that for u. JON There is nothing wrong with Huey pointing out the advantages of Etecs. If I was was getting a high tech engine myself I think I would get an Etec or Optimax and give 4 strokes a miss. I just take issue with how a lot of other dealers feel the need to bag competitors products. But to expand on his point that there are 30 year old two strokes still running without a rebuild I would think that this is the exception (just like you hear about Falcon's with 1,000,000km's up). From what I have heard/ experienced that after a thousand hours a failure becomes increasingly likely. So how long it lasts depends on usage of course. If your doing low hours and the engine lasts a bit better than average then you could get over 20 years. Edited May 14, 2009 by billfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) But to expand on his point that there are 30 year old two strokes still running I would think that this is the exception. From what I have heard/ experienced that after a thousand hours a failure becomes increasingly likely. Hi, as of this morning we have 12 boat/engines here for service. Of those we have a 1977HP 9.9HP Evinrude, 1978 model 9.8HP Merc, a 1981 model 70HP Evinrude, a 1977 model 35HP Chysler, a 1976 model 140HP Evinrude and a 85HP Merc of 1976. All these engine still run and offer the owner the chane to go out on the water. Yes they are not as nice and fuel efficent as modern engines, but over half the service work here at present are old 2-Strokes. We also have rebuilt a 1985 115HP Yamaha for about $3K again offering the chance for this engine to last who knows how many hours because it does not have any hour meter, but it should last for another 20 odd years with flushing and care. I choose to sell what I sell and trust me I could sell any brand I wanted and have all brands chasing us and as I tell everyone you do not buy a bad new outboard today and the deciding factor should really come down to the dealer because modern engines need special diagonistic tools and training and that can ruin a good experence. I personally would not buy a dirty engine (even though they are cheaper) because the value in the cleaner engines, not only in terms of fuel usage but "niceness", makes them what I would buy and come resale a clean engine holds its value better. As I said to Bardi in the PMs and on here 90% of recreational users if they buy a new or late model engine and look after it, it should last a long time and in about 20 years if there are 30 year 4-Strokes still running I will be wrong. I agree that some dealers do try to bad mouth another brand and to me it shows they can not rely on the benefits of their outboard so they try and discredit other brands. If I was buying any product from a car to a TV and the person started to say other product was junk I would walk away. I think most people today can do the homework and make an educated decision and hopefully for them enjoy what boating offers. I have been lucky to be around boats all my life and I am the third generation invovled in the marine industry and no matter what outboard someone chooses to buy they get the chance to experience what I know to be a great pasttime. Cheers, Huey. Edited May 15, 2009 by Huey @ Huett Marine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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