New member need some help deciding on a motor

[b.staub]

I've been looking at a boat to buy and like the 215 explorer. Financially I need to stay around 2003 and older. I am looking at a 2003 with only 53 hours on the motor. It is an evinrude 200hp 2003. I notice that some say the fichts got past the problems in 2002 but when I talk to some people who work on them they say they would not even rebuild them if they do blow. Apparently they still had alot of problems with the computer and injectors. I don't know if this was the majority or just some. I really liked the boat but can't afford to turn around and put another motor on it. Some say get an older carbeurated motor but then your gonna be burning alot of gas but maybe thats better. Does anyone know how efficient the inboard outboard is and are there any major drawback or positives about picking this over an outboard. I'm thinking at this point that all the problems I've heard about the fuel injection on motors up to about 2005 that maybe I should be looking at an inboard outboard. Any expertise or experiance with any of this would be greatly appreciated. I did get a computer printout on the evinrude and it did say 53 hours and did not note any previous hard faults. The only fault recorded was Battery voltage below expected range/excessive battery load.

[Capt. Bill]

I'm not sure if OMC ever got the fichts 100% and that was probably their biggest downfall. Why they were investing their dollars into the ficht engines the other manufactures were building 4 strokes and took over the market. OMC was bought up by BRP and the E-Tec was born. From what I understand the ficht either runs or it don't. What I mean they run like champs, than one day they blow up. My cousin had a 2000 on his boat. Ran great for 9 years than it blew.  In contrast my 97 Johnson ran 11 years before I traded it in on a new motor.

If you are not handy, or funding is low, I'd stay away from the IO's. The first problem they have is the giant hole in the back of the boat that the drive sticks through. There are gaskets and a couple of rubber boots that keep the water out that require inspections and maintenance. than there's the drive itself. Straight inboards and outboards have straight shafts between the transmission and the prop. (lower unit on the outboad) Where as the IO has a universal joint and an extra 90 degree turn. Because of this they need a lot more require inspections and maitenance. IE the average life span of an IO drive is about 6 years. Than it will need a rebuild.

Older carbeurated 2 strokes burn roughly 10% of their horsepower an hour at WOT. (Wide open trottle) IE a 200 HP will burn 20 gallons of gas an hour running flat out. Sounds like alot but keep in mind you'll be moving around 40 MPH. I'm not sure if they ever made carbeurated 4 strokes.

[fitz73222]

I've been looking at a boat to buy and like the 215 explorer. Financially I need to stay around 2003 and older. I am looking at a 2003 with only 53 hours on the motor. It is an evinrude 200hp 2003. I notice that some say the fichts got past the problems in 2002 but when I talk to some people who work on them they say they would not even rebuild them if they do blow. Apparently they still had alot of problems with the computer and injectors. I don't know if this was the majority or just some. I really liked the boat but can't afford to turn around and put another motor on it. Some say get an older carbeurated motor but then your gonna be burning alot of gas but maybe thats better. Does anyone know how efficient the inboard outboard is and are there any major drawback or positives about picking this over an outboard. I'm thinking at this point that all the problems I've heard about the fuel injection on motors up to about 2005 that maybe I should be looking at an inboard outboard. Any expertise or experiance with any of this would be greatly appreciated. I did get a computer printout on the evinrude and it did say 53 hours and did not note any previous hard faults. The only fault recorded was Battery voltage below expected range/excessive battery load.

A sterndrive would not be a practical solution. The amount of modifications needed to install it into the boat would destroy the value of the hull plus the increased draft and excessive power to weight ratio would really would not be viable unless the boat was already set up for one. I would run the ficht but I would use it to leverage a lower purchase price by using the engines notorious past as a barganing chip. I believe BRP had corrected the issues with that design by 2003 and you may be getting an extremely low hour sweet deal. For some reason, I remember reading that the ficht issues were limited to the 150 and or 175 hp and the smaller and larger versions were prefectly fine.

[Boatdood]

In my experience the Ficht problems weren't limited to the 150/175hp but they did seem more prevalent there. I agree with Fitz wholeheartedly that retrofitting an outboard boat to an I/O boat is not feasible. The best idea may be to get a good deal on the boat and engine as suggested and roll the dice on the engine that is on it. I've run a fair number of those big Fichts and they can run great. Make sure you use the right oil and you will give it a better chance of survival long term. Fuel is equally as important but you have far less control there. Additives for ethanol fuel are the best you can do with today's questionable fuel. Injectors in general aren't necessarily the weak link. It's usually the tiny particles of contaminant that result in the on engine fuel system caused by corrosion. Ethanol in gasoline absorbs moisture resulting in a corrosive mix sitting in the tanks and pumps on the engines. This corrosion is beyond the filters and can end up clogging tiny metering passages. Four strokes and two strokes alike share this problem, and carburetors aren't immune either. If anything the larger orifices in a typical two stroke outboard make them more prone to pass those particles than the tiny ports in a typical four stroke carb. Some of the older four strokes did indeed have carbs on them but it was in the mid size engines and down; generally no larger than the 100 hp class.

[Aswaff400]

If you are not handy, or funding is low, I'd stay away from the IO's. The first problem they have is the giant hole in the back of the boat that the drive sticks through. There are gaskets and a couple of rubber boots that keep the water out that require inspections and maintenance. than there's the drive itself. Straight inboards and outboards have straight shafts between the transmission and the prop. (lower unit on the outboad) Where as the IO has a universal joint and an extra 90 degree turn. Because of this they need a lot more require inspections and maitenance. IE the average life span of an IO drive is about 6 years. Than it will need a rebuild.

not to argue with you, but where do you get that info from? ive never heard of an average out drive only lasting 6 years... engine maybe, with todays new boat owners who cant find an oil dipstick let alone find the batteries...

never even seen an outdrive in our marina get rebuilt after only 6 years! 16 years maybe, even then was due to owner negligence... i've helped our service guys rebuild and replace more straight IB transmissions both straight and V-drive than i have any brand make model outdrive

yeah an IO has more parts than an OB, and weighs more, but i have also seen and run many single IO's that get atleast 3 to 4 MPG at cruise!

i personally would rather own an outboard, but i was born and raised around IO's and from a maintenance stand point, it not much harder than maintaining your truck... and if maintained right, should last just as long as any outboard...

[b.staub]

Thanks for the information guys. I wasn't planning on changing a boat from outboard to sterndrive I'm just considering a i/o because of all the fuel injected problems in the early years of the fuel injected motors. I've talked to a few mechanics about this and it seems the conscensis is stay away from any motor older than a 2005. They say it took that long to get the fuel injection better perfected. I like the positives about the evinrude's efficiency it just seems like there are alot of people out there that say they blow up on them. I had someone tell me they bought a boat with a low hour 200 evinrude 2004 model and his blew. I certainly can't afford to put a new motor on the back after purchase. That's why I was curious about the I/O. I can be handy if I know what to look for I'm wandering did the I/O have problems with fuel injection also or have they been carbuerated past the 2000 year? Sounds like they have the fuel efficiency and considering all the fuel injected problems including computer problems it just seems like up to the year 2005 it may be a wise decision. All experiance and opinions are welcome. Thanks again for the input great site. Anybody else have experiance with the 200hp evinrude 2002-2005 injected or the older Johnsons or other 200hp carbeurated. I notice the late 90's have sea runners and ocean pros on them. Maybe one rebuilt would be the answer. Still like the thought of the efficiency of the 03 evinrude just scared of the reliability at this point from what I hear

[Boatdood]

I think you might be putting too much emphasis on fuel injection as being a source of problems in general. It's easy enough to come to this conclusion but my opinion is that fuel injection is a wonderful thing and I'd much rather have it than carburetion with only rare exceptions. The early DFI two stroke outboards did have their problems but it wasn't simply because of fuel injection. I wouldn't advise you to make an engine choice based on FI or carbs. alone.

[fitz73222]

I think you might be putting too much emphasis on fuel injection as being a source of problems in general. It's easy enough to come to this conclusion but my opinion is that fuel injection is a wonderful thing and I'd much rather have it than carburetion with only rare exceptions. The early DFI two stroke outboards did have their problems but it wasn't simply because of fuel injection. I wouldn't advise you to make an engine choice based on FI or carbs. alone.

Good advice; I still have some very sweet running carburated Merc's from 95'-00' vintage including the twins on the AS 22-2. Their continued good running quality lies with my anal retentiveness to keep my ethanol based fuel fresh, treated with startron, and 10 micron sightbowl filtered and I don't run into fuel delivery issues. (yet)! The one thing that I would advise when selecting an older engine is to review parts availability and cost. For older carburated outboards you can still get all of the fuel delivery and basic ignition parts you need through OEM or a aftermarket. Not sure about cost and availability for older ECU's, EFI modules, injectors or any of the many revised parts for fuel injected engines out of warranty. I'm still in the camp of simplier is better until it is no longer practical. Plus I keep my engines as close to showroom as possible so they get to be conversation pieces on the water anyway. Scott has seen then.

[gran398]

Yes I have, and they are absolutely beautiful. He keeps them covered, always, except when they're running. Matter of fact, his entire boat stays completely covered when not in use.

I too have always believed in quality UV resistant engine covers. Its a great way to protect the investment and saleability. And a boat that looks good shouts "well-maintained" to a potential buyer. And lets face it...EVERY boat is for sale at the right price.

Same with politicians.

Now back to engines

[Aswaff400]

Thanks for the information guys. I wasn't planning on changing a boat from outboard to sterndrive I'm just considering a i/o because of all the fuel injected problems in the early years of the fuel injected motors. I've talked to a few mechanics about this and it seems the conscensis is stay away from any motor older than a 2005. They say it took that long to get the fuel injection better perfected. I like the positives about the evinrude's efficiency it just seems like there are alot of people out there that say they blow up on them. I had someone tell me they bought a boat with a low hour 200 evinrude 2004 model and his blew. I certainly can't afford to put a new motor on the back after purchase. That's why I was curious about the I/O. I can be handy if I know what to look for I'm wandering did the I/O have problems with fuel injection also or have they been carbuerated past the 2000 year? Sounds like they have the fuel efficiency and considering all the fuel injected problems including computer problems it just seems like up to the year 2005 it may be a wise decision. All experiance and opinions are welcome. Thanks again for the input great site. Anybody else have experiance with the 200hp evinrude 2002-2005 injected or the older Johnsons or other 200hp carbeurated. I notice the late 90's have sea runners and ocean pros on them. Maybe one rebuilt would be the answer. Still like the thought of the efficiency of the 03 evinrude just scared of the reliability at this point from what I hear

they still sell IO's with carbs NEW although they are less popular as the MPI engines, they still make'em... MPI IO's even in the earlier years have fewer problems than the Early DFI outboards. most of the parts are based off of automotive parts, hell most parts you can get at your local auto parts store if you know how to cross-reference part or part numbers for a helluva lot cheaper than worst marine...

im not sayin go for an IO only, keep an open eye, find what you like and what you can afford

[GoneFission]

Remember I/O engines need winterizing if you have them in an area that gets cold - outboards drain.  Also it is a big job to install an I/O on an outboard boat.  Carb vs. EFI?  I would go for EFI for a newer motor - it's become very reliable.  

But I'm still running my Mercury 2.4 Black Max with carbs - I just can't justify replacing a good-running motor until I need to... Not many folks comment on how pretty it is, but some do comment on the 5-blade prop.  

I'm part of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" group.  So if you've got an outboard boat, replace the motor with an outboard - but find one you can trust.  Pay attention to what the folks who use them every day are running (guides, commerical fisherman, etc.).  They lose money when the motor won't run, and word gets around pretty quickly in that group what works and what doesn't.

[Capt. Bill]

... not to argue with you, but where do you get that info from? ive never heard of an average out drive only lasting 6 years... engine maybe, with todays new boat owners who cant find an oil dipstick let alone find the batteries...

never even seen an outdrive in our marina get rebuilt after only 6 years! 16 years maybe, even then was due to owner negligence... i've helped our service guys rebuild and replace more straight IB transmissions both straight and V-drive than i have any brand make model outdrive

yeah an IO has more parts than an OB, and weighs more, but i have also seen and run many single IO's that get atleast 3 to 4 MPG at cruise!

i personally would rather own an outboard, but i was born and raised around IO's and from a maintenance stand point, it not much harder than maintaining your truck... and if maintained right, should last just as long as any outboard...

I don't think it's written anywhere but my info comes from average boaters who do average maintenance, and by the fact I have changed quite a few of them over the years. Granted, a well maintained piece of equipment will run many years without failing, but as you said if maintained right. Maybe the harsher weather here in the NE plays a bigger part on the componets, bu it has been my experiance you get about 6 or so trouble free years than things begin to wear out.  Usually one of the boots go and you get water intrusion, than it's goes down hill from there.