not so sure i like my new ETEC- convince me otherwise...

[Wayne nicol]

really been hesitating about posting this here, but gotta admit- i dont think i will buy an ETEC again.
i really find them noisy, and smelly.( admittedly no where near as bad as my old 2 stroke 110 hp johnston!!)
there is no weight advantage to the two strokes anymore.
dont know much about the fuel economy as a comparison.
but the yamahas are so quiet and clean, and super reliable- with less sensors i believe- but who knows-
not saying the etec's are junk- just that i might prefer a 4 stroke yamaha next time
what are feelings on here- most seem to like them, from all that i read on here

but then my father outlaw called me a "salmon snob" the other day- cos i will only eat the Spring's and the Coho- and wont eat the "stinky pinkies"- he says we are spoilt!!
and thats kinda how i feel on a mac with an ETEC- maybe i should just shut up and be grateful!

[RobertB]

I believe it is your right to prefer one over the other. Why should I want to change your mind? If you want another opinion of specific issues, data that can be evaluated objectively would be nice.
If your engine is smelly, I recommend you trace the source. As a low emission engine, there should not be a source of odor. Have you taken the engine to an Evinrude mechanic for an issue that seems it may be covered under the warranty?
Please offer some data on how two strokes weigh as much as four strokes (first I have heard of this).
How are the number of sensors an issue? Do you own a car designed in the last 20 years?
Lastly, I have no idea what a stinky pinky is but from the name would probably not want it near me without a thorough washing.

[Tomfoolery]

I don't own an ETec, but I believe they run rich and/or with excess oil for some duration while new. Could this be the source of the odor?

[aflyguysocali]

I have an older Merc 60hp Bigfoot motor on my M and it is both very noisy and smelly/smokey. It also is somewhat rough with a lot of vibration and also hogs the gas. The one part I do enjoy about it is that it's rock solid reliable and very simple to maintain and work on.

Anyone else have a alternative? I haven't noticed much input on the yamaha 70. I do agree though, I don't want another 2 stroke, period.

[Wayne nicol]

i hear ya Robert, dont get me wrong- i think its a great motor- maybe i was just expecting less exhaust smoke and less noise- it fires every time and seems economical.
the new yamaha 60 weighs 249 lbs.
the etec weighs 240 lbs.
i have spent a fair bit of time on fish boats running yamahas- they are whisper quiet- and no oily smell.
i did just have the etec at a evinrude mechanic - changing it from the xp 30 oil to the xp 100 oil setup.
certinally uses less oil- but still smokey- maybe i need to get it back to him.
but i sure like the white motor on the white hull

[Wayne nicol]

oh yea, a stinky pinkie is a pink salmon- and essentially they are great fish- just compared to the other salmon, they are not as good- was drawing a comparison to my idea on the motors.

just really want to hear other input on the motors- good or bad, critical or kind... its all good!

[March]

Tomfoolery:

It doesn't seem that the ETEC needs to be broken in. As for sipping oil, it does it so daintily that we usually fill the oil-tank once a year--and then it's still half full. We did the Exumas three years ago on a tankful of oil, with some to spare. After 8 years, I still have more than a quart in the gallon of X-100 I purchased when I mounted the engine. Last year I had a problems with the starter and the tach and I fogged the engine repeatedly while on the water, and even so, there's plenty of oil left... usually you need to do it only once in the fall and that uses a lot of oil

I have not gauged precisely the gas consumption at low, but we were able to return from Barraterre, Bahamas, all the way to Miami Dade on one tankful of gas only. In the Apostles, we motored around some and again, one tankful of gas for a whole week, with some to spare. Half a tankful of gas for the first week, but winds were better. Have no idea how a 4 stroke would behave, but it's hard to believe they would do better than that.

The smoke that appears at times behind the ETEC is actually mist. Nothing wrong with that either. As for the smell, mine doesn't smell at all, no matter which way the wind blows. It is possible that Wayne's has developed a hairline crack in the plastic oil-tank (a relatively common mishap) and oil may be seeping out onto the hot cylinders

The noise is another matter. Mine purrs healthily and I love the sound. To each his own.

The ETEC is great as long as it runs as it should. When it happens to break down--as any engine would, sooner or later, don't count on fixing it yourself on the water. You can't even change the spark plugs--they need to be properly marked, so that the injectors spew gas on them "just so." Evinrude qualified mechanics are scarce, and for a longer trip, one has to either keep one's fingers crossed and bet on ETEC reliability (very good on the average, it seems) or get an older engine than anyone can fix.

I was able to service my old Ford Econoline myself, for years, back in the 80's, and now I can't even change the sparkplugs to my new Honda CR-Z. Would I go back to the Ford? I don't think so.

The ETEC starts at the touch of the key. I requires no maintenance for 5 years (and three after that) It fogs itself in the fall. It has NMEA output so you can connect it to a Lowrance GPS and see all sorts of cool data (gas flow, etc) on your screen. It runs for 30 miles even WITHOUT oil. It has a safe mode and switches to low speed and brings you back to harbor in case of trouble. It's economical and pretty light.

Even though it gave me grief last year and I had to stand in line for weeks for an Evinrude mechanic, the next one will still be an ETEC. But then again, I'm also intrigued by the stinky pinkies, too

[mastreb]

Wayne, the ETEC uses quite a bit more oil for the first few hours of operation that it will in the rest of its lifetime. If your engine is new, that's the source of the smoke. During normal operation below 7 knots when the engine is broken in, you should rarely if ever notice any smoke or smell, especially with the XD100. I run TC3 and don't have any noticeable smoke, although I remember being surprised by how much their was when it was new. I think the break-in period is 20 hours, but I'm not certain of that.

As for the noise, yes, the ETEC is a bit noisy. That's what sails are for

The reasons to like the ETEC are:

Zero maintenance, always starts easily, can be pull started, smaller powerhead. Uses almost no oil under 7 knots--mine went 18 months before its 2nd quart. However, at WOT you will use a quart every 24 gallons of gas or so. Oil consumption is strongly affected by RPM on these motors.

The thing I dislike most about the ETEC is the need to carry a quart of oil on-board. Never have found the right place to put it, and it always seems to seep through the cap. Hate the oil.

Matt

[March]

Matt:

There's always going to be smoke the first time you start the engine after it has been winterized. No biggie. It clears away in 10 minutes.

You may be right about the ETEC having to use more oil for the first 20 hours, but that doesn't happen all that often.

[Russ]

I love my Suzuki. Quiet and starts without complaints and quiet.

The etec is an amazing piece of machinery. The computer that controls all that stuff scares me though. I also don't trust the no maintenance claim. Why wouldn't you want to change the lower oil in the first 20 hours. Manufacturing junk gets in there. Initial metal filings.

*shrug*

[Tenacious]

Tomfoolery:

It has NMEA output so you can connect it to a Lowrance GPS and see all sorts of cool data (gas flow, etc) on your screen. It runs for 30 miles even WITHOUT oil. It has a safe mode and switches to low speed and brings you back to harbor in case of trouble. It's economical and pretty light.

Even though it gave me grief last year and I had to stand in line for weeks for an Evinrude mechanic, the next one will still be an ETEC. But then again, I'm also intrigued by the stinky pinkies, too

I'm a new ETEC 60 owner, I have a 2015 ETEC 60 on the back of my Tattoo 26. I've used it once so far, as such, I don't feel I'm qualified to give an opinion.

That being said, the NMEA connection with engine gauges on the Lowrance Plotter and NMEA-2000 connectivity to my VHF (thinking about the new ICOM unit) were strong selling points for me. I was originally dead set on a 4-stroke. After viewing Evinrude's ETEC marketing materials and reading a lot of information on the ETEC owners group forum, I decided to take the 2 stroke ETEC plunge. We'll see how it goes.

Lastly, I also like a white engine on the back

[seahouse]

The noise of the E-Tec comes from direct injection, and at some RPMs direct-injection engines (autos too) are noisier than non- DI engines. It's the price to pay for more efficient combustion.

Once the E-tec is broken in there will be zero visible smoke, except for a slight amount for a minute or two from seasonal storage. It's the motor to have if you don't want to asphyxiate water skiiers in the water near your boat! In terms of EPA measured emissions, the E-tec runs cleaner than most 4-strokes, and has a superior lubrication system (dry sump, scavenging) to them, although they are catching up.

Matt- I keep a 1 litre plastic container of oil 3/4 full as a spare. As you screw the lid down, squeeze the bottle at the same time. Stop turning the lid when the air stops coming out. Any looser, or tighter than this and you won't have a good seal. Now you have a partially-collapsed plastic bottle that, initially at least, wants to suck air into it, instead of spew oil out, if it does happen to spring a leak.

Find a plastic oil bottle that you know doesn't leak (some do) to use. Find a good one in the store (smaller cap better in this case, if the threads are solid), use the oil, and save the bottle for this purpose. Make sure that remnants of the discarded cardboard seal don't interfere with sealing of the cap.

Then I take an old heavy sock and put the bottle into that, fold the top of the sock over again so you have a double layer, and put the whole thing in a heavy (5 or 6 mil) plastic bag (a Ziploc freezer bag or similar will do) and label it. If you do use it, the sock rag is already handy so you won't get oil on your hands, and can wipe up any drips. Or you could wrap the sock around the oil reservoir neck to soak up any drips if filling it in rough seas.

Lean or secure this upright at the back of the boat inside near the stern, because with an E-tec you're never going to use it (and it's very stable and has a very long shelf life). In 10-20 years a future owner cleaning out the boat will discover it.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Well my boats about 7 years old and I'v owned it for probably 4.5ish years.

It has an Etec 50 which I have serviced now twice. The motor does not blow smoke (occasional slight mist) and rarely have I smelt anything from it (maybe very slightly for a minute or so when starting it after many months of non use). I have a 95 Merc 30 on my Tinny which blows a heap of smoke every time I start it and stinks all the time The difference is amazing!

The Etec has always started first go every time(except when my battery died). even after 6 months of inactivity which is common unfortunately...

I'v used all up two of the XD100 oil bottles I think the motor has about 300 hours on it and had a bit less than 100 when I got it.

The only issues I'v had are a) not that long after I got it the motor (I think it was close to 3 years old) it started shutting down into safe mode which meant I had to come home at just above idle speed. I took it in and from memory there was some fault with the oil cooler or something. Apparently Evinrude had a recall out on my motor because of it, so they fitted a new one for nothing b) my tilt trim motor rusted out and required replacing. This is common on other motors too, especially on motors that spent a year on the boat in a salt water slip like mine did.

Etec mechanics are few and far between here, but having said that, any mechanic can service the motor (they just cant plug it into their computer which can help them diagnose any issues and see how the motor has been performing).

As to noise, I kind of thought the Etec was quite Maybe I'm just comparing it to my Merc 30.

In summary, my experience with the Etec is that it is a good and very reliable motor (that I have saved a packet on by following the recommended servicing schedule). Having said that, I'm not brand loyal or anything like that and if and when it comes time to replace it, I'll just buy from what seems best based on my research at the time (or if my wife is involved, what is cheaper..)

[Highlander]

I have the 75hp Merc 4stroke super quiet lots more torq than Rocky,s 60hp etec & a lot quieter , had issues with fuel injecters from bad gas last yr but that can happen to anyone no matter what eng. u got ! , had an issue this yr which caused me a lot of grief , turned out to be an internal fuel line deteriorated due to the ethanol in the gas which Merc appears to have resolved as the new fuel line has a thicker wall & looks like diff material , this is not suppose to happen if u buy fuel @ a mariner, its higher fuel price is suppose to be ! because it,s ethanol free ! Not so anymore my dealer tells me most just buy the cheaper ethanol gas & still charge U the higher price making more bang for their $$$ @ ur expense , so my lesson learned is to start using gasoline stabilizer on a constant basis not just when winterizing !
Anyway love my 75HP Merc 4 stroke , but each to his own
most guys with the big 4 strokes seem dead set on them
J

[dreamer]

Sheesh John you make me feel so inadequate When I bought the boat in 2008 I insisted on the white etec 60(this was before they were offering it as a factory option for the following reasons: smaller size than a four stroke 60 making it easier to access cockpit from water- puts out more amps for charging since I don't have shore power- turns a big prop for its size since it has more torque than a four stroke 60( great for wake boarding)-light weight - simple winterization, this has been very convenient since I try to sail as late in the season as I can. Last year I did the self winterization in late October but had an opportunity to sail in early November because of a day of nice weather. No big deal ...went out for the day and put it into winterization mode before pulling boat out.