Owners review of 25 and 30 hp e-tec?

[duckchaser]

I am looking at re-powering my polarkraft MV1675DB duck boat.  I am replacing my 2003 Mercury 25hp motor.  I am looking for a long shaft, tiller, electric start with power trim and tilt.  I would like to run a stainless impeller in the shallow stump filled waters I run in.

Will running a stainless prop give me cluth dog rattle like I have heard on Suzuki's?  

I am not encouraged about durability after reading of the many problems people have with these motors.  Are there any owners out there that can give me a long term review?  I would like to think I wasn't taking a big risk in buying this motor.  Any comparison to the Merc 30 EFI?

Thanks!

[Rickmcd53]

As an Evinrude dealer in a river area we sell about 15 of the 25/30 engines a year. Most of them opt for the stainless props and no one has reported any gear/clutch rattle.
The engines that are run often on clean dry fresh fuel have no problems.
You will see complaints of engine problems posted on forums from owners who expect newer fuel injected engines to be as "reliable" as their old carbureted engines. Due to more fuel efficient injection systems and electric fuel pumps any brand of new engines will have problems if one uses it only for a hunting season then parks the boat for 6 months without properly treating the fuel system.

[duckchaser]

I always double dose my fuel with STABIL 360 marine, especially because I can only get E10 gasoline. My boat is garage kept and I run a transom mounted fuel/water separator - filter. I have seen too many friends with EFI engines spend lots on injectors because they didn't have a filter. I hear ya.

I really want to like these engines enough to buy one. Take aways from internet search:

Early problems with water pumps. Should be solved now.

Oil tank leaks. Maybe solved in production?

Lots of plastic under the hood, especially fuel and oil systems. Could be ok like a Toyota but could all start coming apart as engine ages like any German car owner knows (their engineering is pretty good except German chemical engineers must be the flunkies of their system).

Engines run great when they work right but when they don't you need a tech with a PHD and a crystal ball to figure out what is wrong. First trip to the shop never fixes the problem. Warranty is good but don't plan on getting that motor back for a while.

Parts are WAYYY too expensive, especially considering the plastic content. Availability is only so-so. Example: Spark Plugs, you are kidding me with the cost right?

Please talk me into this motor. I like all the cool stuff it is supposed to do like winterizing (or summerizing in my case), power and the ability to run a stainless prop which is very important to me. Biggest thing for me is reliability. It could be life threatening if that thing dies on me on a duck hunting trip in the middle of winter. A good warranty and a dealer thirty miles away won't do me much good. Did I mention that the e-tec is $500-$100 more than the competition?

I am not a plant nor a hater, I promise, I just have a lot at stake for a guy buying a little motor.

[Rickmcd53]

With all engines designed for average use it may help to ask/check duck Hunter forums for opinions on which engines work best for that type of use. Keep in mind that most all 25 hp and up engines are computer controlled fuel injection systems today, so just because a guy says my brand X 4-stroke was easy to work on does no mean it was injected. Always good advice to buy a brand that you can get serviced locally. 99 percent of all the 25/30 Etecs that come into our shop are easy to diagnose/fix and are finished in two days. The irridium spark plugs cost more than others but our usual change interval on them is every 500 hours. The latest design water pump is good. Also seen a lot of failures due to improper flushing procedures. Best method is to use the rear flush port without the engine running. Yes, this flushes the entire cooling system.
One of the shopping tips that I tell potential customers is to shop around, get all the facts, and if you find a brand dealer with no engines in his shop for repair then buy that brand.

[duckchaser]

Thanks for the reply. I know nobody builds the perfect outboard, not even Yamaha. My old mercury, is the best machine I have ever owned.  My dad's old two stroke Eninrude was a champ also.  I just don't know if outboards have evolved as well as auto technology. It seems like they are cleaner and quieter but not more reliable or durable. 

[Rickmcd53]

I was an ASE certified auto tech for 27 years before becoming an outboard tech. You have to consider that the automotive industry has had computer controlled fuel injection systems on the market for over 30 years. The electronic and fuel injection components for Evinrude's are built by the same company that build components for the automotive industry.
If one was to take a new automobile and drive it from long idle periods then go wide open throttle, "jump waves", run in salt air environments, park them for 8 months then crank them up and go run wide open for an hour, then you would have a fair comparison to the way many outboards are operated.
We have a lot of ETECs out there that run hundreds of hours with no problems. I sold my 2011 75 hp Etec at 1500 trouble free hours to get a new ETEC because I was concerned about reliability. The new owner has used it for 3 years with no problems.
As a dealer we sell openly and honestly without bad mouthing any other brand, they are all good engines. As a dealer and boater that spends 400 hours a year on the water I am an advocate of safe boating. I advise new boaters to let someone know where you are going, and have a method of communication. Many of my duck hunters have a trolling motor to run in the shallow, muddy, grassy areas.

[Weegee99]

I was told the lower unit was the same as the venerable old 35 which was durable enough to plow through duck swamps. However, that was a lie. Evinrude added some holes for etecs below the anti aeration plate that leads to exhaust gas ingestion, starving the impeller and failing it. Proper development testing would have discovered that. Then you are hosed on the water. Ensure the dealer plugs them, if they haven't removed the holes since rolling out this change a year ago.

Merc's in that size are built in China

Once they fixed that, it has not stranded me, but I have several examples of poor product design and development that shouldn't exist. Useless turning friction lever and tiller angle adjustment screw, throttle cable failure, hood latch fell off in 40 feet of water. All covered under warranty. And mine was built in Wisconsin........

Now, it's started surging at higher throttle openings and idles poorly. I need to look into that now.