e-tec maintenance

[glehav]

pamarine you can give us a little better info on this subject than i can ...i am a e-tec 150 owner and there is no mainteance on this motor for 300hrs. but i am going to change my foot oil and gas filter at lease once year. dont you think that is a good idea. my motor has 90hrs. on it and is a 08. i changed my gas filter a few days ago and you just about could blow through the old filter the new fitler was ez to blow through. thats telling me that i am getting alot of trash and water from gas pumps. what other mainteance do you think needs to be done to just be on the safe side 300 hrs is a long time without any maintenace at all wouldnt you agree... thanks

 

[cagrove]

I change my lower unit oil at least twice a year...but then I put a lot of hours on the boat. The 10 micron fuel filter is changed every year as well as the in-line filter on the engine. I also regap or replace my spark plugs at least once a year...sometimes twice if I think of it. Granted, I own a Mercury and not an ETEC but those things are what I consider the minumim of maintenance. I don't think Evinrude intended for no maintenace for 300 hours, more like no shop/dealer maintenance for 300 hours. Just my thoughts.

 

[glehav]

thanks chuck for the info i am planning on putting a water separator in, have not had the time. that will help a good bet... will take your advice about the spark plugs too....300 hrs is just to long for me not to do some kind of mainteance. thanks again

 

[pamarine]

Glehav

While you are correct in stating that the E-Tec motors do not require any maintenance for 300 hours (including Oil changes, gear oil, and filters), I also agree that 300 hours seems like a long time to wait. And there is still the issue of calendar time. The average for recreational boaters is 20-50 hours a year. Assuming you are the 50, that would be 6 years! I will need to double check with my evinrude manuals, but I don't know of a lubricant (natural or synthetic) that lasts this long. All lubricants break down with age due to ambient temperature changes and exposure to the atmosphere. I would still change my gear oil at least once a year (prior to spring commissioning). I personally change my gear oil and fuel filter during winterization and again at commissioning (I reuse the winter filter ever winter for 3 years, unless there is a heavy buildup that appears during the commissioning process). Hope this Helps.