'04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

[Redwing4900]

I just purchased this e-tec in great condition from what I can tell...what should I do just run it and have some fun, or should I change the impeller or something else? I'm used to stuff from the '60's so this motor blows me away how advanced it is over those. How reliable is the monitoring system on the dash? I have seen numerous ads on ebay for the diagnostic cable for your laptop and you can check engine data...is this something I would want? Today was a good day.

 

[boobie]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

Do you have any history on it? When was the water pump and gear oil last changed ??

 

[Redwing4900]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

Do you have any history on it? When was the water pump and gear oil last changed ??

I figured those were the two things I would first check out, I'm not used to this new tech stuff, but I guess some things never change as far as maintenance. I was reading the owners manual and it has the maintenance at 300 hours OR 3 years, so while I know its a great motor, I still want to proceed with caution. Has anyone bought the computer diagnostic link for their e-tec? I want some engine data, but don't want to take it into the certified mechanic to do something that would be simple to hook up, wasting precious time on the lake. Shop manual is on order.

 

[Redwing4900]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

I guess no one wants to touch the cable question I posed, oh well. The oil that is in this motor's reservoir is red is this a normal xd-100 oil? I would like to get more of it, but haven' yet looked since its quite full.

 

[Redwing4900]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

I guess no one wants to touch the cable question I posed, oh well. The oil that is in this motor's reservoir is red is this a normal xd-100 oil? I would like to get more of it, but haven' yet looked since its quite full.

By the way red, I called my local Evinrude mechanic today and he said it would be 250 Bucks to change lower unit oil and also he would "sync" my computer for me. I said no thanks, I would rather pay 80 bucks and do it myself. I'll let me know how it works out.

 

[multimech]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

You need to find a better shop. 250 bucks for a gear oil change and to hook up the computer. He doesn't need to sync anything.

Find a legit shop and they will charge you and hour to hook up the computer, and check the software version, if you have any codes and they will most likely throw in the lube change and simply charge you for the oil (my shop would).

You can get the software, maybe. You will not get access to the updates for your engine. Any injector files, and it sounds as if you might not be so comfortable with the software. Find a good shop. Let them connect for you. Check all the systems and parameters and give you a clean bill of health.

If your oil is red it is TCWIII. It will work OK in your engine as long as it is setup for it. If it is set to XD100 and you are using TCWIII, it will cause your engine to have a much shorter life. This is another thing the shop can help you with. Look for a tag near your oil tank. If is says XD30, you are fine. If you don't have one, again get it to a shop to set it up correctly.

 

[Redwing4900]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

Thanks for your response, I called Evinrude support yesterday and found out some info. They do offer the diagnostic cable and software for sale through a dealer, but whether or not the dealer chooses to sell it is another thing. The jerk who wanted 250 did not offer the cable for sale, no surprise. I rarely go into that shop only for extreme emergencies, and that's too bad for me since he's only 2 miles away. I called the other dealer across town and he sells the cable and software $288 for the software (version 5.7.2 is the most up to date), and then another 89 bucks for the cable. The cable doesn't come in USB its only a serial port that's made through Evinrude, so the guy in Croatia who's selling these with USB on E-bay looks even worse if that was possible. His price for both is $80 but it would take a month or more to be delivered, making it even more of a gamble for sure. The dealer who will sell the cable also said he would plug in and give me the basic engine data, hours and what oil selection I have for free. That's the mechanic I wanted originally, but he's almost 20 miles away. I wanted to pass this on for others and thanks again for the info on the oil. I would like it to be xd100, but the reservoir is full so I guess I'll use this stuff up then switch. Does the tcw3 oil hurt the motor? I know the other is preferred from Evinrude, and that's why I'm leaning that way.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

Google E-TEC software and you will find dealers who will sell you the cable and diagnostic program.

 

[Redwing4900]

Re: '04 E-tec bought today 50 hp...what should I do now?

Got the software and cable yesterday...checked it all out was disappointed to see that the oil was set at xd100 when tc3 was being used, boy am I glad I bought this! Awesome amount of data. I switched the oil type on the emm, but How do I transition from tcw3 to xd100? I have the shop manual but it doesn't address this. Also, my boat is sitting in the water for months at a time, should I buy a battery switch to minimize corrosion or should I do what is recommended and keep the motor in the down position?