Repower advice?

[Dan1960]

I have a 1995 Pursuit Walk Around 2870 (30" LOA) with twin troublesome
200HP Evinrude's 2-stroke. I am considering re-powering. The mfg recommends twin Yamaha 225's; after reading recent posts it appears that these are not 100% trouble-free. Any suggestions?

 

[zzzzz]

Re: Repower advice?

go with some new Evinrude ETECS !!

 

[JB]

Re: Repower advice?

Nothing is 100% trouble free, Dan.

Go 4 stroke or etec. All modern outboards are very reliable. You need to remember that you don't see the thousands that are trouble free talked about here.

 

[BillP]

Re: Repower advice?

Forget 4 strokes and Yamahas. Times are changing, do Etecs. Even 4 stroke owners are repowering to big Etecs now. Commercial fishermen and guides are going Etec too.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Repower advice?

25K in new outboards could be spent wisely and have your old ones rebuilt..... you would be 15K ahead of the game.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Repower advice?

If I was repowering I would be giving the Etec a close look; quiet,smooth and clean.
4 strokes are quiet,smooth,and clean BUT they have over twice as many moving parts and most run at 500 to 1000 rpm higher than a 2 stroke to produce somewhat less speed.Thats a lot more piston feet per mile.

 

[JB]

Re: Repower advice?

"Count the parts" is not a useful way to predict engine life.

Modern 4 cylinder auto engines have about twice the parts and turn 2,000 to 4,000 more rpm compared to 1970s 4 cylinder engines and have about 3 times the useful life. By your reasoning that means more parts and higher rpm means longer life.

Time will tell whether well cared for modern 4 strokes have more, less or the same life as well cared for DFI 2 strokes. Snake oil advertizing and irrelevant comparisons will not.

 

[bgbird]

Re: Repower advice?

In my area the Yamaha 4 stroke seems to be the majority of what is being put on the water. Virtually all of the people that I know that have gotten Yamaha's are really pleased with the purchase. I recently did the same and looked at the same issues as ypu. I went with the Yammi F115 and it came with a 3 year warranty (and I was able to extend for an additional 3 years).

The tipping point for me was the access to several top flight Yammi mechanics. Etec support isn't as readily available in my area. Guys at my marina go to school every winter. Look on the wall and see what school certs the tech guys have. Talk to others that have had work done... All of these engines now require more and more specialized tools and education - so fix any kind of engine places are going by the wayside.

I generally do all of the light maintenance myself (tuneup etc.) but it is nice to have guys that really know what they are doing with the diagnostic equipment and experience handy should the need arise. My old engine always involved part swaps and more importantly to me a boat that was unavailable for weeks at a time when I had problems... Good luck!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Repower advice?

Certainly wouldn't be steered away from a 4 stroke if that?s what you?re looking at. I personally know 3 guys that have over 2500 hours on their 225 Hp Yamaha. Ask around and see how many people you can find that have over 2000 hours on a large displacement 2 stroke.

I just pass the 2000 hour make on my 200 HP Evinrude this summer and I?m living on barrowed time at this point. Hope to get another year out of them before I have to repower. Not sure what I?m going to repower with but I?m leaning toward and E-Tec for weight purposes.

My boat manufacturer (Grady White) doesn't even offer a 2 stroke option anymore. Everything from 150 HP to 300HP is a 4 stroke Yamaha so that?s a possibly as well when I repower.