water in gas blows Ficht engine?

Have a 1998 Evinrude 175 Ficht with only 200 hours which needs new powerhead. Dealer says cause is water in gas which created steam upon combustion and steam reduced oil on moving parts so engine blew up. There is definitely severe damage from something, but does this sound reasonable? Can $30 of bad gas cause $7,000 in repairs? If so, can this be prevented in the future or is a new powerhead likely to fail again?

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

yep<br /> happens all the time. hot water is incredibly abrasive and washs any lubricants from shiny parts. yes 30 dollars worth of bad gas can wipe a motor. ya outta see the damage it will do to a standard EFI motor. usually takes out the crank and rods as well. efi and DFIdont carewhatliquids injecting. the mechanical engine parts do. use a good water seperator and check it with religous regularity.

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

Ditto, rodbolt.

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

That's why you should always have a good water seperating filter between the tank and the engine, SoCal.<br /><br />1998 Ficht V6s seem to have many excuses for grenading. SIL went through three powerheads before he gave up and went to a carbed Johnny 150 (that still runs like a champ).

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

Can anyone tell how you manage to keep the engine running--on water--that well and long enough to destroy itself?? I could understand water in the oil tank!!

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

get one of these, or heck, get two<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

neecapers<br /> the usual 2 scenes are 1 well I new it was missing but we went out anyway and it would not quite turn up but I kept her jammed right wide open anyhow and it just went poof. the other is water gets injected and the engine sits. most DFI and Efi engines use a vapor seperator and a fuel return. its possible to get small amounts of water mixed with the fuel and it will try to run but not run properly. anytime your motor wont run smooth and at its normal power idle or tow it home and fix it. piston failure is almost 100% a secondary symptom of a subsystem problem. once the piston is fixed you still have to fix the subsystem that failed. whats funny is it always costs about the same to fix the failed subsystem with or without the pistons and machine work.

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

Rodbolt, <br />Thanks for senario explanation. Makes lots of sense that something seems wrong. I would think that heavy missing is most common. Surely the most common immediate cure is to have another beer for the trip home!!

Re: water in gas blows Ficht engine?

Did your mechanic tell you anything about the water separating fuel filter under the hood and the water sensor that is standard? The sensor will trigger a check engine light. That light will come on long before there is enough water in the filter to do damage.