2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

[Swedebass]

I am looking at a boat that has a Envinrude 2003 fitch. Would you buy this motor? I have always heard bad things about them. I dont always believe what I hear, but I would like to know what you seasoned veterans think of that year model and make.

Thanks in advance for your imput.

 

[boobie]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

I know I'll probably get some heat about this, but if it says "Ficht" I myself would stay away from it.

 

[Charlie in TX]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

^^^^ What he said. When given the chose, and I bought a used boat a few months ago, I disregarded anything with a Ficht.

This is only what I read when I was researching them. There are v-4 and v-6 as well as OMC made and BRP made Ficht. The ones to absolutly avoid is the OMC made v-6. The v-4 were reasonable reliable. The BRP made units were reasonable reliable. Resale is the big issue.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

On a scale of 1-10 the 2003 is about a 5, the newer they are the better they get but neither the Ficht or Etech are perfect..

 

[muskrat]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

I would run,even the newer ones,noisey and with alot of little & big problems.

 

[Swedebass]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

After talking to the guy and explaining that I had concerns about the motor he said that he has never had a lick of trouble with it. Are there any redemeeming qualities about the the Envirude 2003 HO?

I am curious if they just go bad overtime sooner the any other motor or is there a particular issue.

 

[daselbee]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

I bought a basket case 2004 225HO off eBay. Received a complete powerhead with the driveshaft stuck in it, midsection, all side cowls, engine cover.
Came home, knocked the driveshaft out, assembled the engine, added my own lower unit, and went boating.

I am very happy. The engine had last been run over a year ago, and after many tests on the oiling system, ignition, compression, fuel injection, EMM....etc, it started right up. Monitoring with the Evinrude software shows all normal parameters. I cannot find anything wrong.

But, I am still worried. I now have a new can of possible problems to worry about. I particularly worry about an injector leaning out and burning a piston. I worry about the individual oil lines feeding the cylinders....will they clog, rupture, fail in some way?
I worry about the water cooling line that supplies coolant water to the fuel pump and then to the EMM getting clogged.

So, now a new set of problems to have to consider. But this thing is a different animal. It starts instantly, no smoke, smooth idle, and plenty of power.

The 2003 is essentially the exact same motor as the 2004. I feel like I got a great engine at a steal of a price. The reputation drives the price down on perfectly good engines....

I would not buy the 1998, 1999, 2000 models tho.

My 2 cents....

 

[Swedebass]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

Thanks for the input. I would be interested in hearing from others on the Envinrude issues. I think that I am going to buy the boat and see what happens. I am interested in know what i might encounter and how to look for, try to avoid and possibly diagnose some of the issues.

Sounds Fun Ha!

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

Sounds Fun Ha!

Fun ends when repairs begin....make sure its a 3.3L.

 

[aerobat]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

c`mon gents, always the same nightmare stories about the fichts. and mostly based on " i heared that somebody heared the fichts are bad" .

of course any engine may give trouble and the ficht is limited when it comes to a cheap diy solution as any electronically controlled engine is, but beyond that the later models are a masterpiece of two stroke.

i had a brp improved 150 V6 that basicly gave me a good boating time.

just scroll down this forum and compare how many threads with problems on carburated engines you will find vs problems with the ficht .

that should really answer the question about reliability of the fichts.

cheers

 

[malta]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

I have a 200hp evinrude oceanpro v6 (2001), and a buddy has a more modern fitch and he says he is happy with his, but constantly 'concerned' that the electronics are too delicate. mine, on the other hand, appears to be able to withstand pretty much anything and runs like a charm (fingers crossed...)

would be interested to hear similar comparisons, because its surprising to hear that evinrude changed to a more modern but more temperamental and potentially expensive design.

cliff

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

c`mon gents, always the same nightmare stories about the fichts. and mostly based on " i heared that somebody heared the fichts are bad" .

I have hands on experience on these and see them in dealerships all the time.. and they still are working on getting the bugs out of them. The new motors have a updated oiling system with 2 lift pumps and extra oiling port to help prevent piston from sticking. When a injector fails it is better it totally fails than partially as thats when it goes lean and melts down piston and breaks connecting rod. If you have a failure under warranty you get the updated powerhead. I will post a picture of my old ficht powerhead with rod sticking out the front of intake....

 

[daselbee]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

When a injector fails it is better it totally fails than partially as thats when it goes lean and melts down piston and breaks connecting rod.

That's what I am pretty much worried about. There is no way to tell. How do you tell an injector has leaned out from crap in the fuel while underway? I guess just monitor the plugs, and maybe invest in a borescope...I dunno.

I am just gonna run it....balls to the wall.....

 

[aerobat]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

I am just gonna run it....balls to the wall.....

thats a good idea . i installed a good fuelfilter / water separator on the boats tank, made sure the plugs were correct indexed and gapped , used XD50 oil and just went boating. these things are really sensitive on the ficht. i was also afraid about the amazing technology and the fear of a fail but the engine never left me down. trolling for hours , turn key start hot or cold , high power rides on the baltic sea.

a buddy at the marina has a suzuki EFI 140 on a similar boat and when on paper there were only 10 horses difference to my ficht the suzuki was nothing against the evinrude.

the V6 ficht ram has an incredible punch and response when you gun it. amazing. great engine in my eyes !

 

[woody66912]

Re: 2003 Evinrude Fitch, would you recommend?

+ 1 with boobie, I was their when the FFI came out, we all thought this was the answer. And soon we saw It was not, all though BRP did make some good upgrades, there were just band aids to keep the production line going, A good friend of mine has a 02, 3.3 that runs great with very little trouble. And my dad has a 1998 90 hp which I can't believe is still running. Over the years i have seen to many of these just $100.00 dollar people to death. One case in point is my local ski team, they had six, they never made it through one show without losing one boat. Just my 2 cents.