Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

[superflydudebike]

I was talking to this guy about motors and he was telling me that before Bombardier took over, there were some iffy years regarding quality as they were trying out new technology. He implied that there were certain manufacture years to avoid. Any truth to this as I'm always on the prowl to get a newer motor with more HP? I realize this post really has nothing to do with repairs, but there does not seem to be any other applicable forum.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

he's refering to the FICHT motors, they are a disaster waiting to happen. that was a technology that feel flat on it's face.

 

[larky]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Tashasdaddy, or anyone else, could you go into more detail. I had read somewhere that the ficht design was bad but never learned why. i would appreciate any info.

 

[Cricket Too]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

I agree that he was probably talking about the "early" Ficht years, from like 1997 to 1999. The OMC carbed models were as good as ever the whole time.

I don't think it was a fault of the actual Ficht "system" as much as it was OMC's implementation of it. DI was a relatively new technology, and Ficht was one of the first, and they may have tried to rush it a bit and didn't fully work all of the "bugs" out before putting them out on the market, and even then it was mostly in the 60 degree V6 blocks.

They made a lot of restitution to owners of these early Fichts, so much so it put them out of business.

I can speak first hand of the fact that they did work a lot of those bugs out for the most part by 2000, since I have owned a 150hp Ficht new since 2000, and it has been nothing but a pleasure, and never asked for anything more than normal maintenance.

OMC originally tested the Ficht and Optimax DI systems, they determined the Ficht system was better and then Merc started using the Optimax, which had equal if not more trouble when it was first put out.

Ficht has evolved under BRP into just the "DI" system and now the current E-tec, which is probably the coolest engine around, in my opinion.

If you come across and early Ficht, 97 or 98, I would probably advise to stay away, unless you can know for sure that EVERY and ALL updates were done. I would say anything from 2000, you should be OK, as long as you know it's been taken care of also.

 

[superflydudebike]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Okay, so here's the $100 question. What exactly is FICHT? I'm assuming that only the larger engines were impacted, correct?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

it's a word i can't say. yes it was the larger motor. direct injections, all kinds of electronics. the good ole carborated omc motors are as good as any. if it says FICHT, you are better staying away. the shops were not prepared for the technology, and poor support from OMC. just like the OMC seadrives, and inboard/outboards.

 

[MercGuy]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Actually, the FICHT and E-Tec systems are very similar, although BRP would probably not like to have them associated.

First the Ficht system. It is a direct injection system meaning that the fuel is injected directly into the compustion chamber when the piston is close to the top of it's stroke. This concept is great for fuel economy, power, and emissions, but there are technical challenges with injecting fuel into a hot, highly compressed combusion chamber.

The Ficht system injects the fuel by energizing a solenoid that serves as a plunger. The plunger pushes on a column of fuel that is piped to an injector. So, the order of operations is that an electric current is sent to a solenoid which causes a plunger to push fuel into the combusion chamber. The plunger is returned to it's original position by a spring. When the plunger is pulled back to it's "rest" position, it is re-filled with fuel ready for the next cycle.

Now, wanna know the big difference between Ficht & E-tec ?? There is no spring in the E-tec system. The plunger is returned to it's "rest" postion by reversing the current through the solenoid which makes the plunger shuttle in the opposite direction. Not really a big difference is there ?

The reversing polarity design does have several advantages to be sure, including the fact that the plunger can return to position faster, and it is quieter than the old spring system.

The E-tec system allows greater control of the solenoid that the Ficht system did, in fact my understanding is that during some running speeds and loads, the computer does not allow the plunger to travel it's entire stroke, i.e. the currrent is reversed pulling the solenoid back. The allows the computer to not only control when the fuel is injected, but how much fuel is injected.

I suspect (but do not know as fact) that the biggest advantage of E-tec over Ficht is the fact that lessons learned during the development of the technology were applied and the bugs of the system were worked out.

If I ever have to buy another outboard (hope I don't) e-tec will be at the top of my list.

 

[superflydudebike]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Personally, I like KISS technology.

 

[MercGuy]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Personally, I like KISS technology.

As do I, but those days are gone forever...

 

[MarkV_Deep6]

Re: Evinrude/Johnson Bad Years?

Ok Merc Guy,

This sounds technically correct and plausable. Do you happen to know the year the springless electronic fuel injection system was implemented. The Ficht engine, after about the year 2000, was hit and miss reliability wise; it was also sold by BRP for a few years. This would be a great bit of knowledge to share.
There are some very good deals around on the Ficht engine due to the reputation of the early systems. If there is a specific way to determine which is which, it helps the guy selling, and the guy buying.