E-TEC

[SDoolittle]

Is anyone running an E-TEC motor? If so, how do you like it? What was the price difference from the same size four stroke? I'm considering one, but I can't find many reviews.

[KS_Bassin]

I don't have one but i do got the E-Tec dvd about the engine i have watched it a few times if you'd like i will ship it to you. Just send me your address.

[surfer]

My dad's pontoon has a 150 E-TEC.  He charged me with maintenance if he bought it.  In turn I get to use it anytime without notice provided he is not using it.  It is a very quiet motor.  Most boater I know who know about the new 4 strokes automatically assume its a 4 stroke because of how quiet it is.

Now on to the bad stuff.  I don't know if this was dealer related or E-TEC related.  We had to have the brains reprogrammed.  It would go into a safety mode and only idle. This suck when you are miles away from your destination.  At its worst point it would not run unless the motor was tilted up out of the water.  This makes no mechanical sense to me, but somehow a brain reprogram took care of it.  This took 5 trips to the authorized mechanic to get it right.  The dealer, E-TEC rep and authorized mechanic did not update one another and that responsibility landed on me if it were to get done.  I did not think that was appropriate on their part.

I am very happy to have the motor now.  It does what you would expect and is pretty good on gas compared to my dad's old boat.  The pontoon boat has three pontoons and holds 15 people.  It jumps on plane and dose about 35 with a full load of 15 adults.  Shocks most people because they think of a pontoon boat as a cruiser only.

Sorry I can't comment on price.  

[RobDar]

I think they cost about the same as a comparible Four stroke.

A handful of guys we fish with...as well as a couple I have seen out and about while fishing...have the E-Tec. I have not heard any major complaints about it.

The reprogramming mentioned by someone else is the first time I have heard anything like that...though one of the the guys I talked to did have some sort of electrical problem...he did not know anything more than the motor would not respond to the key being turned...he said " I do not know I just drive the thing"

One guy had a throttle problem...throttle was jumpy, when he pushed it forward it would lag and then jump up to its RPM's. He felt that this was a motor rigging problem not actually a problem with the motor.

Another said he feels it is really sensitive to gasoline quality. He feels he notices a difference between filling up at speedway or shell...I kind of think this is his imagination since almost all gas is "pool" gas these days.

..but my father in law has had a ton of trouble with his mercury...

my dad always says never buy a car built on a monday or a friday...maybe the same is true of outboards LOL!

[Way2slow]

Check out the required scheduled maintenance and what the different things cost on the four stroke and then on the E-Tec and see which one looks better.