E-TEC Service Costs
Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 8:59 am
[This topic has been separated from another thread that was discussing a different topic.]
In response to an inquiry about cost of E-TEC 300-hour service which cited a dealer in Greenport, New York quoting $1,250 for the cost of parts and labor, I can offer this response:
I used to have a a c.1992 Evinrude 225, and I did some of the work on it myself, but limited it to simple things like changing spark plugs. I now have a 2010 E-TEC engine. It is approaching 500-hours and has been in service since July 2009. This year, 2018, is thus its tenth year of operation. The total maintenance costs have been extremely modest and have caused me no regrets about buying the E-TEC.
The last service was a few years ago, and the cost was about $300 or $400--I don't recall the exact figure. My dealer, Lockeman's Hardware and Boat in Detroit, is a outstanding Evinrude shop. They sell only Evinrude, and they have a great reputation. All their mechanics are factory trained and certified. The work performed is described below in a follow-up post.
As I recall, I postponed the "300-hour" or "3-year" service to about four years. On advice from Lockeman's, based on his experience with these engines, and based on my type of operation--freshwater, no ingesting of sand or silt--I am stretching the water pump service interval to about five or six years. I have a water pressure gauge and engine temperature gauge, and I have seen no change in cooling water pressure or engine temperature readings this season compared to when the impeller was first installed.
You can buy all the required parts for doing your own work. A dealer in New Jersey, Barnacle Bills Marine, has prepared and sells kits for E-TEC 300-hour service for various models. You might want to contact him by telephone for more information. I believe his telephone is (856) 785-9455. He prefers human voice telephone contact over any other method, from what I understand, so don't text or email.
Re the cost of service: the spark plugs are expensive, perhaps $15 each. Installation requires a torque wrench. The plugs must be carefully indexed during installation. It is sometimes necessary to buy more than six plugs to get ones that will index correctly due to the random orientation of the ground electrode relative to the threads.
The installation of the fuel filter requires use of Oetiker clamps. Oetiker clamps need a special crimp tool. You can buy the clamps from Evinrude or find some similar clamps elsewhere. You can buy a suitable crimp tool for about $30 to $50. Here is a chart I have created showing Oetiker clamp models and the size range in inches and millimeters:
There is a very useful and informative discussion about Oetiker clamps in the archives. See
Oetiker Hose Clamps
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/020693.html
The above thread also has hyperlinks to sources of Oetiker clamps from Home Depot.
A more recent discussion of Oetiker clamps is found in earlier postings to this forum. See
Oetiker Clamps
viewtopic.php?t=622
The above thread includes advice on where to buy the necessary crimp tool at a reasonable price. Also see this listing on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Oetiker-2800-Compound-Action-Pincer/dp/B01IBA4SS0/
The installation of the water pump impeller requires a special technique. If you perform this yourself be certain to get the proper instructions and follow them carefully. Dropping the gear case generally will require removal of the lower side cowlings, and, of course, disconnecting the shift rod. The shift rod height is quite critical and is usually set with a reference length tool. You can make your own tool or just be ultra-careful not to disturb in any way the shift rod length when working on the water pump.
Also, the gear case is heavy. Dropping it is not a problem, but getting it back in place can be a chore. In addition to the drive shaft and shift shaft, there are exhaust housing and seals that need to be carefully aligned. It is difficult for one person to accomplish due to the weight that must be lift upwards while maintaining alignment of the several other components.
It is quite useful and very informative to gather an Engine History Report from the Engine Management Module (EMM) of your E-TEC engine at periodic intervals, and particularly so when performing routine service. To get this information you need to have the EV-Diagnostics software, a computer terminal to host and execute the software application, an RS-232 serial port on the terminal, a specialized cable to connect to the E-TEC EMM, and some instruction and training in use of the software.
The EV-Diagnostics software will alert you to any stored fault codes that have occurred, when they occurred, and how often they occurred. This information will be very useful in providing proper service.
For more about engine history reports from E-TEC engines, see my article from many years ago:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ETEC_EngineHistoryReport.html
If I were not so fortunate to have an outstanding Evinrude dealer close to me, i would probably have more interest in doing my own work on the engine. As it stands, I am quite content letting a professional work on it. The costs have been rather modest and the work has been done to an excellent level of competency. Considering the cost of the engine, spending $300 or so on its service every three to five years is a trivial expense. If I were in a situation where the service provider asked for $1,200 for the 300-hour service, I would certainly look into performing it myself. That price seems quite extravagant.
In response to an inquiry about cost of E-TEC 300-hour service which cited a dealer in Greenport, New York quoting $1,250 for the cost of parts and labor, I can offer this response:
I used to have a a c.1992 Evinrude 225, and I did some of the work on it myself, but limited it to simple things like changing spark plugs. I now have a 2010 E-TEC engine. It is approaching 500-hours and has been in service since July 2009. This year, 2018, is thus its tenth year of operation. The total maintenance costs have been extremely modest and have caused me no regrets about buying the E-TEC.
The last service was a few years ago, and the cost was about $300 or $400--I don't recall the exact figure. My dealer, Lockeman's Hardware and Boat in Detroit, is a outstanding Evinrude shop. They sell only Evinrude, and they have a great reputation. All their mechanics are factory trained and certified. The work performed is described below in a follow-up post.
As I recall, I postponed the "300-hour" or "3-year" service to about four years. On advice from Lockeman's, based on his experience with these engines, and based on my type of operation--freshwater, no ingesting of sand or silt--I am stretching the water pump service interval to about five or six years. I have a water pressure gauge and engine temperature gauge, and I have seen no change in cooling water pressure or engine temperature readings this season compared to when the impeller was first installed.
You can buy all the required parts for doing your own work. A dealer in New Jersey, Barnacle Bills Marine, has prepared and sells kits for E-TEC 300-hour service for various models. You might want to contact him by telephone for more information. I believe his telephone is (856) 785-9455. He prefers human voice telephone contact over any other method, from what I understand, so don't text or email.
Re the cost of service: the spark plugs are expensive, perhaps $15 each. Installation requires a torque wrench. The plugs must be carefully indexed during installation. It is sometimes necessary to buy more than six plugs to get ones that will index correctly due to the random orientation of the ground electrode relative to the threads.
The installation of the fuel filter requires use of Oetiker clamps. Oetiker clamps need a special crimp tool. You can buy the clamps from Evinrude or find some similar clamps elsewhere. You can buy a suitable crimp tool for about $30 to $50. Here is a chart I have created showing Oetiker clamp models and the size range in inches and millimeters:
There is a very useful and informative discussion about Oetiker clamps in the archives. See
Oetiker Hose Clamps
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/020693.html
The above thread also has hyperlinks to sources of Oetiker clamps from Home Depot.
A more recent discussion of Oetiker clamps is found in earlier postings to this forum. See
Oetiker Clamps
viewtopic.php?t=622
The above thread includes advice on where to buy the necessary crimp tool at a reasonable price. Also see this listing on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Oetiker-2800-Compound-Action-Pincer/dp/B01IBA4SS0/
The installation of the water pump impeller requires a special technique. If you perform this yourself be certain to get the proper instructions and follow them carefully. Dropping the gear case generally will require removal of the lower side cowlings, and, of course, disconnecting the shift rod. The shift rod height is quite critical and is usually set with a reference length tool. You can make your own tool or just be ultra-careful not to disturb in any way the shift rod length when working on the water pump.
Also, the gear case is heavy. Dropping it is not a problem, but getting it back in place can be a chore. In addition to the drive shaft and shift shaft, there are exhaust housing and seals that need to be carefully aligned. It is difficult for one person to accomplish due to the weight that must be lift upwards while maintaining alignment of the several other components.
It is quite useful and very informative to gather an Engine History Report from the Engine Management Module (EMM) of your E-TEC engine at periodic intervals, and particularly so when performing routine service. To get this information you need to have the EV-Diagnostics software, a computer terminal to host and execute the software application, an RS-232 serial port on the terminal, a specialized cable to connect to the E-TEC EMM, and some instruction and training in use of the software.
The EV-Diagnostics software will alert you to any stored fault codes that have occurred, when they occurred, and how often they occurred. This information will be very useful in providing proper service.
For more about engine history reports from E-TEC engines, see my article from many years ago:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ETEC_EngineHistoryReport.html
If I were not so fortunate to have an outstanding Evinrude dealer close to me, i would probably have more interest in doing my own work on the engine. As it stands, I am quite content letting a professional work on it. The costs have been rather modest and the work has been done to an excellent level of competency. Considering the cost of the engine, spending $300 or so on its service every three to five years is a trivial expense. If I were in a situation where the service provider asked for $1,200 for the 300-hour service, I would certainly look into performing it myself. That price seems quite extravagant.