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Author Topic:   225-HP Ficht Has Bad Piston

WitnessProtection posted 08-18-2008 12:03 PM ET (US)
[This article began with the author including a notice of some previous time and place where the article was posted. Such information is not particularly useful or in our area of interest and it has been removed. If you are cutting and pasting your own words, there is little reason to include the historical date of when you first wrote those words--jimh.]
I just bought a 2001 Stratos 20SS Extream bass boat with a Evinrude 225 Ficht. When I bought it I took it to my local marine man. [The local marine man] hooked a computer up. [The 225 Ficht] only had 71 hours with no [error codes found stored in the EMM]. Good, right? Three hours later later the #2 piston seized. [I] trolled for two hours to get back to the ramp. I took to [the local marine man] again hooked the computer up and still no codes, good oil, good water pressure, absolutely no codes. [The local marine man] said that Evinrude has had some problems with the bottom of the piston collar just breaking off and causing this problem. Since there were no codes it is his guess that this is what happened. [Inquires if anyone has heard from their local marine man of this sort of situation]. What could have happened? Now I am looking at $4,000 in repairs.
Tohsgib posted 08-18-2008 01:07 PM ET (US)
Find a used engine and scrap that Ficht. No sense in putting $4,000 into an engine that would only be worth $3k when finished.
WitnessProtection posted 08-18-2008 06:21 PM ET (US)
[Rhetorically asks] where would I find a 225-HP motor that new for that amount? The motor only has 74-hours. Have others had or heard of this problem? What might have happened? [Was not seeking advice on whether or not to make the repair.]
jimh posted 08-18-2008 08:09 PM ET (US)
I believe that a 2001 model year Ficht engine is a fairly early version of the Evinrude Ficht motor. I have seem many older Ficht engines in service with lots of hours. Many of the government or municipal boats I have seen this summer have been powered with older Ficht engines. A friend of mine has a Ficht motor and it runs very well.
I agree with your assessment: it is very difficult to find a good 225-HP motor for only $4,000.
When you have a problem with an engine that causes a major failure such as you have experienced, it is very important to determine the cause of the failure before you attempt to rebuild the engine. It makes no sense to rebuild an engine if you have not determined what caused it to fail, and made a remedy for that problem. If you just rebuild the engine without fixing the cause of the failure, the engine will fail again. Therefore, be very sure you know what caused the #2 cylinder to fail and seize before you spend $4,000 on a rebuild.
WitnessProtection posted 08-18-2008 09:52 PM ET (US)
Why [the #2 piston failed on this 2001 Evinrude Ficht] with no [error codes recorded in the EMM] is beyond me. [Announced he was terminating his interest in following this discussion. However, this thread will be archived as excellent information was provided to this participant.]
seabob4 posted 08-18-2008 09:57 PM ET (US)
The motor in question , if it was original to the boat, is now 7 years old, well beyond the scope of any warranty. One must remember what caused the bankruptcy of OMC. The Ficht motor. Unfortunately, regardless of the hours on the motor, the product had design flaws that ultimately caused OMC it's corporate life.
Your best bet? Get over it and move on. You can find a pre-Ficht Evinrude/Johnson (allows you to use the same controls/harnessing) for less than $4 grand, and you'll get a reliable motor.
Back in '89, at Wellcraft, hung a 225 Ficht, fired it up, less than a minute after she was running, started shaking ALOT, and seized, right out of the box.
seabob4 posted 08-18-2008 10:06 PM ET (US)
Sorry, 1999 was the year. WitnessProtection, you, along with thousands of others, have fallen prey to a low hour Ficht. Some will run forever. But you never know. Ocean Runners? Ocean Pro's? Good motors.
Don't worry about JimH. He tries his best to keep this site clean and uncluttered, and we do our best to abide by the high standards he tries to set. He means you no ill will.
Unfortunately, if you did do your research on Ficht motors, you might have stayed away from this deal. Or you did the research and took your chances. Whatever the situation is, your boat is not going nowhere right now. Are you pissed? Yeah. But tell that to all the employees who lost their jobs because of OMC's lack of research. You won't find many shoulders to cry on.
jimh posted 08-19-2008 07:30 AM ET (US)
Thread closed as originator has posted notice he will no longer participate in it.

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Author	Topic: 225-HP Ficht Has Bad Piston
WitnessProtection	posted 08-18-2008 12:03 PM ET (US) [This article began with the author including a notice of some previous time and place where the article was posted. Such information is not particularly useful or in our area of interest and it has been removed. If you are cutting and pasting your own words, there is little reason to include the historical date of when you first wrote those words--jimh.] I just bought a 2001 Stratos 20SS Extream bass boat with a Evinrude 225 Ficht. When I bought it I took it to my local marine man. [The local marine man] hooked a computer up. [The 225 Ficht] only had 71 hours with no [error codes found stored in the EMM]. Good, right? Three hours later later the #2 piston seized. [I] trolled for two hours to get back to the ramp. I took to [the local marine man] again hooked the computer up and still no codes, good oil, good water pressure, absolutely no codes. [The local marine man] said that Evinrude has had some problems with the bottom of the piston collar just breaking off and causing this problem. Since there were no codes it is his guess that this is what happened. [Inquires if anyone has heard from their local marine man of this sort of situation]. What could have happened? Now I am looking at $4,000 in repairs.
Tohsgib	posted 08-18-2008 01:07 PM ET (US) Find a used engine and scrap that Ficht. No sense in putting $4,000 into an engine that would only be worth $3k when finished.
WitnessProtection	posted 08-18-2008 06:21 PM ET (US) [Rhetorically asks] where would I find a 225-HP motor that new for that amount? The motor only has 74-hours. Have others had or heard of this problem? What might have happened? [Was not seeking advice on whether or not to make the repair.]
jimh	posted 08-18-2008 08:09 PM ET (US) I believe that a 2001 model year Ficht engine is a fairly early version of the Evinrude Ficht motor. I have seem many older Ficht engines in service with lots of hours. Many of the government or municipal boats I have seen this summer have been powered with older Ficht engines. A friend of mine has a Ficht motor and it runs very well. I agree with your assessment: it is very difficult to find a good 225-HP motor for only $4,000. When you have a problem with an engine that causes a major failure such as you have experienced, it is very important to determine the cause of the failure before you attempt to rebuild the engine. It makes no sense to rebuild an engine if you have not determined what caused it to fail, and made a remedy for that problem. If you just rebuild the engine without fixing the cause of the failure, the engine will fail again. Therefore, be very sure you know what caused the #2 cylinder to fail and seize before you spend $4,000 on a rebuild.
WitnessProtection	posted 08-18-2008 09:52 PM ET (US) Why [the #2 piston failed on this 2001 Evinrude Ficht] with no [error codes recorded in the EMM] is beyond me. [Announced he was terminating his interest in following this discussion. However, this thread will be archived as excellent information was provided to this participant.]
seabob4	posted 08-18-2008 09:57 PM ET (US) The motor in question , if it was original to the boat, is now 7 years old, well beyond the scope of any warranty. One must remember what caused the bankruptcy of OMC. The Ficht motor. Unfortunately, regardless of the hours on the motor, the product had design flaws that ultimately caused OMC it's corporate life. Your best bet? Get over it and move on. You can find a pre-Ficht Evinrude/Johnson (allows you to use the same controls/harnessing) for less than $4 grand, and you'll get a reliable motor. Back in '89, at Wellcraft, hung a 225 Ficht, fired it up, less than a minute after she was running, started shaking ALOT, and seized, right out of the box.
seabob4	posted 08-18-2008 10:06 PM ET (US) Sorry, 1999 was the year. WitnessProtection, you, along with thousands of others, have fallen prey to a low hour Ficht. Some will run forever. But you never know. Ocean Runners? Ocean Pro's? Good motors. Don't worry about JimH. He tries his best to keep this site clean and uncluttered, and we do our best to abide by the high standards he tries to set. He means you no ill will. Unfortunately, if you did do your research on Ficht motors, you might have stayed away from this deal. Or you did the research and took your chances. Whatever the situation is, your boat is not going nowhere right now. Are you pissed? Yeah. But tell that to all the employees who lost their jobs because of OMC's lack of research. You won't find many shoulders to cry on.
jimh	posted 08-19-2008 07:30 AM ET (US) Thread closed as originator has posted notice he will no longer participate in it.