posted 12-09-2012 11:29 AM ET (US)        

Here is the breakdown of the individual charges:
Waterpump Impeller; $39.96,
Internal Fuel Filter; $9.96,
Spark Plugs; $99.72 ($16.62 each),
Gear Lube; $40.65,
External (Racor) Fuel Filter; $27.00,
Shop Supplies; $2.00,
Haul/Launch; $35.00,
Labour: $175.00 ($70/hr x 2.5 hrs),
State Tax: $33.27.

Some of the individual item charges seem high to me (i.e., gear lube at $40.65) but it's what our dealer charges (in upsate NY). (Note; we expressly had the dealer complete this service in order to keep the remaining 2 years of the 5 year warranty "valid"). I know I can obtain most of the parts at a lower cost, and will when I do the next service myself.

If you average the $462.56 over the three-year interval, it equals about $155 a year in maintenance costs. I am wondering what the annual maintenence costs for a 150-HP, four-cycle outboard are in comparison? Can others provide their annual costs for Verado, Suzuk, Honda or Yamaha outboard engines? No builder bashing, please just your real costs (at a dealer) in order to get a real comparison of these real costs.

For those interested, over the 3 years, we put just under 140 hours on the motor. It is used primarily as water transport between our marina and our family cottage on an island in the St. Lawrence River.

Thanks

posted 12-09-2012 12:13 PM ET (US)            

Here is my service summary as of June 2012:

E-TEC Three Year or 300-Hour Maintenance

My model-year-2010 Evinrude E-TEC 225 E225DPXISE was put into service in July of 2009. It is now beginning its fourth season of operation, is three years old, and has 227-hours of run time. I had my dealer perform maintenance on the engine as recommended, although we did omit one item. Here are some observations I made as I watched the service being performed.

The exhaust pressure sensor was removed from the exhaust passage and inspected. It was found to be unclogged and only lightly sooted. It was soaked in a solvent, washed, dried, and returned to service.

The six iridium-tipped spark plugs were all removed and replaced with new OEM spark plugs. All of the old plugs had a very similar appearance; they looked sooty but not wet or oily. The gap of one of the old plugs (chosen at random) was measured at 0.029-inch, which is about 0.001-inch wear of the electrode from the original 0.028-inch gap. It was noted that one of the old plugs had lost the very tiny iridium pad on the ground electrode. The precise effect of that missing pad is not known. The new plugs were installed and indexed without difficulty.

The gear case oil was drained. The old oil showed no sign of any water intrusion, but it did have the characteristic smell of old oil. The color was described as good, and the discharging oil was all uniform in viscosity and without any sign of globules or other anomalies. On the magnet of the filler cap screw there were three or four very tiny whiskers of metal that had been attracted and held in place by the magnet. The gear lubricant was replaced with the HPF-Pro gear case lubricant. (Minor faux-pas: I don't think the O-rings on the filler cap screws were replaced, but they looked to be in excellent condition.)

The fuel filter was removed and replaced with a new OEM filter. The fuel drained from the old filter was clear, showed no sign of water or other contaminants, and appeared to be pure gasoline. (We did not have an ethanol test kit handy to test the ethanol content.)

The thermostats on each cylinder bank were opened and inspected. The temperature-sensitive valve mechanism was free of corrosion and in perfect working order. In one thermostat there was one tiny grain of sand entrapped in the housing. The thread compound used as a sealant in the original assembly was removed from the threads of the thermostat cover, and Evinrude Triple-guard marine grease applied as a sealant instead.

While the lower shrouds were removed from the engine, I removed all the soot from the mid-section. Portions of the white painted mid-section had been blackened with soot. (The soot is exhausted by the exhaust idle by-pass assembly and can accumulate under the lower cowling panels.) I will be interested to see how much soot accumulates in the future now that I have reduced the oiling rate to the XD100-only setting.

The history of the engine extracted from the EMM showed no over-heat conditions, and the engine temperature histograms showed proper cooling was being provided. The engine speed histogram showed that engine speed was generally always below 4,000-RPM for the great majority of the operating time. The existing water pump was providing water pressure at all engine speeds within specification. Based on this evidence, and based on the experience of the dealership with the general durability of the E-TEC V6 water pump in freshwater service of this type, it was decided to not change the water pump at this time. I will probably change the water pump at the beginning of the next season. This saved some time as we did not have to drop the gear case off the mid-section and overhaul the water pump. I was comfortable with the advice of my mechanic in this decision. If any problems occur this season, I can always service the water pump at that time.

posted 12-14-2012 02:40 PM ET (US)            

Labor $100 per hour

Total $427.96