Field Report: 2016 Evinrude E-TEC 90 Engine

[Denny 47]

In August of 2016--almost eight years ago--I purchased an Evinrude E-TEC 90-NP engine to re-power my 1989 MONTAUK 17 boat. Since then, I have followed the three-year maintenance schedule, and I have also winterized the engine every year [presumably using the Evinrude E-TEC unique auto-winterizing function--Moderator]

The Evinrude E-TEC 90 engine has performed extremely well. The E-TEC 90 engine has mostly been operated on freshwater in the Columbia River, but there has been some operation in tidal water.

Soon the time will occur for another three-year service interval.

SPECIFICALLY TO OTHERS OWNERS OF EVINRUDE E-TEC ENGINES:

Q1: have other owners of E-TEC engines had any problems with the engine?

Q2: for other owners of E-TEC engines who have had problems, what were the problems?

[jimh]

I bought a model year 2010 E-TEC V6 225-HP engine in the Summer of 2009. Beginning in 2018 and following years, I have written extensively about the routine service that has been performed and also about any unusual repairs that were necessary. You can read my detailed report at

E-TEC Engine: Maintenance History After Ten Seasons
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=6&t=3937

[jimh]

A better website to inquire specifically with owners of an E-TEC 90-HP engine will be at the ETECOWNERSGROUP. COM website. That website is specifically focused on E-TEC engines, and the forum is organized by engine size and horsepower. To find more information about E-TEC in-line three-cylinder engines, you should visit

https://www.etecownersgroup.com/etec-i3-136483

I recommend you post your inquiry there, as you will likely find that there are many more readers who own E-TEC three-cylinder in-line engines than will be participating here on a website whose focus is Boston Whaler boats.

[dtmackey]

I agree with Jim: you should post elsewhere with more user input on that model motor.

While Jim's positive experience with his E-TEC 225 is an apple-to-oranges with your motor with almost nothing comparable to share, my suggestion would be to keep up on maintenance . I owned a couple earlier model model E-TEC 90 engines that suffered cooling faults with the EMM. The EMM’s fault were cooked and required new EMM modules and injector offset programming before the motor could run reliably.

They E-TEC’s are great engines if taken care of, but dealer support in the past three years has vanished. I'm currently selling a 21-foot boat with an E-TEC 250 and finding lots of pushback.

D-

[jimh]

As I have not owned and operated an E-TEC 90-HP engine, I cannot offer any first-hand account of repairs or maintenance I have done on an E-TEC 90-HP engine. But I am compelled to comment a bit about that engine, so please indulge me as follows:

The E-TEC 90-HP in-line three-cylinder engine was the initial E-TEC engine introduced. In my opinion, it was a fantastic achievement in outboard engine design. I have always admired the engine power head layout and the compact size. Everything fits together very well and the result is a compact cowling, a startling contrast to the monstrous-sized 90-HP four-stroke-power-cycle engines that were on the market at that time such as the enormous HONDA BF90.

The E-TEC 90 also introduced the modern outboard engine to NMEA-2000 data output. This was another amazing innovation.

And the E-TEC 90 also introduced the modern outboard world to the ability to obtain from the engine itself a complete engine history report showing a great amount of information about how the engine has been operated, what diagnostic codes the engine has generated, what the present version of engine firmware was resident in the computer, and also the ability to alter some engine parameters related to use of different grades of lubricating oil.

For all these reasons the E-TEC was an amazing outboard engine when introduced in c.2007. I suspect that over the total production run of the E-TEC the 90-HP version or its little brother the 75-HP version were probably the most popular engines in the line-up and produced in the highest volume.

That Bombardier Recreational Products stopped make the E-TEC engines, and particularly the 90-HP model, was probably one of the hardest-to-understand decisions by a manufacturing company. Their assembly line and plant was extremely modern and capable of producing outstanding products. Their engineering staff, workforce, and support staff were all loyal long-time employees, and throwing out the Evinrude product line was a tragic waste of those resources.

[Phil T]

BPR shut down Evinrude because they wanted to focus on highly profitable businesses. The outboard engine industry takes a lot of R&D, is highly competitive , and has a few monster players who have a majority of the boat builders locked-in.

There is nothing wrong with the Evinrude products.

The corporate owners are just greedy bastards.

[haywirefarm]

I have a 2006 E-TEC 90 and a 2011 E-TEC 200 HO. Both run great and get the boats on plane in just a few seconds. The 90 has had a starter replaced. The 200 HO has had two gear cases replaced.

I am sure the 200 probably has around 225-HP. I think it's underrated.


I'm sad that these engines are no longer being produced. The instant torque a two stroke provides is amazing.