"ksmith1" wrote in message
...
Remember these are not "my" posts but pastes of stuff I've come across
in the forums.



Pastes;

Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:50 pm Post subject: ETEC Cold Water
Performance Reply with quote
With all the recent comments on which outboard to use for powering a
C-Dory, I have to relate my experience to date with a 90 ETEC. Since
taking delivery of a CD22 in April, I have put 114 hours on the main
engine. My overall assessment at this point is the ETEC is not suitable
for use in cold water climates (water temperatures less than 50 degrees
F). The reasons for this assessment are based on several PM's between
Dusty and I comparing the performance of his engine to mine and the fact
that Evinrude could not explain the differences. Here are the problems I
encountered:

a. During April, May, and part of June the EMM would return a no oil
alarm after a few minutes of operation. The alarm could be cleared and
the engine would operate normally if the oil system was primed using the
instructions in the owner's manual. The problem cleared in June after
replacing the oil tank which included all the sensors but that coincided
with higher air and water termperatures. When the problem recurred the
end of September, Evinrude went back to the drawing board and finally
came up with the solution. Apparently the recommended XD100 oil
viscosity increases so much with declining temperatures, it does not
flow well enough to keep the sensors convinced the engine is getting
oil. Evinrude recommended using SkiDoo XPS synthetic snow machine oil.
In the last 12.4 hours of operation during temperatures ranging between
28 and 48 degrees F, I had no oil alarms. I think this problem is
finally behind me.

b. Oil consumption over the 114 hours was approximately 3 times the oil
consumption expected (and seen by Dusty). Evinrude examined engine
reports on two occasions and after more than a month recommended the
dealer look at the cooling system as their assessment the motor was
running too cold. Their review of engine operating showed that it should
have consumed 1.2 gallons of oil during which time I had used 3.5
gallons. The dealer found that the thermostat was allowing the engine to
run 30 degrees cooler than a new thermostat. When I ran the boat with
the new thermostat, the engine sounded much different, (it was quieter),
ran smoother over the full rpm range, and fuel economy increase almost
30% (from 3.5 to 4.5 mpg with the same load). Prior to the new
thermostat, the engine showed its best fuel economy at WOT.

c. During extensive low speed trolling the engine fouled the plugs.
After trolling for approximately 2.5 hours, when increasing the throttle
the engine was missing on two of three cylinders for about 5 seconds and
eventually smoothed out.

d. On my last trip, the water temperatures averaged between 40 and 45
degrees F and the air temperature was between 25 and 45 degrees F. Fuel
consumption declined back to the 3 to 3.5 mpg range, and oil consumption
was unchanged. The engine got its best fuel economy at WOT.

My assessment is the cooling system on the ETEC does not allow the
engine to reach the proper operating temperature to run efficiently in
cold environments where the air and water temperatures are below 50
degrees F.

If anyone has any different experience in a cold environment, I would
like to here about it.
_________________
Tom




Karen,

You forgot the later post from the same person. For your pleasure, I have
pasted it he



Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 12:15 am Post subject:

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I can now report that BRP fixed my motor last Wednesday by replacing a
leaking pressure relief valve and gasket. Basically for the last year I was
running cold water through the block. The BRP field technician explained
that up until 1800 RPM cooling is controlled by the thermostat. No water
should be flowing through the pressure valve. Above that rpm, the pressure
valve starts releasing water into the cooling jacket as the pressure builds
until it is fully open.

Over the last 5 days the motor was running as designed, with no plug
fouling at low speed, smooth idling even though cold (water temp about 36)
and air temps in the morning in the high 30's. Fuel economy was much
improved while going heavy (3 people, 2 kayaks, full fuel, water, beer,
food, inflatable, and just about everything else. On Navman fuel economy was
3.5 mpg. On return trip with only 2 people, 2 kayaks, one inflatable and
less of everything else was 3.8 mpg. All weekend I burned 25 gallons and
covered nearly 90 miles.
_________________
Tom