A week on the E-TEC

Well, I got a good week of fishing under the E-TEC. The results are mixed. Trolling speeds varied from 1.4 to 1.9 MPH which is more than OK for my kind of fishing. I spent about 8 hours at trolling speeds most outings. This had caused the motor to load up, and foul a plug when taking off to achieve higher speeds on a few occassions. I guess trolling at 475 RPM may be a lot to ask out of a 3 cylinder for that period of time? Or is it? I used to troll at that speed with a 175 OptiMax with smart gagues. I never fouled a plug. I did however use a straight synthetic oil. So, I am going to have the motor verified that it is in fact set to the synthetic setting, and try a straight synthetic. FYI, I have used Pennzoil synthetic oil in the past, and loved it! It is sold at WalMarts, and meets all warranty criteria. And it does not break the bank! All in all, the motor ran very well. One thing I noticed was that the motor will turn over in gear, but will not start. So if you pulled it up on your trailer in gear, and shut it off, you may be left scratching your head wondering why it is turning over, but not starting on your next outing. I will check to see if this is normal. Otherwise, it is super quiet, and smooth as butter! I had a lot of people comment that it sounded like a four stroke. I will be posting much more as the year progresses.
Tuck

Chris, that seems awfully fast for only 475rpms. Was that backtrolling or going forward?

I have over 80 hours on my 40 E-tec and have had only one problem–when they rigged it they pinched the gas line in the motor casing. It took a few days on that but thats not a motor problem. My motor also turns over when its in gear and will not start. Good thing that it does not. After a couple of times doing that you learn to check to put it in neutral. I have to say that I am very happy with the performance (gas and oil use)of my E-tec.

Yep I think that everyone experiences the Not in Neutral experience. But I prefer that it turns over rather than do nothing.
Might head to the ML for a night of fishing Thursday.
Will probably start where we started last weekend. Big Point Area.

Herb, it is a 3 cylinder 75 horse. I was pretty happy with those speeds. With absolutely no wind, 1.4 in reverse, back trolling, and 1.9 forward. That is with a 15 deg. prop. What would you expect to see? Just curious..
Tuck

Chris,

I’ve heard that they have some special “break-in” program with those engines? I’ve heard of a 67 minute break in with the large block Evinrudes, but what is the break-in procedure outlined for those E-Tec units?

Thanks in advance!

Hey Tuck.
In response to your discussion with Herb about speed, it seems sort of fast to me too considering how low your RPMS are. As an example, I have an Alumacraft TP 175 tiller(which I know is a heavier boat) with a 75 merc 2 stroke. It’s a 3 banger too. I troll at 750-800 RPM and in no wind, I can go 2.0 in forward and 1.5 in reverse. I run a 13x17p prop.
Don’t get me wrong, I think your speeds are great, but I was expecting you to say they were less considering the low RPM.

Mike

Chris, the reason I ask is cause my 60 4stroke merc only gets down to 760rpms, but will troll in reverse at about 1.1 mph. When the water temps get down to the low 30’s, I’ll throw out a couple of 2 gallon buckets and drop to 0.4 to 0.8 mph. All these numbers are in conjunction with current speeds.
Oops, were your numbers taken on a lake? If so, they should drop a bit when you get to the river, I hope.
I’m very interested in what you come up with because I’ve been looking at the E-tec 75 for about a year now, and any info I can gather from others is going to help make the decision.

Hi guy’s I had my boat out again thur. and fri. That 75 E-TEC is just SWEET. I am very happy with the e-tec. I get about 32 mph in a lund pro-angler 1700. Anybody has any question’s about it while I’m out there fishing stop by and say Hi. Good luck Jim