Ficht question

evilgli · #1 10-26-2009, 09:28 AM

is there any difference in a 1999 225 Ficht and a 2001 225 Ficht engine? i have noticed the early engine just say Ficht..and the later engines say Ficht Ram Injected.. thanks

THEFERMANATOR · #2 10-26-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilgli

is there any difference in a 1999 225 Ficht and a 2001 225 Ficht engine? i have noticed the early engine just say Ficht..and the later engines say Ficht Ram Injected.. thanks

Yes, there is ALOT of difference between the two. They are COMPLETELY different engines and not hardly a single part from either would interchange. If considering going with a large HP FICHT, the 01+ isn't horrible, but mid year 03+ is better. The 01-early 04 though have had quite a few lower unit issues with them. The earlier 98-00 200/225 FICHT's weren't plagued with most of the problems that gave FICHT's a bad rep like the 150/175 did from 97-00, but they do have some MAJOR flaws in them that have to be addressed. The EMM's in all of the early FICHT's are failure prone, and there isn't much you can do about it other than having DFI do there upgrade which still isn't a cure all. Also the earlier 200/225's earned a bad reputation due to fuel leaks in them that have caught more than a few on fire if all of the updates haven't been performed to them. The 01+ 200-250's are a larger displacement 3.3L engine which helped out with engine failures, but the added torque caused alot of lower unit failures. I did alot of homework on the early FICHTS before I decided to stay with my carb engine.

evilgli · #3 10-26-2009, 10:02 AM

thanks for the info.. what is with the early ones not saying "RAM".. and the later ones do say it??

here is the engine in question.. he said he would give me 2000.00 for my engine a 1999 200 ocean pro..then i give him 1000 on top and he would install and rig on my boat.. he "says" all the updates have been done on the engine.. what do you think ferm?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tab%3DWatching

THEFERMANATOR · #4 10-26-2009, 10:24 AM

The RAM badging was a last ditch effort by OMC just before they were bought out to get the sales numbers up on the FICHT engines and to try and move past the stigma of the FICHT's. Hence whya as soon as BRP took over they got rid of ANYTHING that said FICHT on it first thing even before they changed the design of the engine the first of 03 for the mid year 03's. If you're serious about it I would get the ID numbers off of it and go to an EVINRUDE dealer and have them check to see if all of the factory updates have been performed. Next take it to a qualified shop that knows how to work on a FICHT engine(they are similiar to ETEC's, but still not many can work on them) and have them do a full diagnostic on it and computer print-out of the EMM. Also find out when the EMM was last rebuilt or replaced. By now just about all of the EMM's have failed or are on there way out. And I wouldn't even consider one unless you could take it out and run it hard for at least 30-45 minutes of real world running at 4500+RPM's. Most EMM failures don't show up cold, but show themselves after 20-30 minutes of hard running. And the early warning signs of many is the voltage will run up past 14.8 volts(they have a regulator, but I believe all FICHTS have an EMM circuit to trigger the regulator so they can reach high voltage for start-up and then drop back). I personally decided to keep my carbed engine and set it up for max economy rather than going to a DFI after doing some homework on em. My 225 burns about 2 GPH at a dead idle, and roughly 3-3.5 trolling which is close to double that of a DFI engine, but at cruising speeds my fuel burn is pretty close(roughly 10-11 GPH at 3600-3800 RPM's). A DFI will have it's biggest fuel savings at low RPM's where it is roughly 2-3X more efficient, but at WOT they are only about 10-15% more efficient. At cruise they can be as much as 40% more efficient, but realistically 20-30%. This is true of 4 strokes as well, the faster you run them the lower the efficiency difference between them.

I personally feel that I can buy ALOT of gas for what a simple EMM repair can cost(roughly$1200), not to mention if it needs an injector(about $250 each for a FICHT) and the shop's labor. Just about any repair on a FICHT requires a laptop and the appropriate software to link up with the EMM.

evilgli · #5 10-26-2009, 10:42 AM

thanks for all the info ferm.. now i'm gonna get to checking things out.. that 200 ocean pro is killing me in fuel running 40 miles offshore..

THEFERMANATOR · #6 10-26-2009, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilgli

thanks for all the info ferm.. now i'm gonna get to checking things out.. that 200 ocean pro is killing me in fuel running 40 miles offshore..

Look at it this way. How much fuel do you use now? Take that number and reduce it by 25%. That is about how much you will save each trip. Now figure how many trips you make a year and figure your annual fuel savings. Once you do this many times you will find that you won't save anywhere near as much as you think unless you are the twice a month boater. Then also figure in roughly a $1K every year or two for repairs if you don't use the FICHT often, and you find that you may actually spend more by the time your done. A FICHT engine NEEDS to be started every two weeks and run for about 10 minutes unless it is properly set-up to be stored, otherwise the injectors will give you problems and take out a cylinder or two with em.