Etec question?

Giorgio · #1 11-01-2020, 08:58 AM

At the end of the season, my friend Lloyd was having problems with his 1987 Wellcraft V20 with a 2008 Evinrude ETEC 200HP, it wouldn't start, then did, wouldn't go over 3,000 rpms. He brought it into the shop and they wanted to know how, at first fresh water got into the head. He told them he didn't know what they was talking about, then he was told it was salt water, so when did the boat sink, well the boat never did sink. After back and forth he was then told, "the motor was seized and Etec has a flaw. Here is what the mechanic said the flaw was, Blow off valve nuts and bolts rust causing it to leak salt water into the engine and the pistons were full of water". The motor is being replace with another 200 HP ETEC, a 2012, so if it is true about that flaw, will this motor have the same defect? Now I have a question, only Rh head/block is being replaced, it has 0 hours on it, but they will still be using his lower unit, could that cause a problem, the lower unit is a 19??. I do not know the year of the lower unit.

Destroyer · #2 11-02-2020, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giorgio

At the end of the season, my friend Lloyd was having problems with his 1987 Wellcraft V20 with a 2008 Evinrude ETEC 200HP, it wouldn't start, then did, wouldn't go over 3,000 rpms. He brought it into the shop and they wanted to know how, at first fresh water got into the head. He told them he didn't know what they was talking about, then he was told it was salt water, so when did the boat sink, well the boat never did sink. After back and forth he was then told, "the motor was seized and Etec has a flaw. Here is what the mechanic said the flaw was, Blow off valve nuts and bolts rust causing it to leak salt water into the engine and the pistons were full of water". The motor is being replace with another 200 HP ETEC, a 2012, so if it is true about that flaw, will this motor have the same defect? Now I have a question, only Rh head/block is being replaced, it has 0 hours on it, but they will still be using his lower unit, could that cause a problem, the lower unit is a 19??. I do not know the year of the lower unit.

Since I'm ever the conspiracy nut I always question things. So, since the engine wouldn't go over 3K RPM's my question is how long was it from the time it was running at 3K till when he actually brought it into the shop? It seems fishy (no pun intended) to me that a running engine... even a poorly running engine, was suddenly seized. Also, it's impossible for the cylinders to be full of water since that would cause a hydraulic lock (water does not compress, so as the piston was rising up in the cylinder the water would prevent the piston from moving). The engine would not be able to run. But you said that Lloyd said the engine was running. It cannot be both. Either the engine wasn't running or the cylinders were not full of water.

In all cases, there does seem to be some problem with the blow off valve nuts being made of steel and the bolts being made of SS on some models of the etec. From the discussion I'll post here it seems the repair is rather straight forward and sometimes quietly covered by BRP. Check out this link. https://www.etecownersgroup.com/post...-Valve-5620499

Giorgio · #3 11-03-2020, 08:40 AM

D, Thanks for the reply. I only know what I was told, they went out fishing and she wouldn't start, started and so on. They took it to the shop the same day or the next and that is what they were told by the owner of the shop in Lindenhurst, Long Island.

I just sent Lloyd an email with your response, lets see if anything else transpired between the mechanic and him or if he has changes.

So the Lower unit could not cause the water getting into the pistons? I know it's crazy, but something rolling around in my head.
THANKS AGAIN!!!
BE SAFE!!!!!

Destroyer · #4 11-03-2020, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giorgio

D, Thanks for the reply. I only know what I was told, they went out fishing and she wouldn't start, started and so on. They took it to the shop the same day or the next and that is what they were told by the owner of the shop in Lindenhurst, Long Island.

I just sent Lloyd an email with your response, lets see if anything else transpired between the mechanic and him or if he has changes.

So the Lower unit could not cause the water getting into the pistons? I know it's crazy, but something rolling around in my head.
THANKS AGAIN!!!
BE SAFE!!!!!

The lower unit has the impeller sitting on top of it. It's the water pump for the engine. There's a long tube that runs from the pump up into the bottom of the engine block and then from there the water is directed through various channels thru the engine and then back out again back into the ocean or lake or river. There would have to be a leaking gasket or a cracked block for water to get into the cylinders. The blow off valve is one such place. So while the impeller itself cannot cause water getting into the pistons, since it is the water supply it can indirectly do so. It would be like saying the pipe out in the street is the reason for a leak inside a house.

THEFERMANATOR · #5 11-03-2020, 09:12 PM

The blow off valve opens around 3000-3500 rpm's to bypass the t-stats, and let the engine run cooler. If the valve sticks it can cause overheating, but not put water into the engine. Unless it overheated and blew a headgasket.

Giorgio · #6 11-04-2020, 07:13 AM

Thanks for the responses and I relayed them to my friend. So now we're hoping this new one works next season.

As you can see I know nothing about O/B's, so here is another stupid question, I told Lloyd to have them run the new one while he was there before he has them winterize it, he said the newer engines winterize themselves, how is that possible, true or false?

THANKS AGAIN!!

BE SAFE