I forgot to ask

[fishingwithblue]

When I first joined I forgot to ask the Evenrude guru's what their opinion is on my 2004 Evenrude Direct Inj 200 HP. It has run flawless until now. During the Memorial Day weekend it had a spell and didn't want to idle in gear to well. Then, at the dock, it would not crank at all. I figured it was the powerhead going? Couple hours later using the fast idle lever I reved it up and got it running and it has been ok, but when you cold crank it it takes about 3 to 6 key turns to get it to fire up. When i got it it cranked on the first turn..............Facts:

I have not had it serviced since I have got it(plugs, filter etc)
I run Penzoil synthetic oil
I have the Coast Guard Approved POS fuel nozzle on the tank(ball bearing with spring thingy)

I ran it yesterday for a couple hours and it did ok but it just seems like something aint right............it aint getting gas right or something is clogged or whatever but it aint right although it runs?!?!?!

[cterrebonne]

change your plugs (dont forget to index them). and if you ever want to sell it leet me know. also how many hours on those plugs?

[tsubaki]

But check for water in the filter, at least rule it out.

[phester]

change the water seperater as well

[THEFERMANATOR]

04 is one of the better models, that was after BOMBARDIER took over. Definately change the plugs and index them properly. Also check your filters and such. You should be running XD50 or XD100 in it. You NEED to run an approved DFI oil in it unless you want it to die a premature death from carbon build-up. ALOT of the FICHT failures have been traced back to improper oil being used and carboning the engine up and sticking the rings. I haven't ever owned or worked on one, but with fuel prices I have considered buying one and done ALOT of reading on them lately as the FICHT stigma has REALLY dropped the resale on the pre-ETEC engines. Also do a thorough de-carb with a heavy shot of SEA-FOAM and use some sort of additive in your fuel to prevent carboning on a regular basis. And the #1 thing I have read on these engines to NOT do is to let them sit and then start them up with regular gas in them. If your going to store it for any length of time(more than 3 weeks), you MUST treat the fuel and the whole fuel system before hand. Put a heavy shot of fuel atabilizer in the fuel as well as ring free or SEA-FOAM. The injectors in the FICHTS are known for sticking and cooking a piston after letting them sit up for awhile.

[cterrebonne]

like ferm said 04's were good ones, it should also have a Magnum gearcase which are beffier than the O types. what was really crappy and didnt help with image was that the 97's 98's had three basically 1000 parts that could fail at a moments notice. emm, ignition module, rec/regulator. i just changed a rec/reg on a 98 this morning that 1st needed the ecu repaired and they after that was fixed (emm kept giving a false overheat) find out that the rec/reg is not putting out proper voltage to charge batteries. 99 and after i beleive they put everything into the emm and water cooled it. only one thing to crap up.

[fishingwithblue]

Ferm......what and how do I do a de-carb with a shot of Sea-Foam, index plugs, and what is the difference in a water seperator and a water filter.
Also how do you recommend getting the thing off? Where do I get the proper oil?

Thanks

Super-Rookie

[THEFERMANATOR]

All of your EVINRUDE dealers will have the XD50 and XD100, and most of them have it in bulk for ALOT better price. You could also use MERCURY DFI oil available from most any marine outlet store. The DFI oil has the carbon inhibitor additives needed to prevent the oil from turning into a black sticky tarry mess inside your engine. In an old school 2 stroker, the oil is carried through with the gas. This provides 2 functions, it thins the oil down so it will coat everything and the gas actually will help to clear the old oil out of the crankcase. In a DFI the oil goes in by itself with nothing else to help carry it, so the oil is formulated to act differently when it is injected. Secondly DFI oil has carbon inhibotors in it to prevent the oil from turning to a black hard sticky mess inside your crankcase. And just like your fuel system can get gummed up from sitting and plug up, so can your oiling system. This is the second part that the carbon inhibitors takes care of, it helps to keep the system clean and flowing properly.

MOST of the early FICHT failures have been traced back to the oil that was used, and the spark plug indexing not being done correctly. As for the De-carb, I would go with the 2 part method on a DFI. First get a can of the SEA-FOAM that you ad to fuel and put that in a seperate can of gas with 3 gallons of gas in it. This will be the mixture that you will run through your fuel system from a seperate tank. And also since you have a DFI that has been run on regular oil, I would also get a spray can of the SEA-FOAM deep creep. On the FICHT engine I believe you'll have to remove the airbox to expose the throttle bodies to do this.

Start off by switching over to the 3 gallons of SEA-FOAM and gas mixture on a seperate tank. Then you'll start the engine with the airbox off and the throttle bodies exposed. While it is running you'll spray the SEA-FOAM DEEP CREEP down into the throttle bodies. I wouldn't do this but for about 30-45 seconds and then stop spraying it and shut it off and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then start it back up and repeat the process. If your carboned real heavy I would repeat this process one more time. This should clear her right out though. The SEA-FOAM is some GOOD stuff, and is alot cheaper than the factories stuff.

[BigDaddy]

Ferm,
you didnt go over "indexing the plugs". This deffinetly sounds like something I need to know since I do all my own maintanance.
Thanks

[THEFERMANATOR]

I had posted it in another post I believe, but here is the link again to the FICHT/DI EVINRUDE indexing article. This is only required on the DFI EVINRUDE's(FICHT, DI, and ETEC).

http://www.boatsetup.com/PlgIndex.pdf