2006 225 H.O. E-Tec on 520 Ranger

[Cape Cod Comanche]

I just swapped out my 2003 H.O. 225 Ficht for a 2006 H.O. 225 E-Tec. I was looking at a costly rebuild of my lower unit. The motor was not under warranty (expired). The repair shop stated that the cause was most likely due to physical damage to the motor. My skeg had decent nicks on it, and I busted up a prop last year. I definitely have hit rocks on more than one occasion, but always at basically idle speed. My last time out, I spun a hub, and the motor was making some nasty clanging sounds as if something was loose, and banging around inside.
During my ownership, I had many problems with the motor running hot and could very rarely go WOT without exceeding 6000 rpms. I had a 26 Raker prop, and Bob's hydraulic jack. If I raised the jack just one notch, the motor would overrev. The good news was that the boat was very fast for a Ranger. I was consistently getting 72 mph on gps. However, after this latest problem I decided to start fresh and put a new motor on, rather than throwing good money at bad.
I am feeling a little uncomfortable about staying with the 'Rude. I looked long and hard at Merc 225 Pro XS. It just so happened that the shop that was working on my boat had an '06 E-Tec in stock, and I just pulled the trigger. I didn't want to go shopping around for a motor, and then look for someone to install it, etc. Half the fishing season would be gone by then. My primary concern is that in the June 2005 Bass & Walleye Boats issue on the 225 Shoot-out, The E-Tec was having problems overheating, and melted several hubs. This caused damage to the lower unit. I'm thinking this is what happened to my old motor. They were using the new Magnum gearcase. Does anyone know if those issues have been resolved? Also, I'd like general input on what to expect performance and reliabilty wise, and any suggestions to avoid the over-revving/overheating problems. I'm going with a 27 four-blade Renegade for a prop this time. I also noticed they were using a 30" prop in the Bass & Walleye Boats test. Would that work for my rig? Also, are there new gauges that come as a package with this motor?

Thanks for any input.

[Jason Phillips]

The problems they had in that shootout were stemming from a pre-production Magnum XP gearcase. That is not the gearcase that is coming on the H.O.'s now. They are using the Lightning lower unit. It is a similar design to what you had on the '03, but with different internals. The newer version is as close to bullet-proof as you can get (as long as you don't hit too much--any time you hit something with ANY lower unit, you stand the chance of causing internal damage over time).

You will love the E-TEC H.O. I have had an '05 and an '06 and have been very pleased.

Put it in the water, hammer down, and don't look back. Don't forget, you don't have a break-in period on this motor, so run it any way you want straight out of the box.

[302w]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cape Cod Comanche &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I'm going with a 27 four-blade Renegade for a prop this time. I also noticed they were using a 30" prop in the Bass & Walleye Boats test. Would that work for my rig?

Thanks for any input.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would go with a 28 raker. From some post I have seen on the Ranger Board, that's seems to be what most guys are running with that combo.

[The Bar]

I had the same taste in my mouth with the ol' Rude~ almost same scenario with lower unit on a 2000 Evinrude FICHT` decided to buy new motor~ ETEC vs MERC 225xs~ Went with the E-tec so the taste was not that bad. Mainly because 7yrs warranty. Had an oil pump problem to start things out, but other than that love this motor. Its hard not to when some one else is paying for my problems the next 7 yrs. I think you will be happy.

[rudetech1]

With the E-tec you will definately need a 28 pitch prop,Actually you should have been running one on the old engine. The lightning gearcase will have a whole different effect on your boat on top end. The one thing to remember on gearcases is that when you hit anything , you need to check the lube imediately,Or asap. If you think of how much rotating inertia is put out by the power head on a Big v-6 and is transferred to the pinion gear, it's not hard to imagine what even the slightest impact can do to the gears. This can cause imprinting on the gears,a (mashing effect), that alters the tolerance of the teeth that were in contact at the time. The damage doesn't show up immediately, but will slowly damage all the other teeth as the pinion passes them . Then at the next tourney, you shoot it out of the hole and it revs up and wont go any where. All b.s. aside, all motors have this problem. I garantee you will like the E-tec. Gears and all. Get a 28 pitch prop so you can control the beast, this is one of those times to wear a life vest til you get used to the engine.

[woody912]

I have the t shirt for what you just wrote, prop strike in October, vibration at the end of the day in late November, new l/u today and $4500 poorer but a lot wiser.