Ficht Ram

[Timbo1980]

I am in need of a second hand outboard, no way can I afford a new one. So I have been doing a bit of research on Ficht Evinrudes as there have been two for sale close by. One of which has since sold. I realise there were issues with these motors but I believe they were sorted out at some stage but maintained a bad name. So I wanted to know if by the 2000 Ficht Ram 115hp models had they sorted out the lower leg issues? Would that model have the spray patterns that where meant to prevent carbon build up at low revs. And with regard to the ECU/EMM if it is downloaded will it show all old fault codes or could someone clear the codes before selling it? Any helpful advice/experience with 2000 models 115hp would be great, Thanks Tim

[Noelm]

The V4 Fichts gave very little trouble right from the start, not too sure what you mean by lower leg issues? Make sure there is someone who knows these engines well close to you, they do have a bad name and the price should reflect this, similarly, expect very little when you want to sell or trade sometime down the track! I had a pair of 2000 model 115s that I put over 2,300 hours on with no trouble at all, and the guy I sold the boat to was still running them untill recently.

[hilta1]

I had a 175, only time I had trouble was just after getting it serviced twice in a row, turned out the computer the dealership was using would put a spike through it if they had it plugged into the mains! only found that out after I sold the motor, only got 1500 for it but the guy who bought it hasn't had an issue since, now got 2000 hours on it and going strong.

[Timbo1980]

Noelm,
I did read the v4s didn't suffer the issues as much as the v6s. I think I read somewhere that there were weak lower legs that would fail very early on, but I only saw it a couple of times. Where you running XD50 or the Etec oils? I have read they don't fair well with carbon build up.

Hilta1,
Although I like the idea of the new technology and better economy etc the electronics do worry be a bit as its not something I could repair myself. Sounds like it was not the fault of the motor in your case just the dealership which is disappointing.

Thanks for the advice, Tim

[Noelm]

XD 50 was all I ever used, remember that the motor you are looking at is 13 years old? So you will need it checked out properly. It is possible to get a print out of any faults and operating revs and so on, why are you after a FICHT especially? The later years hen BRP took over were after about 2002 the 2000 model will be an OMC built one.

[cormorant]

How many hours a year do you do ? What motor do you currently have and what is wrong with it - sometimes better the devil you know.

I ask as for going for 10 year old motors with lots of electronics to gain a possible fuel saving it is probably a false economy. I simple carby or preferably plenum/ manifold injected motor is much cheaper and easier should it need repair.

Cowan dealer knows those motors backwards so get in contact with him and ask him too look up the serial number and see if it had any warranty failures and he will be able to tell when and where the motor was sold and original owner if you are serious about it.

2 sorts of codes are recorded on the computer. hard and soft. Soft are things like over or under voltage and hard are more major fault codes. It shows how many times each code happened. Soft can be wiped but hard remain ( can't remember but possibly only for a further 100 hours) .

With any 2nd hand motor get compression test and have it checked over and be wary of anything without a service and ownership history you can verify. Especially with the electronically controlled injected motors it is worthwhile doing a water test ( or tank with test prop) to ensure it is still making power under load as many issues don't become apparent till then.

The " special " oils XD50 are simply a cleaner burning , low carbon / ash deposit oil that was a better quality than the standard TWC 3 oils available . XD50 semi synthetic and XD100 full synthetic. In later motors the computer could be set to use less xd100 due to it's higher quality but not with your model.

As above comments at that age it is all about condition but the fact it has ficht on the cowl basically meant that after you have used it for a few years it will be worthless so make sure it is priced accordingly if you pursue it.

Lower units / gearbox = both the v4 and v6 johnson and evinrude gearboxes are tough and only issue I was aware of was some crap gearsets in the v6 ones around that time. The gearshift must be set up to the correct height and you need a proper jig to accurately shim them when rebuilding. Newer oils in them allows high hours and as long as you jamb them fast into gear rather than rattle em in they last well.

In the end if it is a absolute bargain and checks out it may be worth a punt and you may get a decent run out of it or go another 2 stroke with no fancy electronics that will cheaper to repair and any outboard mechanic will work on and diagnose issues easily. I am still very wary of 13 yo 4 strokes that haven't got a 100% record of service and oil changes as they are unaffordable to repair if they have any head or valvetrain issues.

Do the research and ask the questions on motors as all brands have their stars and dogs in various horsepowers.

Dumb question but what hours and what $ do they want for it?

[Timbo1980]

The reason I ask about the Ficht is there are two locally for sale, one is 2000 model and 20inch then other is 2002 model but 25inch. The boat is a V17C and the old 85hp Suzuki is stuffed and I am not prepared to spend money on it its just too old and has too many issues. I started researching the ficht after seeing the two local ones. I basically want 115hp, but could drop to 90 go up to 130. After reading about the fichts I thought I might be able to pick one up cheap due to the bad rep they have, and if a later model maybe not have the earlier issues of the ficht. What would be an expected price for a 115 ficht 2000-2002 model?

By the way thanks for all the help.
Tim

[Mister]

Ficht historically is debted with destroying OMC but it was actually OMC management that destroyed themselves. Now if a 2000/01 Ficht 115 hasn't blown up by now then all sounds good, go for it. If it was a 98/99 model of any HP or specifically a 2000/01 model 200 or 225 then don't touch it.