Ficht replacement

[patrickh]

I am looking at replacing my '98 Johnson Ficht 175. I just lost 2 cylinders and think Ill put the money in another outboard instead of taking chance with more problems with this one. Was thinking of a 115 Merc. Rarely ran the 175 at WOT so thought less motor may help the pocket book. I have a 19' Scout 192 Sportfish. I dont need to go 50mph, but getting on plane quickly with the 175 was nice.

 

[imported_JD__]

Re: Ficht replacement

patrickh,<br />I've owned 2 of the 115 Merc 2-strokes.<br />A good solid engine except:<br />1. Runs on 2 cylinders at idle, the transition from 4-2 is sometimes quirky, takes awhile to level/smooth out.<br />2. Engine is sensitive to trim position at idle, must be almost level to idle smoothly.

 

[BRIAN03]

Re: Ficht replacement

Yamaha there is 5 years offered on hpdi Factory warranty. A 150 HPDI would be perfect on your Scout.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Ficht replacement

It is not worth putting a large amount of money into a '98 like yours. Evinrude now has a 7-year warranty promotion going on, and to save a few bucks, the 150hp version will work very well for you on that boat. A V6 135 Evinrude would be the minimum hp on that boat. You can go to a 2 stroke carbureted Johnson in a 150 or 175 and get a 5-year warranty should you wish to do that. <br /><br />Keeping with a Johnson or Evinrude saves you from having to buy new controls, gauges, and wiring, and paying extra charges for un-rigging and re-rigging everything in the boat.

 

[bossee]

Re: Ficht replacement

Hi,<br />Probably a 140-150 hp 2- or 4-stroke will be OK. If You want 4-stroke have a look at Suzuki DF140 or Johnson 140 4-stroke (same outboard as DF140 but painted white).<br /><br />They are not so heavy and also not so expensive compared to 150 hp 4-stroke (Yamaha F150 and Honda BF150).<br /><br />There are some Performance Information sheets on Your boat and Yamaha 150 hp at http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products/otb/perfbull/v4v6perf_02.html <br /><br />But it seems the PDF files are missing for your boat...<br /><br />Mercury 135 Optimax could also be an outboard that will fit both the need for force and your wallet perhaps?<br />Probably 115 hp outboard will be reasonably OK also, your boat is 19 feet and weight is about 1300 lbs without outboard. I have myself a boat that is 19 feet and about same weight and I have a Yamaha F115 4-stroke and it runs just fine (almost 40 knots). It is a DC/Bowrider, Yamarin 5820, that is only available in Scandinavia<br /> http://www.yamarin.com/index.cfm?ChangeSetNow=5 <br />It is rated for 150 hp but that is not needed for normal use.<br /><br />/Bo

 

[patrickh]

Re: Ficht replacement

Thanks for all the info! I didnt think about the rerigging for a change of makers. So many choices, so little money.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Ficht replacement

If you can't afford a new 2004 FICHT, look around for any leftover or good used 2002 or 2003 models. These were Bombardier built engines and are next to bulletproof.

 

[patrickh]

Re: Ficht replacement

I cant believe how I went this whole time in ignorance of this engine problem. Is it a conspiracy against me or do I just need to suck it up and deal with the fact that Its an expensive toy and It can break. I understand that Bomb doesnt have to warrant stuff they didnt build. I understand that my dealer wont help me cause he's been burnt by the whole deal. But how is it I have gone from 98 to November thinking this engine I had was O.K. when now after the fact, finding this awesome website do I find postings to it just like mine as far back as 2001. Sorry to rant, but It leaves a bad taste in my mouth for OMC, Bombardier, my dealer and even Scout Boats.

 

[patrickh]

Re: Ficht replacement

I am sorry to rant. I really appreciate the response to my other posting. I did have the lower unit resealed just before it blew up. Is repair a viable option on a 98 with only 117 hrs on it? Its just so hard to believe that such a beautiful machine could be so bad.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: Ficht replacement

Not all of them are bad, there are many still running fine, but even the factory said that 1 in 5 had problems. That is why they sent teams out to modify all the engines in the field to make them better.<br /><br />Because of its history, there is very little trade in value on these 6 year old motors. That is why it is not viable to spend a lot of money on them such as rebuilding.