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Ok, so it seems the Revenges I find all have 'questionable' motors. I passed on a 1986 22 with a 1986 Johnson "2-thirsty-5" and now have found a newer hull (1990) with a 2000 Evinrude Ficht 225hp.
Obviously there are different opinions of this year and motor. Some say the there were issues with only 200hp and lower, others say "stay away" and yet others say "every brand has certain motors with issues".
Anyone want to chime in who may have experience with this specific motor?
jay if it helps, I purchased a 1984 20' outrage this fall powered by a 2002 175 fict. Its easy on oil and good on fuel , its not My 2009 etec I will tell you that. The engine only had about 250 hours on it when I got it . I've put about 20 hours on it since I got it with only 1 Problem but it was a non use related problem. I was told by my dealer If it has a BRP logo on it , its fine yhey are good engines a little fussy but good they do however eat plugs. I hope this helps .
I'm a Merc guy and I want to make that clear up front, with ZERO personal Ficht experience. But I have been following outboards for years.
During most of 2000, the old OMC product line was in limbo as Bombardier took it over, 3 years before they finally spun off the present BRP organization. What I do remember is the earliest ads they ran, trying to improve upon the badly damaged OMC/Ficht reputation, and the poorly performing Ficht engines OMC produced 1997 until the end. If you remember, the ads were something like "5,000,000 parts had to re-apply for the job". The problem Bombardier found is that in the last 3 years of OMC, as they were heading down the toilet, they were building engines with poorly toleranced parts, causing most of the Ficht problems, and literally had to dump this substandard 5,000,000 parts inventory they inherited. Some engines were good, some were not.
So the question I would have is whether the 2000 year engines were too soon for the clean up and redesign work to have been accomplished, and whether a 2000 year Ficht was excess inventory from OMC and built with those bad tolerance parts. I do not know that answer. I do remember they were practically giving them away, which is probably why the Revenge got repowered with one. I would say it's at least a "buyer beware" situation. Any Johnson/Evinrude engine 1997-2000 should be a red flag because of the parts problems.
If the boat is really nice, it still could be worth a purchase. When I have bought used Whalers, I basically only look at the boat, and assume that is what i am paying for. That is where the true value is. Just assume you may have to repower in your budget, and that engine will have little residual true value for all the reasons mentioned. Most used engine buyers, or dealers on a trade it, will be afraid of one. A good used engine could be a repower cost saving possibility.
I would say the same thing about any Mercury Optimax 1998-2003.
I can tell you with complete confidence that brp didn't produce a single outboard with omc parts. I am not the biggest Ficht fan but the engines are good but not without problems. i did buy this whaler with the fact that the power was newer and it didnt have many hours on it. I was putting a 100 hours a year on my etec on my classic whaler , I am hoping to split those hours between the 2 boats. I run xd 100 in both engines. I wouldn't hesitate to buy an brp Ficht especially if you plan to repower at some point. I do think the reputation the engine has was not with out its merrits. Talk to your dealer, Im sure he has an opinion. I spoke to 2 dealers before I bought mine. My local dealer and the dealer the engine that was sold/ mantained it.
I did a lot of research, spoke to my local dealer, etc. My dealer confirmed all the info that is out there...some run great, others are dogs. He had a Ficht in the shop at that moment that was going on it's third computer, another he head recently was junk, w/ low hours... and yet another of his customers had one that ran great!
That was just too much swing for me, I do not want to take the chance and really don't want to plan a re-power within a few years after upgrading.
Thanks all.
Just gonna keep the Montauk until "the deal" comes along...not gonna rush it.
Finnegan wrote: I'm a Merc guy and... I would say the same thing about any Mercury Optimax 1998-2003.
Not to hijack the thread but I have to say I own a 1999 135 Mercury Optimax that's been nothing but reliable for me in the four years I had it. I've heard the horror stories about "Opti-Bombs" and anecdotes that in particular some of the higher horse power models were bad news, but I suspect if you find a Mercury Optimax 1998-1999 vintage motor that's been cared for and running well with appropriate hours on it, at a price you find reasonable, don't be afraid to take a chance.
Finnegan wrote: I'm a Merc guy and... I would say the same thing about any Mercury Optimax 1998-2003.
Not to hijack the thread but I have to say I own a 1999 135 Mercury Optimax that's been nothing but reliable for me in the four years I had it. I've heard the horror stories about "Opti-Bombs" and anecdotes that in particular some of the higher horse power models were bad news, but I suspect if you find a Mercury Optimax 1998-1999 vintage motor that's been cared for and running well with appropriate hours on it, at a price you find reasonable, don't be afraid to take a chance.
Thanks Brooks,
I'm going to look at a 1999 Duantless 18 with a 1999 135 OptiMax. My Mercury mechanic says if the motor checks out, nothing to be dissuaded by.
Even if the 1999 135 Optimax is a good running engine, and many were, they are one of the loudest running engines around. The giveaway is the earlier Mercury 2.5 liter low profile cowl that was also used on the carbureted and EFI models, 1998-2002. In 2003 they improved the acoustics with a raised higher profile cowl. I would not buy one of those earlier 2.5 liter Optimax engines, period. 2003 and later is what you want in the Optimax family.
Don't even consider buying one until you water test it at 4000-5000 RPM. You won't like the sound.
Don't say I didn't warn you. During those years, the conventional Mercury 150 and 200 EFI's were the quietest running large outboards on the water, but not the Opti's.
I have a pair of Mercury 200 EFI's on my Outrage 25, and they are VERY quiet running, almost like Verados. When a friend took me out on his Outrage 25 with a pair of 1999 Opitmac 150's, I waas shocked how loud they were.
I could never live with that kind of running noise, even though they are one of the most fuel efficient 135's ever made. That is their main plus side.
