Used motor

[cartfan]

Anyone have anything good or bad to say about a 2001 115 2 stroke Johnson? I'm looking at a used boat that has one.

[united jigsticker]

Is that the FICHT model?

If so, make sure it has been in for all proper recalls...they were problems when they came out.

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Good fishing,
UJ
[email protected]

[EBass]

Where's Sandman when you need him. He has that motor and had/has issues with it.

[Guest]

That should be a Bombardier motor, and a very good motor regardless. It's not a FICHT because it's a Johnson. Evinrudes were FICHT.

I have a '99 Johnson 115 (carb) and it has been the best motor I've ever owned.

[Fish On! Guide Service]

If its the motor that UJ is speaking of, by all means, stay away from purchasing it. A gentlemen at work has a brother who purchased one brand new in a package deal, brought it out for its maiden vouyage and suffered 8 g's worth of damage. The company said that it would be well over a year to get his motor fixed because all parts from salvaged motors are already being used. I love Johnson motors, but apparently the engineers designed this motor with major flaws.

Stephen

[Fish On! Guide Service]

Checked with the gentleman again tonight at work about that motor and i guess his brother only did $5000 worth of damage not 8. According to the manufacturer, it's still going to take a year plus to acquire the needed parts.

Stephen

[united jigsticker]

CD is correct in that if it is a Johnson it is NOT a FICHT. My apologies.

------------------
Good fishing,
UJ
[email protected]

[Guest]

Fish on,
With all this hearsay, what kind of motor are you talking about? Parts are readily available for OMC/Bombardier.
You should post exactly what motor it is before making general statements.

[LundExplorer]

The biggest problem I heard of w/ FICHT motors was carbon fouling of the cylinders, which caused blown powerheads and a lot of warranty claims to replace powerheads (which also apparently bankrupted OMC...they sold to Bombardier!!)

The 150's were a lot worse than the 115's. In either case, there is a specific install procedure for the spark plugs, they must be 'indexed' so that the plug electrode points a certain way in the cylinder. Depending on the plug thread, some will orient correctly and some will not. OMC advised against using a shim to get the correct indexing. This reduced carbon buildup of the cyl.

Also the use of a carbon guard product apparently helps keep the engine from fouling.

My Dad has a 2000 115 FICHT so we did some research on it. Its been a very good motor.

[Fish On! Guide Service]

CD, I'm not positive the exact size the Ficht. As you stated, its was a "general statement"; I'm sure some people have had great success with their ficht motors, this gentlemen did not and neither have many others. I have never heard anything positive about this product line, just the negative, which to most people would make them turn their purchase elsewhere to help reduce buyers remorse. With that being said, it makes common sense to me that this product, not the manufacturing firm, should be avioded.

My post was to be informative about the problems I've personally heard that this manufacturer has had with this type of motor, not to personally bash on a specific firm. All manufacturers have engineering flaws at one time or another, it just so happens that this is one of them. The gentleman who did purchase this motor used it one (1) time (this was a brand new unit) ruined the motor and according to him, its going to take a year plus to acquire the necessary parts to produce a funtional motor because of the lack of parts available. Did I speak directly with the manufacturer to confirm what I was told? The answer to that question is NO! He's a trusted source of information and I've never questioned his integrity. I don't enjoy relaying false information and I'm not employed by or affiliated to any firm that competes in this industry, so I don't have any ulterior motives for stating false-hoods.

I do not proclaim to be an expert on any subject matter; I'm just relaying information given to me by trusted sources. I have had no personal experience with this product line, I want to make it clear that I'm speaking from an objective point of view. Hopefully this sufficiently answers your question CD.

Stephen

[Guest]

Sorry, but this is what confused me "I love Johnson motors, but apparently the engineers designed this motor with major flaws."

LundExplorer is right. Evinrude FICHT had bad years when they were OMC, mainly in the 150+hp engine class from 1997 (I believe) thru 1999. That's what contributed to OMC's issues. In 2000 Bombardier took over and redesigned everything. Bomb backs up all those engines from there on.

I'm sure we all just wanted to know the year and make of the motor you are talking about. You are talking in present tense "its going to take a year plus to acquire the necessary parts to produce a funtional motor because of the lack of parts available". I can't believe it would be a Bombardier....they have some of the best motors out there right now. Even when OMC went capooey I got parts back then with no problems.

Johnson also makes 4 stroke engines with are basically Suzuki. Those parts are shipped from Japan and can take awhile (know people who had this issue).

I just want to clear the air a bit for cartfan. If I were him and read your post, I would have swayed away from the motor he was interested in buying. Not fair to the seller. It's a great motor he's inquiring about, in my opinion.

[Fish On! Guide Service]

I love Johnson motors myself and for some reason I thought Johnson made the said motor too. Apparently, because of the pitfalls in the motors design, all parts that have become available are being used for warranty issues so it seems. I'm not positive, but this seems to be the most likely cause for the year delay.
Hopefully I didn't come off as a jackass in the last post, that wasn't my intentions.

Thanks,
Stephen