by Mac26Mpaul » Sun Feb 19, 2012 7:52 pm
I have just spoken to the ETEC tech nearest me (they have a very good rep so hopefully he is right in what he has told me). He said that it is not common for those units to die, infact he has never replaced one in the 40 to 50hp range. He said that the bigger ones suffer leak down problems and can be a pain but with the 40 to 50hp ones, it is the electric motor that can fail. He said he did one only last week. What happens is, they begin to rust where the wires go into them and salt water gets in.
Surprise surprise, there is all rust around where the wires go into mine,,, so hopefully that is what is its, rather than the whole thing needing replacing.
I think he said, the motors are about 360 bucks, sometimes a pain to get in, sometimes not a problem, but I can count on a coupla hours labour. He said, if this is what it is, count on 800 bucks all up, but it could end up being less depending on how easy it goes in etc.
So in the US, I guess you may be looking at under 400 if you have the same issue...
Anyway, the missus, who looked at me this morning as if the sky was falling when I mentioned 2 and a half grand, is now talking to me again, and seemed quite relieved when I said, hopefully under 8 hundred! She said, maybe within a month.....
When I get the new one fitted, I am going to coat that area in CRC from now on every time I do the trailer drawbar and breaks etc.... My boat was in the water for about a year, and there is quite a bit of corrosion at the bottom of the mounts etc. If your boat lives in the water, I would suggest you take a look around your tilt motor and protect it with something.