Considering an 00 Epic Boat

[theboat]

I don't know much about these boats, I have been spending some time searching the forum and Google. It seems most people love their boats but some people run scared. If I buy one, should I expect to be able to buy parts and get service consistently in the future?  I normally DIY my own service but I did call my local boat service shop and he said he couldn't do much repairs on them, only basics like water pump replacement and winterization etc. 

The gauges are inop on the boat I am looking at currently which seems to be a common issue. The engine was replaced a few years ago due to freezing.  What about all my sensors, ECM, etc on the boat?  I would have to have issues and not be able to diagnose or repair then have a dead boat.   Thanks in advance!

[Sammamish Skier]

I own a 1999 model and it has been great. Aside from the timing belt change I've done very little maintenance on the engine. The engine aside from freeze damage is darn near bullet proof if properly maintained (spark plugs, fluid changes, shaft alignment, filters and raw water impeller) Winterizing is super easy compared to other marine motors I've owned and after doing it a couple times only takes me a couple hours.


For the gauges I ended up replacing mine with standard gauges, it's fairly easy if you have done wiring before, there is however a bit of contortion involved. There is a good thread here http://www.epicmarine.com/forum/index.php?topic=2817.0
where I listed out parts and a supplier that builds a kit for our boats.

For engine diagnosis I bought an aftermarket usb scan tool on ebay that came with software that when configured for an excelsior can read our engine info. Any repair shop that regularly works on toyotas and has a decent scan tool should be able to read codes if you don't want to buy your own. Note that eventhough the engine has an OBD 2 port the protocol used is not standard OBD 2 so inexpensive off the shelf readers won't interface with the ecm

[theboat]

That is very helpful info, thank you!  Are the sensors and parts on the engine standard Toyota parts or are they marine specific?  Such as drive by wire parts/sensors, Throttle body etc.  ?

[Sammamish Skier]

For the mostpart the parts are standard toyota/lexus parts. The ECU is specific to this engine as far as I know. There are a handful of parts that are marine specific like the exhaust headers intake, raw water pump, alternator, oil cooler setup and one of the block drains.