Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | What they did to it depends on the model/type of motor you have. Here's a few things that may help you.
Most all winterizing includes the following.
Change lower unit oil.
Add fuel stabilizer to the fuel tank, run the engine allowing the fuel stabilizer to get in the gas lines up to the motor.
Here's where they start to differ. I own an Optimax and a carburated four stroke and I do both of my own.
Traditional carburated two strokes. Fog the engine through the carburator. Once it quits, put the hood back on and tuck it away until spring.
Direct inject two stroke (Optimax) Remove spark plugs and inject approx. 1 oz. of winterizing oil through each plug hole. Turn the motor over to distribute on cylinder walls, reinsert plugs and put it away for the off season. This is recommended in Mercury owners/service manual if you intend to store the boat for longer than about 10 weeks.
On my Yamaha four stroke they recommend the same procedure as the opti. I.e. lubricate it through the spark plug holes. Yamaha manual also recommends this if you are not going to run the motor for a period of two-three months.
When it comes time to put it back in the water, just start it up like normal. It is going to smoke a little for the first few minutes while the engine burns the storage lubricant.
If you're going to run it again this season either take it back to the dealer or follow your owners manual on long term storage procedures and you will be fine.
Just make sure that if you live somewhere where the temps get below 32 degrees that you let the motor drain after final use by lowering it to the verticle position for 10 minutes or so.
Hope this helps |
