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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | In a recent house/garage fire I lost a '97 681 VS Ranger w/a 115 HP 2 stroke Yammy on the back. Never had a single issue with that motor. Wonderful rig.
So, instead of going smaller I got myself into a bit bigger boat w/a 150 HP 4 stroke Yammy on the back. I'm not familiar with these critters.
On the last motor I changed plugs yearly, fogged her out before storage etc. I changed the lower unit oil and generally took care of it as best I knew how.
I'd appreciate any helpful and "should do's" with this new motor. Seems I don't have to do much. Do I need to change the engine oil before storage every year? Lower unit oil? Admittedly I fudged a few yrs. doing this on the other rig b/c that lower unit oil never got milky or anything
Anything I should do as a regular and necessary maintenance item that's not obvious? I'd really like to take care of her. My last boat looked close to brand new and she was going on 15 yrs old save for some Suick "slam/bang" chips on the cowling. I can live with those...
Thanks much. Seriously, I'd like to know what, if anything, I need to take care of.
Jeremy.
Edited by Jeremy 6/16/2012 4:55 PM
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | had a 04 F150 never had a problem change oil lower unit oil so when i was looking at a new boat was glad to see it had a F150 on it just got done changing oil and lower unit for the break in know its good to go for the year. after im done for the year i ghange the oil lower unit and its good till the next year |
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Posts: 3488
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hi Jeremy,
I would say what you have been doing with the 2 stroke will be on the same lines with the 4 stroke. The only change being an additional step of changing the engine oil at storage time (depending on the amount of use, though)
What I would bet you can do is do a search on the internet and see if you can come up with a PDF version of the owners manual for your engine. That would specify storage items, maintenance items, etc.
One thing I believe that engine has is a belt on top of it (similar to a timing belt, which is what it very well could be). I've always thought that a spare belt would be a good thing to have...especially on a trip.
Steve
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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | Steve,
Thanks very much. The rig's really new and I haven't even had the top cowling off yet. She's still to get wet yet too, due to the house work/fixing ..but soon now!
I'll do a search and see what I can dig up. I do have the owners manual but wanted a run-down from those familiar with 4 strokes. My apologies if the ??'s seemed amateurish but sometimes you guys can suggest some things you have to do and others that are ..ahh, maybe not such a big deal.
Thanks very much for your suggestions.
Jeremy. |
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Location: 31 | I recommend using/ researching Yamaha Ring Free, I use it religiously along with non-ethanol premium in my 4 stroke Yamaha.
Otherwise just break it in properly and follow your service manual for oil changes, filters etc.
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Posts: 582
| you don't have to change the plugs.. this is different than taking care of a 2S.. Just change oil, and lower unit oil and run Seaform or some type of stabilizer in the tank for storage. This is how i take care of mine and i have had no issues since 2007 on my Suzuki. I have yamaha snowmobiles, ATV's and a 60 hp on the pontoon.. Same deal, they are all 4 Stroke motors.
there is just no need to FOG or change the plugs. |
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Posts: 3488
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
As preventative maintenance, I would say plugs are a cheap investment, unless they cost an arm and a leg...then I can see holding off a bit and not changing them yearly.
Granted plugs will last much longer on a 4 stroke as a 2 stroke, but at a minimum they need to be pulled and the gap checked yearly if you choose not to replace the plugs.
I would also tend to think fogging is a good idea if the motor is going to sit in storage as it coats the cylinder walls on the inside of the combustion chamber where engine oil cannot reach. Again...a simple preventative maintenance procedure to ensure the motor is good to go season after season.
Steve
Edited by VMS 6/18/2012 5:34 PM
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Location: Des Moines IA | I agree. 4 plugs for my Suzuki cost less than 10$ and are super easy to change out, so they get changed every year. I run Royal Purple synthetic oil in it as well. I run less than 100 hours a season, so I don't mind the extra couple of bucks. |
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Posts: 437
| Change the engine oil/filter and lower unit every fall. No fogging.
One thing to check is that you have a fuel/water separator filter installed. Most reputable dealers install these before selling and some boat manufacturers put them on if factory rigged.
This looks like an oil filter that has your gas line connected to it. This filter needs to be replaced each fall as well. When doing this just unscrew it like any filter (place a bucket or some rags underneath because it will have gas in it). Take your new filter, fill it with gas and then put it on.
Otherwise just grease any fittings you see.
You should be good to go. |
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Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | Thanks Capt. I made some ref. notes for the Fall.
J. |
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