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Posts: 770
| Looking to winterize my boat myself this year and looking for some direction. Have never done this before. Does anyone have any specific literature or instructions they follow for DIY winterization? |
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya!!
For your motor, the few things I would do are these
1. Dump the correct amount of fuel stabilizer in your tank, then run your motor long enough for the stabilized fuel to reach the motor. If you have a canister fuel filter, you may want to empty that first, then reprime the system to save a bit of time and fuel.
2. Once stabilized fuel is running through your engine, shut it down and let it cool. I don't know how many people do this...I do it just to coat the cylinder walls...remove each plug and spray a little fogging oil in each cylinder, then turn the engine over by hand to help coat the rings, and piston chamber.
3. Button everything back up. Engine done.
If the boat is in a garage, I will always stuff a couple of dryer sheets into the exhaust housing of the engine just to deter any potential furry critter from trying to find a nice place to snuggle for the winter... I
Depending on time of use, Drain and refill the lower unit oil. If you are due for a regular oil change do it as well.
When spring comes, fire away and you will good to go...
Steve |
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Posts: 426
| ^^^^^^What VMS said. I've been winterizing my own out boards that way for 40 yrs. Never had a problem in the Spring. My 115 Merc Pro 4 stroke was done as described above. I drain and refill the lower unit before storage along with an oil change. The fogging oil in the cylinders is easy to do except for the #4 cylinder. You will need a short piece of rubber hose fitted over the spark plug insulator to reinstall the bottom plug. This makes starting the plug very easy. With out it reinstalling the plug is a nightmare. Good Luck^^^^
Edited by 7ovr50 12/17/2020 4:06 PM
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Posts: 416
Location: Madtown, WI | I just performed my first 4stroke winterization on a mercury 90HP, just as described by VMS (although I didn't turn engine by hand). Really is very little to be afraid of, if you can unscrew a bolt and pour a fluid you will get through it without issue. The bottom spark plug is a big tricky though, I more or less had to assume I was spraying into the cylinder but got it back in without too much trouble.
Also, I just start stabilizing my fuel in November jic it ends up being my last trip. |
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