Don't Winterize Yet........... but,

[Rick]

here is a helpful checklist:

NOTE: Avoid injury due to accidental engagement of your prop, we recommend you remove the prop from your motor before winterizing.

If your motor is water cooled; running your outboard without an adequate source of cooling water will result in severe damage to your outboard!

1. Fill your fuel tank and add a conditioner. Mix thoroughly

2. Run motor for about 5 minutes at fast idle to ensure the gas with stabilizer has entered the carburetors and floats. Make sure you use a flusher over water intakes to keep engine cool check to see if water is coming out of the telltale.

3. Use engine tune up spray on your engine before winterizing. The spray works better on a warm engine. Make sure engine is off.

4. With engine running fog in the carb's with a good grade outboard fogging oil.

5. Fog until engine stalls. Make sure you alternate between carb's or better yet use two cans of fogging spray. Do this in a well ventilated area. It will be smoky.

6. Change gear oil. Put a pan, to catch the oil, under the lower screw hole. Unscrew the lower hole first. Then open the upper one and the gear oil will drain into the pain. Check your oil, it should not be cloudy, that indicates water in the lower unit. Which means you need new gaskets. Metal shavings mean gear problems.

7. Refill by inserting the new gear oil tube spout in the bottom hole and squeezing until oil over flows out of the top hole. Keep pressure on the tube or quickly the lower hole to keep the oil from pouring out. Replace the top screw first then the bottom screw. Be careful not to cross thread the screws. Tighten the screws. Do not over do it and strip the threads. Your screws are steel and your gear case aluminum.

NOTE: It's easier with the quart or larger containers and the small hand pump designed for them. The pump has a hose and a fitting on the end that will screw into the lower hole. Then you pump until oil comes out the top hole, replace the top plug, remove the hose, and replace the lower plug.

8. Grease all motor zerks.

9. Remove fishing line around the prop thrust washer.

10.Disconnect your batteries. Clean the terminals with baking soda solution, dry thoroughly and Charge Them Up! If this can be done in a warm environment, so much the better. Put Vaseline over the cleaned terminals. Store them in a well ventilated area, preferably above the freezing point. You should also recharge the battery once a month during the off-season to prevent electrical discharge and degradation of the electrolytes.

11.Store outboard in down position if possible. If not, and you're in an area that freezes, then cover exhaust outlet in center of prop so water won't collect and freeze.

Other Considerations:

12.Grease trailer hubs and bearings.

13.Wash and wax the hull.

14.Inspect all nuts and bolts.

15.Block up trailer axle, remove the boat weight from the tires.

16. Remove drain plug, this allows drainage during storage outside.

17.Open all hatches. Place an open bag or two of charcoal in the bilge and in any other enclosed areas. It won't hurt the opened area's either.

Any other good ideas to throw in here?

[Northlander]

Great stuff Rick! Thanks.

[can it be luck?]

Also pick up all the loose tackle that never gets put away due to not haveing enough time while partakeing in a "relaxing" sport. Police up any "stowaway" nightcrawlers, minnows, and panfish that may be hideing in your vessel. This year I'll be putting in mouse traps. It seems like every year in the Spring, I find what I think are my "fake" mouse bass baits laying around....Only to find that, not only do they look real....They are real!!! Dam mice. Other than that, Rick seemed to cover it all!

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 09-15-2003).]

[metro 1]

great tips ,thanks. I guess some mouse help is also needed.I have heard that drier sheets (bounce,ext.) will drive them away.My mother swears by peppermint oil for the buggers.maybe some kind of perpetual trap that just keeps on working. Another question I have is getting the water out of the motor after a late season fishing trip like November/December? Great tips .metro

[Fisher Dave]

For mice throw bars of Dove soap in a few different places... has worked great for us in campers.

[can it be luck?]

Where do you hide cheese from mice??? Under the bar of soap! I guess that's why we call them "dirty rats"

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[Uncle Grump]

I throw some moth balls (pellets) in my boat - seems to keep the mice away - espec. if I keep it (boat) covered - helps hold the odor in.

UG

[Aquaman01]

Thanks, Rick!
I plan to keep my o/b indoors over the winter - anything I should do?

Rob

[Steve Bakken]

As a back-up plan in case all the other "mouse repellants" fail, we always recommend to our customers to throw in a couple of boxes of good old mouse poison. Dead mice really stink, but it sure beats replacing the wiring in your boat.

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Steve @ www.bakkensboatshop.com

[kindafishy]

This is the time of year I start adding stabalizer when I fuel up. Seems I never know when old man winter cuts off my open water fishing and this way I know the fuel is well mixed, rather than add and top off the tank before storing.

[Northlander]

Do I need to fog a 25 horse Yamaha before I put it away or can I go without? Whats the best brand and way to do it?

[Steve Bakken]

Hi, Northlander,

Many people don't fog and do get by with it but ultimately it will shorten the life of your motor. I would definitly recomend it. Most all of the brands are essentially the same. One thing you can watch for when choosing a brand is to make sure it has some sort of agitator in the can so the heavier lubricants get mixed well. The easiest way to do it is to pull the spark plugs and spray it into the hole while somebody else pulls or cranks the motor over so that it is evenly distributed on the cylinder walls.

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Steve @ www.bakkensboatshop.com

[fishing addict]

this may be a dumb question but I don't know much about motors. Do the above suggestions change for a 4 stroke engine?

[can it be luck?]

Stabalizers are a good idea any time you fuel up. The boat being in a "water" environment is subject to moisture at all times. A little expensive, but so is your boat.

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[Surface Tension]

All good stuff here guys.
Fishing Addict yes winterizing is the same for your 4 stroke, + change your motor oil.

[fishing addict]

thanks ST and Rick for the useful info . I am going to give it a try on my own this year using this info.

[Guest]

I am a little confused..just got a four stroke this year(used)...change the oil?? Isn't the oil in the reseroir "fresh"? It doesn't get contaminated from the engine, does it? Does oil get old just sitting there?

[Valv]

Goebeluhs, if you have a 4 stroke, you don't have oil to mix with gas, just regular motor oil (like a car), you would like to change it before storage, including filter.
Lower unit oil needs to be changed in case there is moisture in it, it will freeze and crack your unit case, big $$ in spring time...

[Gadgetman]

Got a new 4 stroke yamaha last year and the local yamaha dealer told me not to fog it. Claimed that it would be a real problem to get it started in the spring. Was this a bum bit of advice ? I didnt fog last year, but felt a bit uncomfortable about it. Also this year I have a new Merc 4 stroke so now have doubled the discomfort level

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I fish, therefore I am.

[Scupper]

I have been fogging my honda 4 stroke since it was new, 1999. In the spring, I give it a start up in the drive way to burn off the fogging agents. I Have not noticed any starting problems. I also put in an ounce of seafoam for every gallon of fuel I burn in my outboards.
I use seafoam in all my engines,ie,lawn mowers, snowblowers, augers.
I also use irish spring soap to discourage mice.
Good Luck...

[Surface Tension]

Gadgetman
If you fog an engine theres chance you may foul or load up the plugs so its recommended to change them after you start the engine and run it the first time in the spring. I'll have to fess up and tell ya I'm going on my fourth season with the same plugs that have been gone through the entire fogging process over and over... But its not recommended
Any engine thats stored for extended periods of time should be fogged or started monthly. Since winter here makes it impossible to start your outboard monthly, fogging is the next best thing.

[Gadgetman]

Thanks S.T. and I agree. I used to have a 60 hp johnson but have recently had the four strokes enter my life. Now to further complicate the situation I have a new rig that has a merc optimax on it and I understand that the plugs run about $15 apiece ( six cylinder ). So my new found concern is shelling out $90 for plugs each spring and also having to take the motor cowling off the dang thing. Rumor has it that there are a lot of wires just waiting to be clipped off by the novice mech. (me) putting the cowling back on incorrectly. This may just be me having new boat jitters but a concern non the less. Does the stuff that marine dealers run thru your boat gas line in the name of winterizing have the same effect as spraying fogging oil in the plug hole?

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I fish, therefore I am.

[Valv]

Gadgetman, I feel you pain, I have a 150 Opti I am trying to sell with boat before winter comes, but if I have to, I will winterize it.
I know $ 90.00 for plugs is a lot of money, but you cannot run mix through your gas line, injectors might not like it much, and ECM (computer) will change settings and possibly mess up something (straight fuel has a different weight and viscosity of oil mix).

We will have to fog from plug hole, if we don't we might have rust building up on cyl walls, bearings, crankshaft, and that will be more expensive than $ 90.00 for plugs.

[Surface Tension]

Burn off the fog with an old set of plugs.... Sea Foam is a decarb for engines and in theroy will clean a spark plug at the same time.

[Steve Bakken]

Surface Tension is definitely on the right track with the sea foam. Keep in mind, too, if these plugs are 15 bucks apiece, they're probably platinum tip or some other kind of exotic alloy. Plugs like that in cars run for 100,000 miles before they're shot and thats with winter, the occational tank of bad gas and everything else that a car engine deals with. Chances are, that fogging oil won't even affect them, so that $90 might last you years and years, even with the fogging.

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Steve @ www.bakkensboatshop.com

[Gadgetman]

Thanks guys, I'm begining to feel better about the whole thing. Called Merc today and got several different answers from them...hmmm