Motor Position - Up or Down?

[eyepatrol]

When not using the boat either in summer or winter, is it better to leave the motor up resting on the transom lever or down? Reason I ask is my dad's hydraulic lift on his motor lost fluid over the winter so we had to re-fill it. Then we got to talking whether or not it would be better to leave the motor up or down when not in use.

Recommendations?

Thanks.

bc

[mamohr686]

It should tell you in your manual for your outboard. On my 150hp yamaha there is a little metal bracket that flips up on the left side of the motor. Basically I trim the motor all the way up, flip up the bracket, and then use the trim switch to put the trim/tilt pistons in the down position. That takes all the weight off of the trim and on the metal bracket, which is recommended for seasonal storage. Short term it doesn't really matter much. If your losing hydraulic fluid you may have a bad seal that needs to be replaced.

[Valv]

Tilted up in summertimew should be no problem, but wintertime I would leave it down.

If you get some moisture inside lower unit section, right behind prop, it will freeze and might crack exhaust.

Also, regardless of season, if you tilt it down completely you will have all water drained.

[eyepatrol]

Thanks for the info. My dad left it nearly all the way down over the winter, but we found there was hydraulic fluid that leaked from the lift unit. I think he/we certainly need to be concerned about a bad gasket/seal. We got it working with the added fluid, but certainly don't want to have this situation occur while on a vacation or something.

I'll inform him of your suggestions. They are appreciated!

[Hookmaster]

I have an 1999 F100 Yamaha. If I remember correctly it says not to store it for long periods on the transom flip bracket. Since it is a four stroke there is risk of "oil entering the cylinder from the sump". It says to "keep it in the vertical position when transporting and storing it".

[eyepatrol]

Interesting. My dad's motor is a 1996 75hp 2-stroke Mariner. Not sure if it would have the same cautions as a 4-stroke or not.

Thanks for the info.

[Hookmaster]

I think storing a 2-stroke in the up position should be OK since it doesn't have a sump.

[marine_man]

Yes, a 2 stroke should be fine, but the bottom line, in my opinion, is that if stored in the up position there is a greater chance of water freezing in the lower unit that there is in the lowered position... plus, lowered takes up less room...

How about this... lowered, with the transom saver installed, which would take the weight off the tilt and trim... now you've got the best of both worlds - no water worries and the weight is taken off the trim and tilt...

marine_man

[Rost]

I simply trim it all the way down onto a block of wood. Seems to work okay.