Winterize an outboard

I've never used anti-freeze and never had a problem.
What I've always done;
Top off the gas tank and add a fuel stabilizer before the last trip of the year to make sure some of that runs through the motor.

Change the lower unit oil. Any water intrusion there can freeze up over the winter.

Give a shot of grease to all grease fittings.

Run the motor with the muffs on. When it gets warmed up, shoot fogging oil into the air intake's until the motor begins to die out. Then shut her down.

I tilt the motor all the way up, and then remove all the spark plugs. Spray into each cylinder with fogging oil.

Lower the motor all the way down for storage. Don't leave it tilted. Any water left in the motor will remain in there if you leave it tilted. It will drain down with the motor all the way down. Re-install the spark plugs hand tight only (this will make things just a bit easier come spring).

I then give the whole motor a dose of WD-40 or similar lubricant/water displacement.

Done.




Okay. This is where Franco chimes in and says for winterizing; just add bait and go fishing. >:( :P ;D
 
Ya, I ran the antifreesze threw with the muffs, then after I did it I found it pretty pointless as it all drains out anyway. Other then that I do/did just what CB said.
 
Turbo, I live north of you (what 12 miles ;)) and I don't winterize. I do stabilize fuel and change gear oil. Also store with motor trimmed down. Even if I don't get a chance to get her out, I run her on the muffs every three weeks. I usually get out with the possible exception of Feb. Feb's cold no matter where ya live.

Airslot
 
when i moved to virginia i had been in tropical weather for so long i owned ONE pair of jeans lol i now own 5!!...but once i move to florida i'll donate 4 to goodwill ;D
 
I have lived in the NE all my life!! And no matter how cold it is I am wearing shorts!!
I live in shorts and T shirts all year round, I do wear a coat if its cold, but people always ask "anit you freezing!" Nope, no brain no pain ;D
 
the most important thing with an outboard is to treat the fuel, don't forget to run the engine for about 15 min after you treat the fuel, it wont help the carbs if they don't have treated fuel in them. Lower the motor to prevent water from puddling inthe gear case, and disconnect the battery. If you don't want to fog the engine, just hook the battery up once a month and light it off, its the best thing you can do for your engine, besides, it makes your neighbors think your crazy, tell them your thinking about going water skiing in the afternoon
 
Thanks for the responces guys. one more question. I usually disconnect the fuel hose after flushing and let the motor burn the fuel in the carbs. Does anyone else do this. I learned this a long time ago after cleaning carb on weed eater when stored with fuel stored over winter.
 
I don't let her run dry. I store with stabilized fuel in carbs. If you let her run out of fuel, she's run out of oil also. :o Who knows?

Air
 
only run an engine dry if its a premix engine, anything with oil injection will pump the carbs full of oil, its a pain to get the oil out of the carbs
 
I am in VA and most people that I know don't winterize thier engine. I use my boat year round.

I due stablize the fuel. But again the boat is almost used year round.

Most of the mechinac I talked to says that tilting the motor down all the way clears pretty much all the water out of the engine.

I had a I/O motor once and that got winterized becaused water stayed in the block

thanks
 
Heres a question for ya,

My oil tank is currently full, will this oil be alright in the spring or will I need to drain it some how and refill?
Thanks,
Sean
 
outboard manufactures will tell you that the oil will congeel if it gets too cold( close to freezing), the best thing to do is pull the tank out, turn it upside down to drain the tank and clean all the sludge out of it, check the screen on the pickup while your at it, when you're done, put it back in the boat, and fill it the next time you use it
 
I try not to have alot of fuel in my main fuel tanks and put Stabil in the main tanks on my last long run of the season. I use Startron in my tanks all season. When winterizing, I run my Yammie using Stabil and Startron treated fuel in a small portable tank for about 10 minutes. Since the older Yamaha 2 strokes inject oil directly into the engine crankcase, not through the carburetor, I pull the fuel hose and run the engine until it quits. (The engine gets lubricated until it quits) I then open the carburetor float chamber fuel drains and drain any fuel that is left in all three carburetors. I also drain any gas in the Racor and Yamaha fuel filters then pull the plugs and spray in fogging oil. I also drain the lower unit oil and refill with synthetic gear lube.

I had my steering seize over the winter a couple of years ago and since then I make sure the steering tube on the engine is lubricated with Fluid Film spray. I also spray FF on carburetor linkage and on the shift rod.

The last thing I do is disconnect all of the wires to the batteries and fully charge the batteries. I then hook up two Guest Battery Pals, one for each battery which keeps them charged all winter.

I also bring my compass into the house for the winter.
 
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