Winterizing your outboard

[WidgeonWacker]

Hello all. I have a question about winterizing my four stroke outboard. How many of you do this and what will happen if I do not???

Any advice would be great

WW

[Eagle-day]

If your boat is stored for any length of time for the winter, inside or out you should winterize it, it's a simple process, get a can of fogging oil at your local auto parts store and follow the directions, your motor has a port to adapt the can to, run the engine and squirt the fogging oil in until the blue smoke is all that's coming out of the exhaust, maybe 2-3 minutes worth and that's it. Bad things can happen to your motor if you leave it without winterizing it. Freezing weather can cause condensation and freeze the internal parts and that's not a good thing It's a very good idea to winterizing, it prevents corrosion. CRC engine stor fogging fluid and Starbrite fogging oil are two brands that work well also if your not comfortable doing it yourself take it to a shop. Your motor manual will also show you how.Remember your boat motor like any other, it needs mantenance to keep it running good

Good luck

[Starfish]

If you're parking it for the whole winter... Eagle-day is right. But if you plan on using it every few weeks or once a month, my opinion is that the only thing you need to do is put some fuel stabilizer in the tank (be sure to run it so the stabilizer is in the carbs or injectors, or run the fuel out till it dies) and ensure the motor has been lowered to drain the water out of the lower unit. Best thing for any outboard is to use it often.

[fish-on-bend]

I live in Bend where it gets below zero some nights. I use my boat all winter, never more than 3 or 4 weeks without running it. I lower my motors and dry start to blow any water out of the lower unit. Been fine for years this way.

[Smj]

Scary stuff...Starting a motor without water on/in the impeler! When I changed the impeler in my Merc75 2-stroke, I was amazed at how tightly the rubber fins fit against the walls of the impeler housing. I can see a great amount of frictional heat build-up in just a very few seconds, if you don't actualy melt the impeler, I think any heat build-up may cause the ends of the (rubber) fins to become brittle, possibly leading to an early failure.

Smj

[Orca]

Yes, you will burn the fins right off if started dry. Then, the pump may look like it works, but at much reduced capacity.

Never start any marine engine with a rubber impeller water pump out ot the water (or hooked up to flush). I suspect some folks get away with it because there is still some water in the pump housing, but you are asking for trouble.