Properly winterizing your outboard engine is essential to prevent damage during the off-season and ensure your boat is ready for action come spring. Below is a step-by-step guide to winterizing your outboard engine, complete with product recommendations to make the process easier and more effective.
1. Fuel Stabilization
Before hauling your boat, it’s crucial to treat your fuel to prevent condensation, which can cause water contamination. Filling your gas tanks also reduces the likelihood of condensation build-up.
- Steps:
- Fill the gas tanks and add a fuel stabilizer to ensure fresh gasoline in the spring.
- Run the engine for a few minutes to bring treated fuel into the lines and carburetor passages. This prevents gum and varnish buildup.
- If your fuel contains ethanol, add appropriate fuel treatment additives to counter its corrosive effects.
- We Recommend:
2. Flush the Cooling System
Flushing your engine with fresh water helps remove salt and debris, which can cause corrosion during storage.
- Steps:
- Attach a fresh water hose via a flushing attachment to the lower unit of your outboard.
- Turn the water on about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way at the faucet.
- Start the engine in neutral and run it for 10–20 minutes to flush out as much salt as possible. Do not shift into gear during this process.
- We Recommend:
3. Fogging the Engine
Fogging oil coats the internal parts of your engine to protect against corrosion during storage.
- Steps:
- Spray fogging oil into the carburetors while the engine idles. The engine should smoke profusely, and after about a minute, it will stall. This ensures the internal parts are coated with oil.
- We Recommend:
4. Spark Plug Maintenance
To further protect the engine, fog the cylinders through the spark plug holes.
- Steps:
- Remove the spark plugs, ensuring you label the firing order for reassembly.
- Spray about 1 oz. of fogging oil into each spark plug hole.
- Crank the engine several times to distribute the oil evenly over the cylinder walls and piston rings.
- Reinstall the plugs and wires in the proper sequence.
- We Recommend:
- CRC Engine Stor Fogging Oil
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For Fuel Injected Engines: You can also run the engine on a mixture of gas and 2-Stroke oil to protect the combustion chamber and valve train. Refer to your engine’s manufacturer recommendations.
5. Engine Oil Maintenance (For 4-Stroke Engines)
Changing your engine oil prevents old, contaminated oil from causing damage during the off-season.
- Steps:
- Drain the engine oil using an oil pump.
- Replace the oil filter using a filter wrench and refill with fresh engine oil.
- We Recommend:
6. Cleaning and Lubrication
Salt deposits can cause corrosion on external parts, so it’s important to clean and lubricate all moving components.
- Steps:
- Clean and degrease all shift and throttle linkages, reverse locks, the propeller shaft, and steering cables.
- Lubricate the steering cables with marine grease and apply corrosion protection spray to the engine block, wires, and linkages.
- We Recommend:
7. Lower Unit Gear Oil Change
Old gear oil can become contaminated, leading to internal damage in the lower unit. Replacing the gear oil protects against corrosion and ensures smooth operation next season.
- Steps:
- Drain the gear case oil by opening the vent and fill screws.
- Refill with fresh lower unit gear lube according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- We Recommend:
8. Greasing Zinc Fittings
Greasing the zinc fittings ensures smooth movement and prevents rust during winter storage.
- Steps:
- Grease all zinc fittings with marine grease to maintain flexibility and corrosion resistance.
- We Recommend:
9. Touch-Up Bare Metal Areas
If there are any exposed metal areas on your outboard, now is the time to prime and paint them to prevent rust.
- Steps:
- Spot prime bare areas with zinc chromate primer and touch up with spray finish paint.
- We Recommend:
Final Thoughts
Following these winterizing steps ensures that your outboard engine is well-protected during the off-season. By using the recommended products and taking the time to complete each step carefully, you can help prevent expensive repairs and keep your engine running smoothly for many seasons to come.
Always refer to your engine’s owner’s manual for more specific instructions tailored to your boat and outboard engine.
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