outdrive storage position

[LARSON96]

I thought i read somewhere that you should store your boat with the out drive completely down to take the stress off of the lift system. The result is the bow of the boat is down and the rain water will not drain out of the the boat. If this is true could storing it with a trailing rod to hold up the outdrive take any stress of the lift system?

 

[Don S]

Re: Penta SX storage question

Re: Penta SX storage question

It needs to be stored down, not so much for the tilt system, but to keep water out of the housing and prevent freeze damage. It's also easier on the ujoint bellows not to be stretched to it's max.

 

[spdracr39]

Re: outdrive storage position

Its not the stress but the bellows. If you leave it sitting for extended periods with the drive up the bellows will form a memory and will be more likely to split when you lower it. You also expose the lift cylinders to potential rusting when they are extended. Keeping the drive down will eliminate this also. Having said that I leave it up and have had no issues.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: outdrive storage position

Remove it and store it on a stand. You have to take it off every year to grease the u-joints and check the bellows for water. That way you can lift the bow as high as you want.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: outdrive storage position

Make sure your bow is up just enough so the water can drain out the back and drop the drive down as far as you can without driving it into the ground. You should be good. Never have the bow down so it fills up with water......

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: outdrive storage position

Yup, set bow height first, then lower drive - not the other way around.

Or, for long term/winter storage, take TilliamWe's advice.

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: outdrive storage position

Remove it and store it on a stand. You have to take it off every year to grease the u-joints and check the bellows for water. That way you can lift the bow as high as you want.

Wait, are you saying to take the lower unit off the boat every winter? We're supposed to remove the whole lower unit every year?

 

[partskenn]

Re: outdrive storage position

It makes sense to drop it down, but on my last boat (Alpha drive), I stored it up all the way every year for the 15 years I owned it. It survived it, bellows still looked ok.

 

[Bondo]

Re: outdrive storage position

Wait, are you saying to take the lower unit off the boat every winter? We're supposed to remove the whole lower unit every year?

Ayuh,... If yer doin' what many of Us consider Annual Maintenance on yer boat,...??... Ya...

 

[Augoose]

Re: outdrive storage position

ayuh,... If yer doin' what many of us consider annual maintenance on yer boat,...??... Ya...

lol.......

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: out drive storage position

Re: out drive storage position

Take note of where the advice is coming from.
The folks in the South do not have the same issues that the Northern people have.
An occasional night in the upper 20's is not the same as six weeks in the lower teens with 4 feet of snow.
In the north winter is considered October to May. The South may call it late January to early March, Or even none at all.

The drive up will also take water into the prop hub and freeze.
If you do it right you will be pulling the Dive to lube the U-Joints and check the engine coupler alignment every year anyway and replacing the Impeller every other year.
Store it indoors and no one will steal it.
If it is your intention to do nothing until something breaks, just leave the drive up, pull the plug, and hope for the best.

 

[jestor68]

Re: outdrive storage position

Wait, are you saying to take the lower unit off the boat every winter? We're supposed to remove the whole lower unit every year?

No, of course not.
:facepalm:

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: outdrive storage position

So confused, lol. This is my first I/O folks, cut me some slack, lol.

 

[dypcdiver]

Re: outdrive storage position

Akorcovelos
If you have found another way to grease the "U" joints, let us know please.

 

[Oshkosh1]

Re: outdrive storage position

To the OP...I see you're in CenTex(my family has been there since there WAS a CenTex!)...so you're not too worried about freezing up.
YOUR question has a simple answer...Assuming you're keeping the drive on.
Pull the plug, lift the boat even slightly nose high, lower the unit as far as it will go...keep the fire ants away!

Ideally you should pull the drive off, to maintain it...it's a personal choice. I do know people who go for years between removal(they don't do it themselves anyhow) without issue, but I lean towards the preventative maintenance side.

 

[truckermatt]

Re: outdrive storage position

After using the boat each time I back it into the garage and lower the drive, when long term storage for winter i also lower the drive. When I winterize is the only time the drive comes off for maintenance.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: outdrive storage position



Drive goes on stand and in garage when winterizing. Easire for me and takes a whopping 15 minutes with the home made stand. I always removed drive every year for normal maintenance steps and just made sense to do it this way, for me, anyway. Besides, when in garage, no chance of it winding up missing if some scum bag decided he needed my Bravo1 more than I do.

 

[bgc]

Re: outdrive storage position

So confused, lol. This is my first I/O folks, cut me some slack, lol.

They can be brutal here...
I like to store the boats with Harbor Freight jack stands supporting the frame of the trailers. This would give you more room to drop the drive if you decide not to remove the drive for storage.
If you do decide to remove the drive its not hard to do, just heavy and awkward to deal with.

 

[Boats-A-lots]

Re: outdrive storage position

No matter if I'm storing mine for a week, or a month (use it year round) I always park it on 2x6's so my tires are not sitting on the asphalt driveway, and drive down. This also lets me lower the drive down and still raise the bow up. (sitting on the blocks of wood). Also, DRY-Z-AIR if you cover the boat up. That stuff will save your interior. I change mine once a month.

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: outdrive storage position

no worries, best part about this site is learning new stuff just like this.