Winterizing Question

[rutcutter]

My toon has a 2005 Mercury 50 ELPTO motor. It is a 2 stroke and not a Bigfoot. My question is about draining all the water out of the foot before storing it for the winter. I raised the motor and lowered it several times until no more water drained out. Is this sufficient or do I need to do more to be sure that all the water is out? If so, what?
Thanks.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Winterizing Question

Yes it is and normal storage is with it lowered all the way down so that any thing that accumlates over the winter can drain.

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Winterizing Question

That's the beauty of an outboard, little needs to be done for winterizing. All I do is remove the battery to keep it charged, and put sta-bil in the fuel the last time I have the boat out. That way it treats the fuel and gets it in the lines so the fuel doesn't deteriorate and cause problems, especially if you have a carberated motor.

 

[1nebel0]

Re: Winterizing Question

The additional steps to take is to take the plugs out and put some fogging oil in all cylinders, rotate the flywheel, put some more and put the plugs back in. I do this to all of my boats to include EFI motors.. with them I add two stroke oil to the fuel filter and run for 5 minutes to keep injectors clean and lube..Californai doesn't get as cold as you folks so you really should do this...

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Winterizing Question

You can put a little oil into the cylinders, replace the plugs and turn it over without the plug wires attached.

Or, you can remove the fuel line, and fog the engine with spray oil when it starts to stumble. I don't have any EFI experience, but I certainly wouldn't fog a modern 4 stoke EFI engine if it has a Mass Air Flow Sensor. My Jaguar won't even work well with a K&N oiled air filter.

It's most important to run most all the gas out of boats being winterized, as modern 90/10 gasoline breaks down quickly. Stabil actually breaks down faster than the 90/10. Then, replace or top off your tank with fresh fuel when you get it out in the Spring. I have a couple of plastic 12 gallon tanks and a 6 gallon metal tank, so I can drain all the gasoline back into my cars--keep the fuel fresh in the boat. I like to keep a floating low amp charger on the battery all the time--for a longer lasting battery.

But, I usually get lazy and don't winterize my boat at all. It's a 26 years old Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke, and still running great.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Winterizing Question

Change the oil in the lower end, and fog the cylinders after you have treated the gas with Stabil and run it through the carbs.

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: Winterizing Question

Ever since I have been boating I have always taken my boat to a marina for getting the motor winterize. If they make a mistake it's on them,, If I make a mistake it's on me. It's that simple.