Getting Your Boat Motor Ready for Spring
It is the time of year to think about getting your
boat out of storage and making sure the motor is ready for your first
day on the lake. If you properly winterized your motor you already
have a good start. In this article I will try to give you some of the
standard things most boat owners know to do, and also some important
items of maintenance many people overlook.
Let's start with the easy stuff that you may already
know. Drain and refill your fuel tanks. This is important to do even
if you put marine fuel treatment (not the cheap stuff for lawn mowers)
in your tank last winter because the ethanol in the fuel collects water
over the winter. So, dispose of all fuel over one month old. Charge
your batteries or replace them if they are more than two years old.
Replace your fuel filters, lower unit lube and spark plugs. Replace
your water pump impeller if it is more than two years old. Be sure
to check all steering, throttle, and shift cables and connections to
make sure they work smoothly and are tight. Just to be safe, check
the operation of the engine "kill switch". Run the motor
and pull on the kill switch cord to make sure the engine dies instantly.
Now let's touch on some of the items even some mechanics
fail to perform. Remove your prop and lube the prop shaft. Fishing
line under the prop can cause failure of the prop shaft seals, and
now is a good time for this inspection. Turn the prop shaft, checking
to make sure it is not bent; then re-torque the prop to factory specs.
Oil injection failures are becoming very common,
so some maintenance here is absolutely necessary. All oil injection
units have some type of filter in the system; find it and clean or
change it every year. Check all oil lines to make sure they are not
cracked or so hard and brittle that they will break in rough water.
This final oil injection test procedure is a little more difficult,
but consider the cost of an oil related engine failure. You must test
the output of the oil injection pump itself. Run your engine in a portable
tank with the 50/1 oil mixture, then disconnect your oil line out of
the oil pump; run the engine at the r.p.m. shown in your service manual
and catch the oil being pumped out in a measuring container. Check
how long it takes to pump the minimum volume of oil and compare that
volume/time ratio to the chart in the service manual. Reconnect the
oil lines. Remember that if the oil pump fails, it may set off a warning
buzzer, but if it only pumps one half as much oil as needed it will
not give you a warning and your motor could be seriously damaged.
Last, check your owners manual or factory service
manual, and lubricate every item listed in your manual. Read and follow
all safety procedures in your manual.
The items discussed above are all jobs that need to
be done every year. You can take your boat to your dealer, or you can
probably do most of them yourself with a little help. Call and get
the details about these jobs or if you have any other boat motor repair
questions contact The Outboard Doctor at 888-294-8957.
Good luck, Ben Minor
Professional Mechanic for Outboard Motor Repair Technician
