Routine Outboard Maintenance
These checks will not take long, but could spell the difference between you and your systematic checks every time you use your boat. engine.
Daily Checks and Outboard Maintenance
If you have a four-stroke engine, be sure to check the crankcase-oil level (if you have one) is topped up. Failure to do so could give you a false reading, and lead to overfilling or underfilling your engine & # 39; s crankcase, which can cause problems.
Check that you have adequate fuel for your trip, and that the fuel - tank vent is open.
With the engine tilted up, check for excess oil buildup near your propeller ... it could mean that a seal in your lower gearcase has deteriorated. (Note: Some oil film buildup is normal in many cases; If the seal is failed, take the engine to an engine repair shop immediately to avoid avoid expensive gear - unit damage .
Check for fishing line wrapped around the propeller hub area. If you ignore it, the line can wrap tightly around the propshaft and cause the proposed gearcase seal failure.
Many engines have landed on the bottom of the sea through negto of your simple check.
Sniff around for any sign of a fuel leak, and if you find one, fix it.
Once the engine is running, make sure to check the "telltale," or "tracer," spray, or exhaust discharge, to be sure the water pump is working.
There all these items are in order, you & # 39; s just one more thing:
If you tow your boat on a trailer, and run it in salt water, flush the cooling system daily with fresh water.
Monthly Checks and Outboard Maintenance
Also, look for corrosion at wire, also for corrosion build-up near cylinder heads and thermostat housings that can indicate leaky gaskets. terminal connections ... clean and tighten them as required and then use one of the proprietary anti-corrosion sprays available at your dealership on all exposed electrical connections and unpainted metal parts of your outboard.
Make sure that throttle and gear-shift controls are smoothly. Let 's make it the boat is strictly made fast to the dock before checking shift controls for smooth operation .
Make sure all wires and cables are securely led and clipped through harness mounts. Next, if your engine is equipped with an installed fuel, it will not be easy to see, as the water will separate from the fuel, drop to the bottom of Clean the screen element, reinstall, making sure sure the strainer, and be reliably clear in color. Simply pump your fuel primer bulb until the filter / strainer fills with fuel, and look for leaking fuel.
Check for damage at thermostat housing at top of cylinder head or engine block
Check for damage at all
There may be a zinc trim tab behind the propeller, or a small zinc screwed onto the In some areas they can dissolve. quite quickly, and if the zincs are completely gone, the only thing left to dissolve is your engine housing.
Lastly, check your engine & # 39; s battery, and top up the cells as needed.
Seasonal Checks and Outboard Maintenance
First let & # 39; s define the word "seasonal." The way I apply it here, it actually means every three months, or every full boating season, whichever comes first. or for more than three months anyway, do these checks and maintenance procedures at least once every three months, or about every 50 to 75 hours of operation.
But if you live in a region where your boat use is restricted to less than three months, or 75 hours, considering these "seasonal" checks to be annual checks.
Three-Month (or Seasonal) Service Checks
Seasonal check-ups are far more comprehensive, and certain operations may require the expertise of your local dealer, but you 'll certainly be able to do all of the work listed here except in a few cases.
Grease Points ... All grease points on your own should be filled with fresh grease as recommended. Keep pumping in grease until all the old grease - and any water - is forced out. It & # 39; sa messy business, so wipe the old stuff away with a rag as it emerges around the lube point.
Then remove the propeller to inspect the shaft for any fishing line wrapped around it. If you find any, cut it all off.
Inspect the propeller for nicks, burrs, and any undesired bends in the propeller blades. If the nicks are minor, you can clean them up with a file.
If this hub is damaged, you 'll need either to have the prop rehubbed or a new If you do not have to replicate it if you do not have to.
If all looks okay here, wipe down the propeller shaft to remove the old grease, and apply a thin coat of an approved waterproof grease to the shaft. Do not reinstall the propeller just yet, as you 're going to run the engine to flush the cooling system, and you should never run an engine out of the water with the propeller on because of obvious danger from the whirring blades.
If you do reinstall the propeller though, it is replaced with the propeller the cotter pin for the prop nut if your own.
Some engines, however, will have the Gearcase-Oil Change ... next next in the outboards, the gearcase will have two screw plugs evident in the side of the gear housing. gear unit & # 39; s drain and fill screws located on the hub just forward of the propeller, in which case they can only be reached with the propeller removed.
To drain the fluid from your unit, wipe the skeg clean at the very bottom of the engine and attach a piece of masking tape to the skeg.
Remove the lower drain plug. Nothing much will come out until you slowly unscrew the upper check plug. The oil will then leak down the side of the gear housing, down the side of the skeg, and flow straight down the edge of the tape into your drain pan.
Carefully inspect the oil for excess oil filings or discoloration. Indicating the oil appears milky, or if you noticed a large amount of water coming out of the drain before the oil, then water has somehow migrated into the gear, indicating a bad seal.
Clean off the magnetic pickup found on many lower drain plugs and get ready to refill the lower unit with the correct gear oil.
A note of caution here: Do not let any anything talk you go to using straight gear oil supplied by auto may have the same distinct rotten egg odor as the fluid you have just removed removed from your outboard engine, it may not not Also, be aware that not all outboards use gear oil in their gearcases. some use, the special stuff. It's a fluid quite similar to to the same quality of tolerance. It's # # It's # # # s best to go to your dealer to purchase a container of the correct oil and one of the special fill pumps.
These pumps are quite inexpensive and fit in the oiled bottom unit. This is an important point, because you 're going to fill the gear from the bottom Up. Once reinstall the check plug and snug up the screw.
Unscrew the pump tool and quickly insert the drain / fill plug ready to install, wipe down the magnetic pickup, Fill plug. Tighten it fully. Wipe off any excess oil from the gearcase and watch for leaks. Your oil change is complete.
Cooling System ... The next step in the seasonal is to make sure that the flush adapter stays in place where you have flushing the engine. You can burn out the engine, you could burn out the engine & # 39; s water pump - or the engine itself - if it & # 39; s left unattended for even a brief time.
The internal cavity which the thermostat and bypass valve fits is a trap for sand, With thermostat removed, clean out any muck you find, and with running, run fresh water up from the flushing adapter through the engine to this point. You & # 39; Just run the engine long enough to know that a good solid flow of water is pouring out.
After your thermostat has been cleaned, reinstall it, using new thermostat cover is not leaking. If your engine has not been leaking. getting to this point in adequate depths, the operation of the thermostat could be the problem.
Impeller Replacement. You may also consider the replacement of your water-pump impeller as routine maintenance. To tell the truth, manufacturer & # 39; s recommendations vary on this score, some suggesting that If you regularly venture far offshore, where failure of the water pump may be serious problem, replace that impeller yearly.
On the other hand, if you use your motor only occasionally through the season, or on a tender, for non-risky trips from ship to shore, I 'll advise you to replace the impeller every other year.
Cylinder Compression ... Now that you have a bit of flush your cooling system, and have warmed it up, it & # 39; sa good idea to perform the annual compression test. Remember, compression is one of of your engine & # 39; s basic needs and a compression check can often catch objection problems before they become major.
For example, piston rings that are just beginning to gum up will cause this problem by running a manufacturer-approved decarbonizing fluid such as OMC or Mercury "Engine Tuner" through the engine. It's simple to use these engine tuners - the instructions are right there on the product label.
So it is not easy to finish out what is normal in is your engine. So it's a good idea. Write down the compression figures for each cylinder in your manual for future reference.
In the case of a multicylinder engine, start worrying if any one of the cylinder variates from the others is by important matter it is concerned with. 15 pounds per square inch (psi) or more. The steps for performing a compression test are really quite simple , but you must follow them exactly for your own safety and the accuracy of the readings. So be warned-don & # 39; t skip any of these steps:
1. If you ignore the ignition module by your ignition module. If your engine emergency shutoff switch, simply remove the lanyard clip to disable the ignition. Remember, simply disconnecting all the plug wires. wire jumper lead and connect one end to a good engine ground, and the other end to the metal connector inside the spark plug boot. A plug wire could spark and ignite this mix outside of your spark plugs and begin cranking over your engine. It is not grounded to the engine. Also, this freewheeling type of spark can damage the ignition coils or modules.
2. Carefully inspect the business end of the plugs, looking for any inconsistency in coloration, and for any sign of water or rust near the tip.
3. Next, thread your compression gauge into the # 1 spark-plug hole and "zero" the gauge.
4. Some engines allow only minimal opening if the gearshift is in neutral, to guard against over-revving. (4) Open the throttle as far as possible, to ensure that the cylinder gets an unrestricted supply of air.
5. you have have cylinder number tests, and be sure to re-zero the gauge for each cylinder.
If the electric start, count the seconds: "One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four" and so on, with this key or start button engaged. This will give you enough cranking time for a usable reading. You have a pull start, pull the cord four to five times for each cylinder you are testing.
6. Recording your readings from each cylinder for future reference. Use the 15 psi criterion as reference to determine if further action is required.
If compression readings are lower than normal for any cylinders, try a "wet" compression test, which will temporarily seal the piston rings, and if they are the cause of the low reading.
To perform this test, it is carefully insert the other end of the tube into the spark plug hole and spray into the cylinder with a circular motion to distribute oil spray all around the perimeter of the piston. Spray for about four seconds.
If the compression increases noticeably, then your rings are beginning to stick.
If you dry it, it is above above, may cure it. If the dry compression was really low, and no change is evident during the wet test, it & # 39 ; s too late. Your rings and / or piston are worn to the point where major engine disassembly will be required. So be brave, and consult your dealer.
If two adjuvant cylinders on a multicylinder engine give a similar low reading, or if there was was evidence of water or rust on the spark plugs from these cylinders, then the problem is a faulty head gasket. to deal with, but if you have enough engine experience, you may want to tackle it yourself.
While sitting idle, the piston rings will "relax" and retract slightly, many giving an initially low and misleading reading. Always run an engine to operating temperature to ensure that the reading you get is accurate.
One last tip - if the spark plugs have been in the engine for the whole season, now the time to replace them.
Fuel System ... The next phase of the annual inspection is to thoroughly check your boat 's whole fuel system for any signs of leaks, loose clamps, or cracked, frayed hoses and squeeze bulbs. Any rust patches on your fuel tanks It should be sanded and touched up. Also, inspect the venting system for your fuel tank. It should be free to breathe. Any restriction can stop your engine.
If it does not fix it, it holds on and the pressure on it to be certain that it remains impossible. not stay firm, there & # 39; sa leak in the system between the bulb and the engine, or in the engine itself at the carburetor or fuel pump.
You may have to remove some access panels on your boat to do a visual check of the whole fuel delivery system, but do not neglect this important task.
Automatic Oiler ... It's easy to clean. Clean and inspect all lines and connections, replacing any cracked lines and tightening loosely connections as required. It & # 39; sa good on some engines, oil & # 39; delivery pump diaphragms should be replaced as part of an annual service.
Steering ... Your boat & # 39; s steering system needs to be thoroughly inspected at least once a year, but do not hesitate to see what & # 39; s amiss any time you feel unusual looseness or tightness in the steering wheel. Inspect steering cables for any signs of separation, cracks in the outer sheathing, or rust buildup near the cable ends.
Small a light coating of Vaseline or similar light grease over the tightened connection. If you 're planning to put the boat in storage, remove the battery and trickle-charge it every month.
There are simply too many many expensive tools required. There are times when you ignored timing, and your carburetor (s).
