Fogging at end of season...Oil drip & Winterizing

[igblack87]

Hi Gents,

So I just pulled my boat and got it ready for winterizing. I fogged the engine and ran some stabil/ring free through my in hull gas tank. I have a 2001 Yamaha Saltwater Series II engine. I noticed oil leaking from the bottom of the prop down the skeg...took the lower unit off and saw that the oil is coming from my exhaust housing. I think its fogging oil as I sprayed a lot and then shut the engine off.

Is this bad for the engine...I'm nervous that it is something else but know that while my boat was sitting in the driveway for a few days before winterizing that no drip was coming out from bottom of the prop (NOT through the prop). While having the lower unit off the engine, I saw that the exhaust housing running down the engine was pretty oily - should I be concerned with this? There is no extra oil in the bottom of the cowling and I do not see any holes from the exhaust housing when I shine a flash light up it.

Along with spraying some fogging oil on the spark plugs, I found out that the wrong spark plugs were installed in my engine over the summer. While I don't think this has damaged anything in any way, I just don't know. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Idle rpm's are fine and engine started pretty easy. I think in the spring I am going to have the carbs cleaned out and looked over...can't hurt right?

Changed the gear oil as well, it was an amber brown color with no metal shards in it. I am under the impression that the lower unit oil should be black. The oil is not white milky color. This should be good right? Replaced the water impeller as well and knocked the speedo hose and nut off the lower unit...plastic screw is now stuck in the hole...shoot me!

Coming in the spring I need to replace my digital TACH & SPEED gauges. I know these are plug and play, but it cant be that easy can it?

I guess there are a couple of questions in here and some not so questiony questions but looking for reassurance on what I am/want to do.

As always, thanks!!

Ian

 

[Lt.Mike]

Thats perfectly normal. The fogging mist past a lot of oil through that OB coating everything and out the exhaust which goes through the hub. That fact that you see oil shows it did its job. Oh and to anticipate the question that'll come up in the spring, when you first fire it up you'll smoke out yours and your neighbors yard till that fogging oil burns off. Do it before it gets warm enough that your neighbors will open their windows to air out the house. :wink:
On the lower unit, black is a bad color for oil which means its dirty and burnt. What you want to see is that clear amber color. If it looks like a milkshake its got water in it. You'd then look to replacing the seals.
Mike.

 

[igblack87]

Thats perfectly normal. The fogging mist past a lot of oil through that OB coating everything and out the exhaust which goes through the hub. That fact that you see oil shows it did its job.
On the lower unit, black is a bad color for oil which means its dirty and burnt. What you want to see is that clear amber color. If it looks like a milkshake its got water in it. You'd then look to replacing the seals.
Mike.

Thanks Lt. Mike, sorry to ask the question but what do you mean by "OB coating everything and out the exhaust which goes through the hub". Do you mean that since I sprayed a lot of fogging oil, it must not have all burned off and is just running through the engine. Finally all the fogging mist that didnt burn will drip through the exhaust?

Yes, my lower unit oil is amberish color after a season of boating...others I have talked with say it should be black (I originally didnt think it should be the color).

Can anyone else confirm the fogging issue or had any similar experiences?

Thanks!
Ian

 

[DennisG01]

I'm in complete agreement with everything Mike said. Especially the "fogging the neighbors" part... just tell them you're fogging for insects to help keep them away from your yard. As a "polite neighbor", you used extra to help cover their yard, as well! :mrgreen:

The goal of using fogging oil is to NOT let it burn off. The whole point is that it covers the internals to help keep corrosion away. That's why you spray it in like mad and shut off the engine while you're still spraying. I actually use two cans - one in each hand - with one can spraying in the top 3 holes, the other in the bottom - I call it "synchronized fogging" and am hoping to make the Olympic team in 2018. So with that in mind, yes, it is very normal to see residual leaking out.

Whomever told you that gear oil "should" be black is incorrect. Just think about it logically - why would the gear oil coming back out, being of the same color as what it was when it when in, be a bad thing? If the oil that came out of your car's engine was the same color as when it went in, would you think that was a bad thing?

I don't know how quickly the wrong spark plugs will cause an issue. I suppose it may be a question of whether they are hotter or colder plugs and then it still may be more of a cumulative thing, not an "immediate danger" type of thing. I very much doubt that there's any internal damage in the combustion chamber, but just for giggles, I would probably be tempted to stick an inspection camera in through the spark plug holes and take a looksie. If you don't have already have one, it's a good reason to convince your wife that you need another tool. Although, there's never really a "bad" reason to buy another tool!

 

[seasick]

Hi Gents,

So I just pulled my boat and got it ready for winterizing. I fogged the engine and ran some stabil/ring free through my in hull gas tank. I have a 2001 Yamaha Saltwater Series II engine. I noticed oil leaking from the bottom of the prop down the skeg...took the lower unit off and saw that the oil is coming from my exhaust housing. I think its fogging oil as I sprayed a lot and then shut the engine off.

Is this bad for the engine...I'm nervous that it is something else but know that while my boat was sitting in the driveway for a few days before winterizing that no drip was coming out from bottom of the prop (NOT through the prop). While having the lower unit off the engine, I saw that the exhaust housing running down the engine was pretty oily - should I be concerned with this? There is no extra oil in the bottom of the cowling and I do not see any holes from the exhaust housing when I shine a flash light up it.

Along with spraying some fogging oil on the spark plugs, I found out that the wrong spark plugs were installed in my engine over the summer. While I don't think this has damaged anything in any way, I just don't know. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Idle rpm's are fine and engine started pretty easy. I think in the spring I am going to have the carbs cleaned out and looked over...can't hurt right?

Changed the gear oil as well, it was an amber brown color with no metal shards in it. I am under the impression that the lower unit oil should be black. The oil is not white milky color. This should be good right? Replaced the water impeller as well and knocked the speedo hose and nut off the lower unit...plastic screw is now stuck in the hole...shoot me!

Coming in the spring I need to replace my digital TACH & SPEED gauges. I know these are plug and play, but it cant be that easy can it?

I guess there are a couple of questions in here and some not so questiony questions but looking for reassurance on what I am/want to do.

As always, thanks!!

Ian

It could well be fogging oil. I fog my SWII differently. I don't do it while running. I pull the plugs and spray oil into the plug holes. Then I rotate the flywheel by hand two and a half turns. That spreads the oil and leaves the pistons that were up, down and visa versa. I then spray oil into the plug holes again and rotate the flywheel one turn or more. Replace old plus for storage.
If there is VST tank, I do drain it as well as the fuel bowl . In the spring I use the primer bulb to fill up the VST.This is important, the VST pump doesn't like to be run dry. I start and warm up the motor in the spring using the old plugs and water separator. After everything checks out, that's when I will replace plugs and filters. The motor will smoke like a demon from the fogging oil and I don't want to foul up new plugs. Same for the separator. If there is gunk in the tank, clog the old filter and not a new one.



If you motor ran fine then your "wrong" plugs probably did no harm.
If all is well in the LU, the oild will be honey color ( for yamalube product).
Is this a series II fuel injected motor? If so there are no carbs, just throttle bodies. I don't fog them at all

 

[igblack87]

This is great! Thank you. I guess I shouldnt be worried then seeing the oil dripping in the exhaust housing and down through the prop. My lower unit isnt leaking which is a good thing. I am still going to take the prop off and check for fishing line in the seals...I will probably end up changing those out and replacing the lower unit oil in the spring as well.

Yesterday I replaced the impeller...what a hassle getting some of the fittings and casings off the drive shaft!

I plan on getting a A-Z look over of the engine, can any of you guys give me an idea of what I should get replaced? I know the saying - don't fix it if it aint broke...but being 16years old and in the salt water, I want to try and be proactive vs. reactive. I do know that the anodes within the engine need replaceing (last time was 3 years ago).

I can't wait for spring time!

Ian

 

[igblack87]

Seasick - I have a 2001 130TXRZ. Dont believe this has fuel injection. Correct me if i'm wrong

Ian

 

[seasick]

Seasick - I have a 2001 130TXRZ. Dont believe this has fuel injection. Correct me if i'm wrong

Ian

Don't know what a TXRZ is but the TXRT should basically be the same. It is not injected as you stated.

A few comments:
It is good practice to replace the LU oil before the winter. If there is water in the oil and it freezes, you can crack the LU.
It is a good idea to check the prop shaft for line or other damage every season.
There is no need in my opinion to change the prop shaft seals if they don't leak. Note also that there are two seals, one keeps the water out and one keeps the oil in. Failure of either will have different symptoms.
Like you said: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Parthery]

TXR(Z)
T - Trim and Tilt
X - 25" shaft
R - Remote shift
(Z) - Model Year. These have since gone away. But Z designates 2001.

Clean gear lube will be amber in color. As long as it's not milky you are OK.

You definitely want to pull the prop....make sure there is no fishing line that would have compromised the seals. Grease the shaft and reinstall.

As for the gauges, they are essentially plug and play. However, depending on what you buy, you may have to remove the rubber plugs on the back of the gauges and flip the DIP switches for 2 stroke/4 stroke, 2 wire trim sender/3 wire trim sender, etc....

 

[igblack87]

The other thing I am quite perplexed at is how I managed to break off the speedo tube and plastic nut from the section of lower unit it is screwed into. I was able to get a little of the plastic nut out from inside the screw hole. I dont want to strip the rest of the threading inside the screw hole but is there any other way than an x-acto knife to get that out?

Thanks!

Ian

 

[DennisG01]

I don't think there's really any "one best" way to remove the left-over plastic. But, I suppose you want to be careful not to drop any pieces down the hole (although you blowing the hole out with compressed air, from the lower hole, probably would do the trick). You might try using a heat gun to soften the plastic and then maybe something like a dentist's pick as you can pry it away from the the threads. If the plastic is soft, it's less likely to break into little pieces and, instead, be removed in one piece. But, again, whatever works for you is the "best way"!

 

[seasick]

The other thing I am quite perplexed at is how I managed to break off the speedo tube and plastic nut from the section of lower unit it is screwed into. I was able to get a little of the plastic nut out from inside the screw hole. I dont want to strip the rest of the threading inside the screw hole but is there any other way than an x-acto knife to get that out?

Thanks!

Ian

A screw extractor may work but I would try first to pry it out. It should be softer than the surrounding casting, Depending on what is left, you might have luck just pushing a flat bladed screwdriver into the center and twisting.