Winterizing Yamaha Outboards

[Twist]

My GW Freedom 275 is on a lift off the Chesapeake Bay where it gets pretty cold here for a few months starting in December. I've been using the boat up until this week and have winterized the fresh water systems on the boat but haven't yet done anything to the engines before my scheduled shrink wrapping next week. This will be the first time I've owned a boat on the lift at my home and I've always had a winterization service done when putting a previous boat on the hard for the winter. So I'm wondering what I should do with the engines and fuel system other than adding a double dose of Stabil to the fuel and running it through the system? Is it really necessary to pull the plugs and fog the engines? I changed the oil in both engines about 15 hours ago so wasn't planning on a winterization oil change but, what are the thoughts of the collective wisdom here?

 

[DennisG01]

Is it being shrink wrapped in place? Otherwise, you can't do any "fogging" at the lift since you're going to run the engine again, anyways.

It can NEVER hurt to run some lightweight oil through the cylinders. There's no inidcation anywhere of what year/model engine you have... but if it's a 4-stroke, don't spray the fogging oil through the intake so as to avoid fouling sensors. You could, though, run a cocktail mixture of gas through the engine using a portable tank.

Need to at least check the gearcase for water intrusion. But that's something you probably already know about since you indicated you do some of your own maintenance.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I don't fog my 4 strokes. Have to pull plugs. If I'm gonna pull all plugs, I'm gonna change them. If I'm changing them I don't want fogging oil on new plugs....

Definitely check the gear oil for water now. Just crack the drain loose til it drips. If its nice oil, it can wait til spring. BUT, in spring, you will need new gaskets on drain & fill screws when you change the gear oil.

I prefer to do gear oil and water pumps before layup because if you find a problen you have all winter to get it fixed.

Leave motors down.

 

[Johnny Dollar]

On my 2 stroke i run the cocktail mixture and also fog the plugs, I feel that the fogging oil helps for peace of mind.
I leave the old plugs in until the following spring start it with old plugs then add new ones.

 

[Fishermanbb]

Drain and replace the gear oil. Change the engine oil and filters. Then, run some winterizer through the engine for a few minutes. You can buy some stuff off the shelf like Stabil 360 or if you can find it make an even better solution of non-ethanol fuel and a little Marvel Mystery oil and run it through from a 6 gallon can. You’ll be amazed at how smooth the engine sounds running on this. You should definitely winterize the engine. Water pumps don’t need to be done yearly. IT depends more on hours used. If you are an average user then every other year is more than fine. Same with plugs. Change the separators in the spring before launch. Make sure you winterized the windshield washer. That get’s missed a lot when done by the owner. Also need to winterize Salt Water system. If it’s in a cradle on a lift you will need to do it the hard way by pulling the hose on the pumps (unless you can get to the intakes under the boat with the “Plunger” adaptor. My guess is that will be near impossible unless you have help. All of the above takes less than an hour and then engines take about 1.5 hours.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Most is already said, i add:

• i never used fogging oil and never had rusted pistons/cylinders, if you do don't spray in intake, in spark plug hole only
• one reason to drop the lower unit is also to grease the drive shaft to avoid that he get stuck in engine block, been there, done that
  flush the stopped engine with hose for at least half hour, warm water would do better, running engine with muffs or better in tank is best, do what is feasible
• Stabil or other fuel stabilizer is rarely used here in Europe, but it may work, fill correct amount it in boats tank and run the engine for 15 minutes
• i would drain water separator before winterizing as you don't want water inside, if filter is corroded then don't install it again or install a new one
• spray the whole engine block with corrosionX (stinky) or another similar conservation agent
• leave engines vertical and don't cover the cowling as airflow is needed, option would be the engine covers with a net or wax the cowling

Chris

 

[Twist]

My apologies, I should have been more specific. This is a new 2024 boat with about 35 hours on it (only 10 hours since the first oil change). I think I'm going to add a double dose of StaBil360 to the tank, run it for a few minutes, and call it good. I've already winterized the fresh water, raw water, head, and windshield washer with the pink antifreeze. And yes, this is all being done in place on the lift at my home dock.

 

[trapper]

Fishermanbb, I guess it depends on the water clarity as to timing changing on the water pump. I have Yam a F200 with approx 800 hours that Has had the water pump changed once in that time. Says a lot for the pristine waters of our coast up here in the northwest.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

A Yamaha water pump repair kit cost about 50-150$, the impeller only 30-60$
Is it worth to risk the expensive outboard's health by saving the above amount?
Overheating, rubber parts inside cooling passages, stuck bolts or stuck drive shaft, etc
Chris

 

[PointedRose]

While there is very good advice here, with 35 hours on your engine, personally I would not mess with much beyond what you have done already.

at 35 hours you have no need to drop a lower unit or change an impeller/water pump. They are both good for quite a while from now but keep it on the list for next year or the following. while it’s helpful to remove the lower unit periodically to make sure nothing seizes, taking the LU off too aggressively could also lead to damage of the seal for the lower unit.

many different opinions about leaving the tank full of gas or not (personally I do).

You will want to make sure you trickle charge your battery periodically too.

if you can, get as much water out of the bilge as possible before shrink wrapping it. There may be some pooled water in the mid/forward bilge that will flow back out on a trailer with a steep enough grade if that’s an option. Keep engine in the down position for the winter

 

[seasick]

Read and follow the Stabil recommendations for storage. I have seen folks overtreat with additives and cause issues. Mostly that was with Seafoam but better to be safe.

 

[DennisG01]

My apologies, I should have been more specific. This is a new 2024 boat with about 35 hours on it (only 10 hours since the first oil change). I think I'm going to add a double dose of StaBil360 to the tank, run it for a few minutes, and call it good. I've already winterized the fresh water, raw water, head, and windshield washer with the pink antifreeze. And yes, this is all being done in place on the lift at my home dock.

Mentioned above, but... don't forget to check the gear oil.

 

[DennisG01]

at 35 hours you have no need to drop a lower unit or change an impeller/water pump. They are both good for quite a while from now but keep it on the list for next year or the following. while it’s helpful to remove the lower unit periodically to make sure nothing seizes, taking the LU off too aggressively could also lead to damage of the seal for the lower unit.

Rose, what lower unit seal are you referring to?

 

[PointedRose]

Rose, what lower unit seal are you referring to?

When people start driving screw drivers or metal wedges, but didn’t realize they missed an additional boltthings get mangled easily.

Such as this:

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/665990-any-tricks-remove-stuck-lower-unit.html

Not to be cheeky but how often are you guys seeing water getting into brand new lower units?

 

[DennisG01]

Ha! That can happen even if all bolts/nuts are removed!

In the end, it really doesn't matter since it's not a watertight seal to begin with. You can mangle that area much worse than that and it will have absolutely no impact on performance or reliability - just aesthetics.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

I someone does not know how to pull a lower unit then he should not think about to change impeller and have this done my a pro.
Except the drive shafts of lower units of my DF300AP who started to bind i never ever had the problem on my or clients outboards that a lower unit did not come off easily, if parts where correctly grease before assembling las time and all bolts where removed .
Chris

 

[seasick]

It's a little more complicated for someone without experience. How many of us ( myself included) at one time or another has broken a pitot tube hose of fitting
How many didn't know there was a bolt hidden under the plug that covers the trim tab bolt!
How many have wished they added a bit of antiseize to the LU bolts last service time?
Should the LU be in gear or not for removal and installation.
Do I really need to replace those little metal studs under the water pump?
Why should I do both a pressure and vacuum test?
If we learn from our mistakes I must be a genius by now.

 

[PointedRose]

Ha! That can happen even if all bolts/nuts are removed!

In the end, it really doesn't matter since it's not a watertight seal to begin with. You can mangle that area much worse than that and it will have absolutely no impact on performance or reliability - just aesthetics.

fair enough Dennis

this guy does a pretty good job breaking down a LU in the video and what I was thinking was 1) gouging up the exterior metal could introduce water, debris, corrosion, etc in where it should not be 2) if someone wasn’t careful driving a wedge, could easily damage drive shaft parts, seal etc. 3) potentially messing with some hydrodynamics for the water flow around the exterior.

 

[DennisG01]

I understand your thoughts - but as I noted above, that cavity has water in it all the time regardless of whether it's buggered up, or not. Hydrodynamics isn't affected because it's out of the water (or close enough as to make no difference) at higher speeds where hydrodynamics would have a noticeable impact.

Your point #2... yes, absolutely I agree with that. Although that's more about HOW someone does the job and not whether the buggered up stuff impacts anything during use of the engine.

I'm not saying go all willy nilly on trying to separate a LU - obviously be as cautious as possible and start with the least impact methods. But in the end, sometimes you have to get rough with these things and a buggered up joint won't have an impact on performance.

For full disclosure... I have a buggered up joint - more than what most would say is "acceptable". There is absolutely no impact on performance nor do I see a difference in corrosion.