How often do 318 engines need to be run

"i winterized my twin 318s bac

"i winterized my twin 318s back in OCT 08. I have not taken my boat out since.. The heads, manifolds,risers were completely changed last year. My question is will it hurt the engine if i dont run them and just keep them winterized till next year? (boat is currently in the water and its a salt water cooled LM318). thanks in advance"

"Dan,
Have you turned the eng

"Dan,
Have you turned the engine over or run it at all after you put it in the water? Are the seawater seacocks open or closed?"

"And did you fog it good back

"And did you fog it good back then? If not, pull the coil wire from the distributors and roll it over while spraying fogging oil down the carb. You'll be okay 'til Spring that way.

Jeff"

the marina winterized it.. by

the marina winterized it.. by closing the seacock valves and putting antifreeze in it.. But wont it ruin the engines if they are not run for at least a year? As there was major work done to them last year to get the compression back to normal

"The marina "winterized&#3

"The marina "winterized", huh? Like hell!

You'll need to fire those motors up and run them until they are fully up to temperature, then change the oil (don't care if it's new) and fog them properly.

Jeff"

Thanks Jeff... I believe they

Thanks Jeff... I believe they changed the oil and filter last year.. then winterized the boat which ran the engines for 10 minutes around OCT /08 .. Do i still need to run the engine or can i just leave it for next spring? There is also about 1/4 tank of reg gas in each 50 gallon plastic tank (new tanks) Should i put stablizer in them as well..eventhough the engine was never run ? what do you recommend .. if i dont plan to use the boat .. and since there was a issue with one of the engines needed a replacement for the fuel pump.. i just wanted to wait to next season..

"If they didn't put stabil

"If they didn't put stabilizer in that gas, and they only put that little in, then they made two more dumb mistakes.

I would NOT run that gas through the motors, but they still need to be run. Here's what I would do:

1. Suck out all of that old, crappy (now) gas you can get out.

2. Rig up an outboard tank to feed the fuel pumps on a temporary basis and fire the engines up. Obviously, you add stabilizer (I recommend Star Tron) to the gas.

3. Run the motors until they are fully up to temperature, then remove the fuel tank and run them until they stall.

4. Pull the coil wire from the distributor and spray fogging oil down the carb while wheeling her over for about 15 seconds in 5 second bursts.

Jeff"