2013 mercury 60hp Bigfoot four stroke

I just purchased a brand new motor, I only have 7 hours on it, it is still in the breakin period meaning it still has that special oil in it(detergent/mineral oil) I am looking at winterizing the motor; does anyone know if I should change the oil or wait till I get more hours on it ?

Merc doesn't publish a specific "break in" period instruction anymore.

Tohatsu and Yamaha (who build a great deal of Merc outboard products/components) still have a recommended 10 hour break in period. Now while you are a little "shy" of that, in this case I would still do (or have done) all of the recommended first year/post break-in service.

In your case that would entail:

Change the oil and filter (there could be cooties in the system from the mfg process)

Change the sparkplugs (note - Merc says to "change", not clean/inspect after the first season - after season one they can be inspected)

Since this is "year one" - have the timing checked AND have the valves inspected/adjusted. After the first few initial hours of running if the valves are looked after they are often good for many years to follow. If there is an issue that is not addressed it could lead to significant issues in the future.

Change the lower unit oil

Inspect the fuel filter (again, maybe cooties from mfg were in the lines)

Then to store you can follow the mfg recommendations in your manual:

Add fuel stabilizer to the gas and run the motor long enough to get it through the system.

Another trick, not included in the Merc manual for fuel injected motors is to add a bit of 2 stroke (or plain old 30 weight oil) to your gas/stabilizer mix - then run the motor - once it starts to "smoke like a 2 stroke" you know 1) that your "mix" has made it all the way to the cylinders and 2) the seals on your fuel injectors won't dry out when the gas evaporates over the winter - a little "slick" of oil will remain.

Remove the plugs and "fog" the cylinders with a fogging oil and then give everything "under the hood" a good fog - it will help prevent corrosion and help deter critters (mice etc) from setting up camp.

Lubricate everything that has a grease nipple or moves (Merc recommends teflon grease for most things but a good high speed bearing grease, with teflon or graphite works just as well) - pull the prop and lube the splines (or better yet, coat them with anti-seize).

If it sounds like a lot and potentially costly, just check the receipt for the cost of the motor. If you can double the life with a little maintenance (and the first year is usually the worst for preventative maint), then it's well worth it..

You will get some who say "the maint schedule is just a guideline", especially when I mention about the timing and the valves, but I would suggest they are still in a "2 stroke" frame of mind or are trying to liken a 4 stroke outboard to a cars engine. They are very different animals and many 4 strokes are turning into a couple hundred pounds of scrap metal, while their 2 stroke cousins, 3 and 4 times their age, are still running fine...

Thanks Graham, boy that sounds like a lot...how much would one pay for all of the work listed above?

The first year service on this horsepower/4 stroke, would generally run about 300 bucks (2 hours plus parts) for the service, and then maybe another 100 to have it prepped for storage (if you had a dealer do it all for you).

It bothers me to no end that when the salesman sells these motors, making them sound better than sliced bread, that they don't impress the level of maintenance that they require and really impress that service following the first season is "vital" to the longevity of the motor.

Last year a guy was complaining that Yamaha wanted 1200 bucks to do the first year service on his pair of 300 horse motors. Considering he had just paid almost 60,000 for the pair, $1200 to help keep them alive sounded like a deal...

I had an authorized mercury shop quote me 350, think I can convince them to throw in the timing check, lol

That sounds fair.

It may seem "pricey" since you only used the motor a few hours this year, but it really will save you a bundle in the long run. Many, many 5 year old motors end up in need of thousands of dollars of repairs and often end up in the junk pile as a result.

After year one, you can do the service yourself - oil change/filter, gear oil, lube stuff that moves and a shot of fogging oil here/there. A Seloc's manual (about 35 bucks) will be able to walk you through all the annual maintenance.

On average, you should expect to spend 5-10% of the purchase price on maintaining the motor on an annual basis - every 3rd year there is a couple additions to the regular schedule and those should be heeded...