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Starting a boat stored for 9 years

J

Jesse09119

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I'm breaking out my 97 starcraft 1710 with a mercruiser LX alpha one stern drive. I jumped the boat and the motor spun. Which is good news. It was stored with fuel in it quite possibly with ethanol . What do I need to do to deal with the old fuel sitting in the fuel system for 9 years? Should I pull the carb and clean it? Obviously pump the old fuel. Do I need to pull the fuel tank and clean or replace it?

Besides changing motor oil and filter, lower unit oil what else would need to be done As standard maintenence? Fuel filter?
 
9 years is a long time. I hope the motor was properly fogged before that.
Clean out the fuel tank. Change all the filters . a good carb cleaning wouldnt hurt. Inspect the ignition system . do a tune up. When you first start it. Just let it idle for a good period of time. Inspect the engine while it's running. Look for water and oil leaks. I would also change the impeller.
 
I doubt the outdrive seals will all be good

better pressure check and vacuum check the drive.

If you dont you be pretty sure you will be buying a new one!
 
Im not sure what fogging means.......so no it wasnt fogged before storage.
listen I stored this with fuel in the system. so we should assume that any prep suppose to be done for storage was not done.

Good tip on the pressure check looked up some, videos doesn't seem to complicated...engineering the pressure/vacuum testers seems like the hardest component here.

how does one clean a fuel tank its buried under the floor

thanks for the tips
 
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Jesse09119 said:
I'm breaking out my 97 starcraft 1710 with a mercruiser LX alpha one stern drive. I jumped the boat and the motor spun. Which is good news.
Yes, good news.

It was stored with fuel in it quite possibly with ethanol . What do I need to do to deal with the old fuel sitting in the fuel system for 9 years?
E-10 or no E-10, I would remove and dispose of 9 year old gasoline. The lighter molecules have evaporated and the octane rating has diminished by now. It's not worth trying to save and use given the problems that it may cause.

Should I pull the carb and clean it?
Not a bad idea!
I would also replace the anti-siphon valve, the primary fuel filter cartridge and the carburetor filter (if equipped).

Obviously pump out the old fuel.
Yes!

Do I need to pull the fuel tank and clean or replace it?
Since this is a smaller trailer-able boat, you can take the boat for a mild bumpy ride as to shake things up.
After draining and disposing of the old fuel, you can add perhaps 5 gallons of Non-Ethanol fuel.
The fuel tank will be fitted with a dip tube. The dip tube may be equipped with a screen at the bottom.
If you can pull this out of the tank, you can examine the screen and clean it if need be.

Besides changing motor oil and filter, lower unit oil what else would need to be done As standard maintenance?
First examine the engine oil and stern drive gear oil. If it is clean and still fresh looking, it should be OK to run it.
If dirty, then yes...... change it!

If you do perform a stern drive pressure/vacuum leak-down test, the oil needs to be drained for the pressure leak-down test.

If the boat had been stored for 9 years with the stern drive UP and/or turned sideways, you will definitely want to replace the drive shaft bellows.

After having been at rest within the pump body for 9 years, the seawater pump impeller has no doubt taken a "set" and needs to be replaced.

Click to expand...

Im not sure what fogging means....... so no it wasnt fogged before storage.
Fogging a gasoline engine is a dynamic process whereby a protective oil is introduced (via carburetor primary throttle bores) into the cylinders during low speed engine operation.
It is typically the last procedure performed when laying an engine up for long term storage!



Good luck with the project!
Click to expand...



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Dunno where you are but around here the environmental laws are awful strict about disposing hazmats, which is what your old gas is. Call your local waste disposal authority and ask them where to take old gasoline.
 
You can add it, a little at a time, to your street vehicle and consume it that way.

You'll also need to replace the impeller.

Jeff
 
Be sure not to forget to put in drain plug before launching. Would be a good idea to replace water pump impeller,
 
mechanicman said:
Just a reminder. Don't put that old gas in your vehicle. Fuel injected vehicles don't like crap gas
Click to expand...

If FI, I would agree.

If you have an older carbureted vehicle, and depending on how degraded this old fuel is.... you may be able to add several gallons to a tank and eventually burn it all up.
I would NOT do this if the vehicle is used for heavy pulling, for example.

If you do, I would suggest replacing the fuel filter afterwards.
 
I have had the pleasure of doing this many times.

The best way to work this is to start from scratch.

Inspect boots and bellows, if dry rotted replace. Shift cable boot I would replace period. This dries out the easiest and the quickest. If Ujoint bellows were recently replaced prior to storage it may be ok.

Outdrive must be drained and pressure and vacuum checked. This is most important.

I would also replace gas line from gas tank to water separating filter/fuel pump.

Gas tank should be thoroughly cleaned. If there is anything left inside it most likely is varnish like and may need a good solvent to clean it.

No mixing new gas with old if there is any old left after so many years.!!!!!

The carb may or may not work. I would say a rebuild at a minimum is required to replace the needle as it will not seat any longer.

Oil and filter goes without saying.

You may also run into your shift cables being difficult, The short shift cable may be the worst and may require replcement.

Keep us informed!
 
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