Winterizing

A person told me the other da

A person told me the other day that i should fog my 85 hp force eng. when i winterize my boat. How is this done ? Please help me.

" Go to your local marine deal

" Go to your local marine dealer and get a can of fogging spray or to your local NAPA store as they also sell a lot of marine supplies. Start your engine with lower unit water pump in water, spray fogging oil into each carb. Will kill engine or become very smokey. If engine doesn't quit, turn off ignition. I also put some oil into each cyl as an added winterizing feature. "

"Woody and Gary,

I know tha

"Woody and Gary,

I know that Gary's advice is the accepted technique for winterizing, but it never made sense to me. I do fog the engine, but I don't do this with the engine running. Instead, I disable the ignition, remove the spark plugs, and spray the fogging oil into the carb bores (throttles wide open) while cranking the engine. I do this for about thirty seconds.

Then I drain the carbs of fuel, and pump Marvel Mysery oil into the fuel system, using the primer bulb.

Squirt some more fogging oil into the bores and turn the flywheel clockwise by hand once or twice around. Squirt some fogging oil into the spark plug holes, and replace the plugs.

Before starting up in the spring, thoroughly flush out the fogging oil and the Marvel Mystery oil.

The reason I do this is because it seems to me that if you fog the engine while it is running, some of the oil gets sucked through the engine and goes out the exhaust. Some of the oil burns up in the cylinders (hence the smoke), and I don't like burning lots of oil in there, no matter what it says on the can of oil. Some of the oil does coat the crankshaft, bearings, piston rings, etc. This is really the only result that we need, and it is best accomplished by fogging while cranking.

Most people that I tell this to think that I'm crazy, but I am convinced that it is the right way to go.

"

" Tony,

I've bee

" Tony,

I've been going with the first way and usually spray a liberal amount of the fogger into the holes after, and then turn to disperse, but what you've said does make sense. I allways wince a bit when forcing the engine to burn the fogger or decarb solution. I'm wondering about your drain the fuel system/mystery oil technique - have never heard of that before. It must work for you - do you just remove a plug from the carb and let em drain, drain the lines, and then dip the fuel hose into a can of mystery oil, priming until the carbs full? Does it take anything special other than draining in the spring?

I've been just adding stabil to the fuel (in addition to the penzoil marine fuel stabilizer I add all season) and then run it one last time to disperse before fogging. I've never liked that idea of draining and leaving the carbs/fuel system "dry" - actually removing the carbs is a pain..so I keep them full of fuel - filling them with oil though could work. Is there any particular reason you use mystery oil and not just two-stroke oil? What's the theory on it?

Jon "

I use my boat all year round

I use my boat all year round and have never winterized it. The boat sets in a shed but is not protected from cold. Is there any type of winterizing that I should do that would still allow me to use my boat at least 3 times a month in the winter?

" wes,

Most of the reas

" wes,

Most of the reason for winterizing involves preventing corrosion inside the cylinders and fuel from going bad in the carbs. For 3 times a month, you are probably OK, but stabil in the fuel would probably be a good idea. If it gets cold in that shed, you should also be storing it in the down position (so it will drain and water won't freeze/crack things) and be sure there's not water in the gear lube etc..

Jon "

" Jon,

That is basically ho

" Jon,

That is basically how I drain and fill the fuel system, but I usually pump the oil through the fuel system before I replace the carb plugs. This way I get the fuel out of the pump and lines. I pump the oil until I see that there is no more fuel coming out of the carbs. Then I replace the plugs and pump until the carbs are full. I have always used Marvel Mystery oil for this. I suppose other products will work just as well; I really don't know how much difference it would make. In the spring, I remove the carb plugs and pump fuel through, until the oil has been removed. I flush the powerhead with fuel also.

Fuel stabilizer is a must if you have an inboard tank, and most people feel that if you run the engine and allow the stabilized fuel to fill the fuel system, it will suffice for the winter. It seems to me that stabilized fuel can still evaporate, and since the carbs are vented, there is still the possibility of problems.

Tony "

" Thanks Tony, I definitly thi

" Thanks Tony, I definitly think there is a possibilty of problems, regardless of fuel stabilizer - especially with smaller engines. I've noticed, after only a few weeks (I allways run stabilized fuel), my 25 HP Johnson gets a little gummed up - it clears after it's run for a while, but I'm sure the varnish will stick and a carb rebuild will be required one of these times. The merc 115 doesn't seem to care quite as much.. but that's 2 extra carbs to clean when it does, and when it's clogged - that's it. I think I'll give that mystery oil treatment a shot on the Johnson - see how it goes.

Jon "