" I have been luckily successf
" I have been luckily successful in starting motors that have not been winterized by following some advice given to me by a mechanic at a marina local to where I grew up many years ago.
Inspect the motor visually, paying close attention to the lower unit and prop area looking for traces of oil leaks and or seepage. If you detect any oil seepage remove the lower drain plug from the lower unit to check for water, if no water is present replace the drain plug. Do not allow oil to drain out, you will change that out after the motor is checked out but before you put the motor to use in the lake. If all is clean proceed to checking out the motor.
Remove all the spark plugs, using a straw attachment spray a light oil (WD-40, Gun Oil etc.) into each cylinder. (just a short squirt, do not over do it) rotate the flywheel by hand half rotation and spray again lightly. Rotate the flywheel several times by hand slowly but smoothly (about 10 full rotations). This will allow you to feel if the pistons will move freely without hanging up on any buildup of rust and / or settled carbon deposits. If every thing turns smoothly crank the motor over using the starter or pull cord (depending on electric or pull start). Keep in mind that the lower unit should be submerged in water with the garden hose to supply water to the impellor of the water pump(test tub or ear muffs(recommend test tub to allow visual detection of oil leaking from lower unit after motor has run). If the impellor is dry it may have settled and stuck to the walls of the inner housing and could quite possibly break apart without some water for lubrication. If everything turns smoothly and seems fine, replace the spark plugs and wires, open up the fuel filter and clean out any debris that may have collected or change out if it is stand alone sealed unit. After everything is back together using fresh gas (gas/oil mixed) start the motor up and let it run at idle for a couple of minutes to warm up. After motor has idled for a couple minutes and it is running smoothly (Only in a test tub) shift the motor into gear (Do Not accelerate) let it idle in gear 20-30 seconds return shift to neutral for 20-30 seconds and then shift to reverse for 20-30 seconds and then back to neutral. If all is fine into and out of gears rev or accelerate motor slightly up to but NOT more than ¼ throttle. Ease up and down a couple of times over a period of 10-15 seconds and then idle for 20-30 seconds and then shut down. While the motor has been running you will have checked for the obvious, water coming out of the tell tale tube, listening for abnormal sounds and abnormal shifting. After the motor has sat for several minutes after it has been shut down in the tub if there are any serious leaks in the lower unit you will see oil beads or patch(es) floating on the surface of the water in the tub. If all is fine after this fairly simple procedure go on to changing out oil in the lower unit and proceed to the lake to test drive.
If you have a compression tester you should check the compression on all cylinders after you have run the motor in the test tank and the again after a run on the lake. This will give you some idea if any damage occurred.
Easy place to start. "
