Bottom line on winterizing my Merc 4 stroke 60.

[mjlyn]

Hi Guys,

I've read a bunch of threads and online articles about winterizing but still am not sure what exactly needs to be done.

I've done the stabil but so far thats all. My boat will stay in the water for the winter. I'm in Alabama so goes below freezing a little bit, but not enough to freeze the lake.

Do i need to take the plugs out and fog the cylinders?

You can't fog the intake on a fuel injected motor can you?

Do i need to put seafoam in the oil?

Should i leave the motor down with the foot in the water or out? Some on here say down some say up.

Thanks

[lakerunner]

IMO you need to do nothing else. I always change oil in fall and lower unit oil. You have the fuel stabilized so you prob fine.

[mjlyn]

What about the motor position? Up or down?

[lakerunner]

I see boats at marinas with out drives up allowing water to collect in exhaust hub. If it freezes damage can be done to gear box and that is an expensive fix. So I say down even though you will get growth on lower unit unless your on a lift.

Do you plan on using boat in winter? You need to protect your batteries somehow. I have a maintainer that keeps them charged without over charging

[Ghost Rider]

I would leave it down to prevent water from sitting in the hub and freezing. No fogging of the intake is correct. I just pull my plugs and squirt a little oil in the cylinders, Then crank it a little with the plugs out to coat the cylinder walls. Then put the plugs back in. I realy think you need to change your lower unit oil. Especialy if you are leaving it in the water where if you do have contamination it may freeze. You can buy a cheap pump from a Mercury dealer and that makes the job so much easier. I bought one from Bass Pro for less then $ 10.00 bucks.

[jimrs]

Leaving the motor down would depend on the type of water that you are on. Here on the lake your lower unit will be ate up with alge and stuff. It will eat up the alum in your lower unit in a year, not totally but it makes it a mess. That's why I built a boathouse and put in a lift. If your on a clean lake that has some movement in it then you might leave it down. It's a trade off without a lift.