service question

[ROLAND]

Hey guys. I know this has been kicked around a lot on this forum, but I wanted to run something past you. Now that the boating season will be coming to an end for most of us in the very near future there has been a lot said about storing our boats with dry fuel tanks vs. nearly full tanks with stabilizer ( and or ethanol treatment ). I have read so much on this lately that one thing is clear to me.... There is apparently no absolute right answer.. it seems that when polls are taken on the subject it's usually close to a 50 / 50 split. For the two years I've owned a boat i've stored it full with stabilizer and havent had an issue yet... I called 3 boat service centers today just to feel them out on this and 2 of the 3 said store it full with treatment... Now my question for you is regarding when do you service your boat for the next boating season... do you do it at the end of this season, or the beginning of next season... I've always had mine done at the end of the season, but today when I talked to one of those boat service centers we talked about putting in a new water impeller.. I was told to have that and the rest of the service done at the beginning of next season.. They said putting a new water impeller in and then just letting the boat sit for 4 or 5 months was bad for it.. said non use was more of a problem then too much use... kinda makes sense to me also but was wondering what your thoughts were. I don't guess it would hurt a thing for old oil and filters just to sit in storage and then go to new filters and stuff at the beginning of the next season...

[jrolin1]

One of the reasons for changing fluids after the season is to get any contaminants out of the motor. If you are in an area that freezes the lower unit could crack if there is water in it. If it is a four stroke having fresh oil in it is a good thing over the winter.

[Bamaman]

On water pump impellers: Many say change them every 3 years. There again, it depends on how many hours the engine has. A low hour fresh water motor could possibly go much longer between replacement.

But if you intend to change your impeller in the Spring, go ahead and do it now. Repair shops get busy in the Spring and early Summer, and you've got the time over the Fall and Winter to get the job done without interference in your boating life.

I think the last impeller I bought was something like $27 and it took maybe 45 minutes to remove and replace the lower unit. It's a pretty easy job.

[badmoonrising]

Around here, all the local marinas say drain the tanks. I do. No fuel = no fuel to go bad. As for the impeller I'd wait until spring.

[bassn386]

Isn't it interesting to get different recommendations from different shops? I talked to my local marina guy about changing out the impeller and he said the Yamaha impellers were much more robust than most of the other makers and when I asked about it being changed out when I had them do the oil change, he said it should be good for about 200 hours. So, I'm waiting until the end of next season.
Regarding waiting until Spring to change it out and the usage issue: what difference does it make if you change it out in the Fall and let it sit for the winter or change it out in Spring, use it for the season and then let it sit for the next winter? Still going to be sitting unused for several months.
Agree on the oil change, but again, according to the local marina, Yamaha supposedly recommends oil changes on a 100 hour interval. For me that's about 1 1/2 to 2 seasons. I think I'll go with annual on the oil. Yep, I know it's expensive, but not as expensive as a new F225!

[Just Laxin]

As to the water impeller, at least with Merc. and Yamaha outboards, they don't need to be changed out but every 3-5 years depending on use and water conditions, according to my mechanic. Where an I/O should be changed every 1-2 years. The impeller is larger in the outboards then in the I/O's, the impeller is actually pretty small in the small block I/O's as well as some big block I/O's. I had a Merc. 150 EFI outboard where I didn't change the impeller for 5 years and actually still looked good. I just watch the water preasure gauge and when there is 1-2 psi less then normal I have the impeller changed out. That has worked for me with no problems in the past. But you got do to with what you feel comfortable with.

[Bamaman]

It's nice that this is a subject where there are really no wrong answers. It's okay to change the impeller, or wait. Changing it every 3 years is premature maintenance--more often than absolutely needed. Since the impeller only costs $27 or so, changing it more often than really needed is just not that expensive or time consuming.

On the oil front: I have no desire to pay someone $300 to winterize my boat when I can do the oil change with filter and lower unit grease for $28. Most of the 1/2 hour it takes is spent watching the oil drain. And, I don't have to pay 1/2 hour labor @ $110 per hour for a mechanic to move my boat into and out of a service bay.

It doesn't take much mechanical knowledge on a 4 stroke outboard to do annual maintenance for many, many years. It gives me a good feeling to be frugal.

[Just Laxin]

It's nice that this is a subject where there are really no wrong answers. It's okay to change the impeller, or wait. Changing it every 3 years is premature maintenance--more often than absolutely needed. Since the impeller only costs $27 or so, changing it more often than really needed is just not that expensive or time consuming.

On the oil front: I have no desire to pay someone $300 to winterize my boat when I can do the oil change with filter and lower unit grease for $28. Most of the 1/2 hour it takes is spent watching the oil drain. And, I don't have to pay 1/2 hour labor @ $110 per hour for a mechanic to move my boat into and out of a service bay.

It doesn't take much mechanical knowledge on a 4 stroke outboard to do annual maintenance for many, many years. It gives me a good feeling to be frugal.

X2,,,,