Another Winterizing Question

[GregF]

At a certain point I wonder if it might be best to drain the oil and not refill it until spring. It is not like that oil is actually doing anything for you, sitting down in the oil pan. Maybe just put a quart in to collect any condensation that drips down and toss that in the spring but I am not really sure how much condensation you get in a modern, sealed motor.

[badmoonrising]

The problem is, if you forget to refill it in the spring and restart = not good. A lawn mower service guy near us has a ton of mowers that people did that and forgot to refill in spring prior to starting. He said it happens alot

[GregF]

Sort of like not putting the plug in I guess
I suppose you could put the oil bottles on the seat to remind you.
The difference between a boat and a lawn mower is the boat engine will whine at you if it doesn't have oil in it. Actually high end Honda lawn equipment engines (pressure cleaner etc)won't start without oil either.

[ROLAND]

Thanks Ed... I appreciate it.... again excuse my lack of knowledge here, still learning the ropes of boat ownership and maintenance.... with regard to the 4 stroke outboard, do the following at the end of the season: change oil, filter, plug, and fog it. correct? anything else with regard to the motor? Will fogging it cause a 4 stroke to smoke much at the beginning of the next season? if so, how bad and for how long? with regard to the battery, my boat only has one. Last winter the boat was only a month or two old when I put it in storage, so I didn't even disconnect the battery. But when spring rolled around brought the boat back here to the house and just hooked up a battery charger. Ok to do that again, or is there a reason I should disconnect it for the winter? Thanks again.

[badmoonrising]

That's pretty much it. There's will be smoke very briefly, if at all. Fogging oil burns pretty clean. As for batteries, the trick is to prevent them from freezing. A discharged battery will freeze and if it does, time for a new one. Charging them keeps them from freezing. The best method to prolong battery life is to store them indoors and charge once a month during winter. I take all 4 out of the Party Cruiser and store them inside.

[GregF]

From my experience, replacing spark plugs on an EFI 4 stroke is probably a waste of money. I have almost 3000 hours on mine and I am on the second set of plugs. The ones I took out looked fine.
In fact I replaced them with the ones the dealer pulled on my first 100 hour and they looked brand new.
EFI 4 stroke and the lack of lead in gas really makes plugs last virtually forever, cars or boats.

[FloterBoter]

> with regard to the 4 stroke outboard, do the following at the end of the season: change oil, filter, plug, and fog it. correct?

if by "plug" you mean change the plugs, if you fog then i would wait until spring to change the plugs after you run it and burn off the fogging oil. once the fogging oil is burned off, you can pull the plugs and see if they just need to be cleaned up or replaced. a wire brush usually does fine and then check the gap. when i pull plugs on my 140 i/o, i just replace them with new--they cost almost nothing. i keep a set of new ones onboard.

[badmoonrising]

I change the plugs every season, probably not necessary but then again I also do on my vehicles despite manufacturer's claims of plugs lasting 100,000 miles. Lawn equipment is especially hard on plugs as most small 4 stroke engines burn oil.

To me it's peace of mind.

[chill'nthemost]

So, Sunday afternoon I got around to winterizing the toon. You know how the most simple project can be a pain. I drained the block before I pumped in the anti freeze. When I tightened the petcock (who names this stuff) the knob broke leaving the threads in the block. Once again left hand drill bit saved the day. Best EZ out ever made. I was surprised the plug thread was 1/2'' SAE. I had plugs and petcocks in my parts bin, but nothing like that. Ended up using a bolt with a jam nut, washer and O-ring for now. Wonder if a auto block has the same thread?

[GregF]

If it is truly 1/2 SAE why not just get a short bolt and an oil plug washer?

[chill'nthemost]

That's basically what I did with the washer and O-ring. That will hold it for the winter.

[badmoonrising]

I broke the plug off in my Starcraft a few years ago, luckily it's plastic and came right out. The PC has the quick drain oil and drains, so no dealing with them...I may even fully convert my Starcraft to quick drain. I already added the oil drain, just have to buy the manifold and block drain kit.