motor care during winter freezing temperatures

[answer3]

Hi guys
I just bought a 14ft V boat together with a new 9.9hp Mercury outboard and I am going to pick it up this weekend (I can't wait!!!). I was thinking to have the guys at the dealership fire it up in their big bucket of water and show me how to use it and check basic stuff (this is what they did with a customer when I was there last time) but I am not sure if this is a good idea since I am going to store the boat in my garage which has no isolation and it will be freezing for about 1 month where I live in Massachusetts. I heard of winterizing boats and outboards so I assume there is a special treatment for the outboard in the winter to prevent damage but I have no idea of what this treatment is. Do you guys think it is ok if I have the outboard fired up now or is it better that I wait until spring and warmer weather so there will be no damage during the next freezing weeks?
Sorry about my naive questions... I am new in boats and outboards and just used a canoe and trolling motor before...
thanks
Damien

 

[earl60446]

Outboards drain themselves so no water will be in the outboard to freeze. Since you only have a month, no worries either way. Plus it's already spring, except for a high here of 18 today. In any case, your ok either way, I would have them test run it if it were mine, for at least 10 minutes.

Next season you can do the winterize procedure.

Tim

 

[DaleH]

See Damien? You should have bought my 14’ rig with the Nissan OB on it and I would have walked you through all of this myself!

That said, there’s really no harm in starting it with the Dealer, just make sure they winterize it prior to you taking it away. But I would probably advise you wait. And one thing to be sure to do … follow the break-in process religiously!

Otherwise I’ve used OBs for years off Cape Ann (Glostah) when sea ducking through February of the year. In those cases, the sea water should be warmer than the air, so I made sure to NEVER tilt the OB up out of the water, as otherwise any water in the OB could potentially freeze. We also made note of the ambient air temperature and if below freezing, we'd start the motors often to ensure no water in the heads froze after the OB cooled down.

Another tip for storage in cold conditions is to ALWAYS keep your OB straight up, so water can drain out freely. I have seen the lower unit cases around the propshaft crack as people stored the OB tilted up. The motor had thru-prop exhaust, so rain water collected in those exhaust passages – and didn’t drain – and then froze when the temps dropped.

Look … I’m fairly close to you, so if I can ever help you out, just let me know! And congratulations on your purchase!

 

[answer3]

thanks for the tips guys!
DaleH, I really wanted to buy a new motor on it for my peace of mind. I did not think that it was going to freeze that quick, especially on salt water :shock: I will pay attention to that... I will store the boat in a garage so rain water will not be an issue.
I didn't know about the break in process so I looked it up online and found it for Tohatsu outboards, not the same but it gave me an idea of what that is. I will real all the manufacturer instructions very carefully when I pick up the boat tomorrow! As I understood you have to use the outboard at low speed then you can increase the speed after several hours and are able to use it at full throttle around 10h after starting it. What is the purpose of this break in process? what happens in case you don't follow it? I assume it is very bad but I am just curious to know what are the issues. Do the engine components need to heat slowly at the beginning so they are not damaged?

 

[SumDumGuy]

Engine break-in...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break-in_(mechanical_run-in)

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

If motor is exposed to rain, make sure you leave the motor completely trimmed/tilted down.

 

[DaleH]

What is the purpose of this break in process?

This is a typical OB motor break-in procedure. It can be a pain in the arse when all you want to do is go out and go fishing, but ... you only have ONE chance to do this right!

The biggest thing you are doing is setting the rings properly in the cylinders. On some newer 4-strokes, the owners “baby” them way too much and then they complain that the engine ‘makes’ oil. What happened is that the rings were never properly broken-in or set and they do not seal the cylinder after the motor cools down.

OB MOTOR BREAK-IN
The first 10 hours are critically important to ensure correct running of either a brand new motor or a motor that has been reconditioned or rebuilt. How the motor is operated during this time will have direct bearing on its life span and long-term durability.

Total break-in period – 10-hours

WARM-UP RECOMMENDATION
Allow sufficient idling time (more than 5-minutes) for the engine to warm up after any ‘cold’ engine starting.

THROTTLE RECOMMENDATION

NOTE – Avoid maintaining a constant engine speed for an extended period at anytime during the engine break-in by varying the throttle position occasionally.

1) FIRST 2-HOURS – For first 15-minutes, operate the engine in-gear at idling speed.

2) During the remaining 1-hour and 45-minutes, operate the engine in-gear at less than 1/2 (half) throttle (<~3000 RPMs).

NOTE – The throttle may be briefly opened beyond the recommended setting to plane off the boat, but it must be reduced to the recommended setting immediately after achieving planning speed. Very throttle setting every 15-minutes or so. (To me, this is the biggest step where the rings are set properly, so I’ll drop off plane and power back up a few times.)

3) NEXT 1-HOUR – Operate the engine in-gear at less than 3/4s (three-quarter) throttle (<= ~4000 RPMs).

4) LAST 7-HOURS – Operate the engine in-gear at desired engine speed. However, do not operate continuously at full throttle for more than 5-minutes.

Please check and follow YOUR OB manual … as some motor break-ins may also require you to vary the speeds at steps 2 thru 4, by not holding the same RPMs for longer than 15-mins. Follow the recommended break-in, but don’t baby it … if you’re intending to put her up on plane – get her up and going ... not balls to the wall, but just don’t baby her either, as you won't do it any good.

 

[Skiffing]

OP -

Lastly - what you think will be a month can be longer.......... I'm stone's throw from Cape Ann. It's still brutal. Ethanol gas will separate in a month. I would fog the motor and if not EFI drain the carb bowls too.........