Winterizing your outboard

Hey guys had a quick question and wanted everyones opinion and im sorry if this is already on here somewhere i couldnt find it but i recently purchased a 2012 mercury 9.9 and i was curious to whether there was any process that needs to be done for storing it in the winter also whats the fist thing needed to be done in the spring? I was told by the guys at bass pro as long as i gave the motor time to dry out i didnt need to do anything with it for the winter but then i had a friend tell me that i should winterize it. im not sure how you would winterize a little outboard but maybe you guys can inform me! i got the motor probably back in june and used it last in september and i keep it in the garage and out of the weather. in that period ive probably only put about 2 hours on the motor. is there anywhere to actually tell how many hours are on it? i dont know anything as you can tell and honestly my stupidity is probaly caused by my own habbit of overthinking everything. so any knowledge on maintenance and care would greatly be appreciated!

This is how I "winterize" my boat. Dress warm and go fishing! I use my boat all year.

I have heard that you should run the gas out of the carbs before storing for a long period of time, and I have also heard that this is not a good thing to do so who knows. If you live where it gets really cold, you might want to make sure there is no water in the motor, but I would think it would all drain out as long as you put the motor down after trailering.

Ditto what MOE said. My Merc mechanic says to run the carb dry and store it in the "down" position so the water drains out of the block and the water passages. I have a 25 hp Merc 4 stroke and it's been doing fine for 6 years now using his procedure.....

Some say run, some say drain, some say fog the carb till motor stalls then drain fuel from carb.
All I can say is what I do if I'm putting it up for the winter. Drain carb , pull plugs and spray some oil in cylinders and rotate the engine by hand, drain and refill lower unit. Set engine in upright position, tilted "in" so any and all water will drain.
I've done it that way for years and never had any trouble. (knock on wood !)
The deal with the lower unit is, is if there is any water in there, it could possibly freeze and crack the housing or push out a seal. Granted it would possibly take several days of freezing weather, but it could happen. Ounce of prevention = pound of cure

PS nice looking set up ya got there !

I have 5 outboards & none of them get the carbs drained.Put marine Sta-Bil in gas,fog the engine with a heavy gas oil mixture & as mentioned make sure there's no water in lower unit.You'll be ready to go for next spring.

You need a longer trailer with the bunks ending where they do you risk inducing a hook into the floor of your boat.

You need a longer trailer with the bunks ending where they do you risk inducing a hook into the floor of your boat.

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huh #-o

I think what he is saying that the back of the boat is hanging too far from the end of the trailer bunks and with the weight of the outboard on there and traveling up and down the road it will eventually will bent the floor of the boat up.

Steve

Ditto what MOE

This is how I "winterize" my boat. Dress warm and go fishing! I use my boat all year.

acwd said:

I think what he is saying that the back of the boat is hanging too far from the end of the trailer bunks and with the weight of the outboard on there and traveling up and down the road it will eventually will bent the floor of the boat up.

Steve

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Yeah that.

This is how I "winterized" my tin at Lake Mead earlier this week . . . add plenty of fresh fuel and top off the sunscreen. #-o #-o #-o
(shorter days means adding driving lights . . . oh the pain)

I've heard that about the trailer but I don't keep the motor on it while driving I throw it in the back of my jeep and put it on when I get to the water thanks for all the info guys much appreciated so by spring the only thing I should have to do is change the oil in the lower unit? Thanks for the compliment its been an amazing little boat on the hooch and on big ol lake lanier!

I'd change the lower unit oil now that way if there is any water in it it won't be sitting in the lower unit all winter.

since my motor was new in 1980(25hp johnson) all thats been done to it for winter is running it out of gas completely, drain and fill lower unit gear oil and a couple drops of oil in each cylinder and turn the flywheel a couple times. its my opinion that gas should never be left in the carb or fuel lines because the ethanol in todays gas is not good for fuel lines. every time i take mine out i pull the fuel line before i get to the dock so it runs itself out of gas while i back the trailer down to load it. and i would put new plugs in it before first spring trip. ive never fogged my motor but i think i will try it this spring just to see what happens.

shawnfish said:

since my motor was new in 1980(25hp johnson) all thats been done to it for winter is running it out of gas completely, drain and fill lower unit gear oil and a couple drops of oil in each cylinder and turn the flywheel a couple times. its my opinion that gas should never be left in the carb or fuel lines because the ethanol in todays gas is not good for fuel lines. every time i take mine out i pull the fuel line before i get to the dock so it runs itself out of gas while i back the trailer down to load it. and i would put new plugs in it before first spring trip. ive never fogged my motor but i think i will try it this spring just to see what happens.

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If you're going to fog it, that should be done when you put the boat away, not wait until spring when you're getting the boat out.

JMichael said:

shawnfish said:

since my motor was new in 1980(25hp johnson) all thats been done to it for winter is running it out of gas completely, drain and fill lower unit gear oil and a couple drops of oil in each cylinder and turn the flywheel a couple times. its my opinion that gas should never be left in the carb or fuel lines because the ethanol in todays gas is not good for fuel lines. every time i take mine out i pull the fuel line before i get to the dock so it runs itself out of gas while i back the trailer down to load it. and i would put new plugs in it before first spring trip. ive never fogged my motor but i think i will try it this spring just to see what happens.

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If you're going to fog it, that should be done when you put the boat away, not wait until spring when you're getting the boat out.

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ive heard it done that way and doing it in spring. like fog it then let it sit for 30 mins or so then start it and burn it off...

As far as I know, the whole purpose of fogging is to prevent any rust from forming on the cylinder walls/valves/rings while a motor is in storage. And I know it's a good idea to dump an oz or 2 of oil into a cylinder before turning a motor over if it's been in storage for a prolonged period.

well guys i decided to forget it! its suppose to be sunny and 61 on tuesday and guess who happens to have the day off? THIS GUY! so iv got a full cooler and a river to dominate! guess while im here iv got another question for you guys.... So I do alot of fishing here in Ga on the Chattahoochee river and iv been looking into possibly installing a skeg protector on my 9.9 to protect it if i hit any rocks. is it worth it? iv kinda got mixed emotions on buying one. I feel like if i get one im gonna regret installing it like i did the steelflex!

https://youtu.be/f0FjWfpouK4

HILLDADDY88 said:

well guys i decided to forget it! its suppose to be sunny and 61 on tuesday and guess who happens to have the day off? THIS GUY! so iv got a full cooler and a river to dominate! guess while im here iv got another question for you guys.... So I do alot of fishing here in Ga on the Chattahoochee river and iv been looking into possibly installing a skeg protector on my 9.9 to protect it if i hit any rocks. is it worth it? iv kinda got mixed emotions on buying one. I feel like if i get one im gonna regret installing it like i did the steelflex!

https://youtu.be/f0FjWfpouK4

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WITH A 9.9 AND THE RELATIVE SLOWER SPEEDS I WOULDNT BOTHER WITH A SKEG GUARD. EVEN WITH THE TILT LOCKED YOUR MOTOR WILL STILL KICK UP IF YOU HIT SOMETHING, AT LEAST THATS HOW THE JOHNNY/RUDES OPERATE.
I WOULDNT WORRY ABOUT IT IF YOU KNOW THE RIVER PRETTY GOOD AND KNOW THE AREAS TO AVOID..