Fishless -- maybe your were lucky. Then again, 2-stroke motors are less of a concern for winterizing (especially the fogging part) as there is oil in gas already which helps prevent condensate from collecting and causing pitting / corrosion. I had never winterized any of my small engine toys until last year. But now I swear by it -- and the winterizing procedure I posted is what I use. Most of the work was in researching and vetting the different steps to get comfortable toying with my $8K motor. When I finally got down to it it did not take too long. Familiarity breeds comfort.

P.S. - on the lower unit. There should be NO water in the lower unit (i.e., the transmission) at all. The only way water will get in is if there is a crack, leak in a seal etc. (If you ran up onto rocks and whacked the motor, check it out thoroughly). I've been told that if the lower unit oil appears hazy / milky white, thats a sign that water got in and you've got trouble and if thats the case, you need are real mechanic to fix it. Ususally they recommend servicing the lower unit pretty early -- like after only about 20-40 hours on the motor. After that, you don't really need to do it that often and it can cause more problems than it solves (same as with a car). Just check the lower unit oil to make sure its good and that no water has seeped into the lower unit...

The only water you would have from winterizing is what went through the water pump from the clamp-on attachment. Most if not all of this water will drain out if the motor is put in a nice vertical position. Also, make sure to do the winterizing when the temps are well above freezing and in a day or so any residual water should evaporate.

Eric nailed it. I do everything he said except drain the carb's. Fogging is important. Prevents corrosion.

i can see what your saying about oul in the gas for the 4 strokes, fogging is probably needed more for those.

guess i will have to speak to my guy about fogging again, he works at a honda dealership and he told me they do not fog them. maybe he ment the bigger motors.

ilucas

Did I miss something, what is fogging ????????

Thanks,
John S.

John S - "fogging" was new to me too. Its an oil-in-a-spray-can that you use to put a coating of oil inside the motor (cylinders etc.) to prevent water condensate from contacting the metal directly and causing pits / corrosion.

ILucas - my Honda motor manual recommends fogging and my local Honda ("authorized") mechanic swears by it. I can't see why corrosion would be acceptable in an EFI equipped motor vs. others, but I can see this may be worth investigating for EFI equipped motors. I think if you use a high grade fogging oil and have a good shakedown / burnout cruise the following spring, I don't see how the EFI system would be affected. Conversely, pitting and corrosion in a motor only gets worse after it starts, so I'm big on the prevention thing.

Re: the other detailed post from Rick@BBw, Rick provides some good additional info on where to trace out your motor's intake system to gain access for fogging. Not knowing the particulars of a given motor, I gave the basic approach -- take out the plugs and squirt the fogging oil directly in the cylinders. This was what my local Honda tech recommended for my particular motor (Honda BF90 4-stroke, '04). If you motor is equipped with a more direct means to inject the fogging oil, by all means read up on it and do it.

eric,
i am trying to remember how he put it to me last year. i have tried calling him tonite but he is not in. he may have said that the fogging oil messes up the sensors , or the computorized system or something to that affect, i am not sure. but he did state to me that do not fog them where he works. i have always fogged my 2 stroke motors in the past and i was a little suprised when he told me that they don't fog them

ilucas

ILucas - could very well be a concern with an EFI sensor. However, I think its neither wise nor "standard" to NOT fog a 4-stroke (unless its stored indoors, heated...). I have heard of mechanics using some sort of special fuel mix to "fog" 4 strokes -- actually my local Honda guy does this on some makes with a special mix of fuel / additive he hooks up to the motor's gas line in port, he runs the motor a little while, then disconnects it and lets it burn out. Sounds almost like he's running 2-cycle mix through a 4 stroke, but the additive is some high tech lubricant.

When I get mixed opinions like this (which I did last year!) I tend to try and boil all the conflicting advice down to the basics. Fogging is all about protecting the engine from corrosion. 4 strokes are more vulnerable to corrosion than 2 strokes given there is no lubricating oil in the fuel / intake stream. Why any mechanic / shop would blow this off because of a concern with the EFI / sensors is a red flag to me. I can see using a different technique to fog the enginer, but I can not see leaving the engine otherwise unprotected from corrosion.

If anyone out there has a 4-stroke with an EFI and has no clear direction in their owners manual about fogging / winterizing procedures, I'd do some research before blowing this off. Many modern 4 strokes with EFI systems now have dedicated "service" valves just for the purpose of injecting fogging oil for winterizing. There must be a reason for that right?

...Now thinking out loud, if you remove the plugs and squirt the fogging oil directly into the cylinders you should not directly hit the EFI sensors, right? If you were really worried, you could blow off "my" step of using the starting motor to turn over the engine (to spread the fogging oil) and instead use the emergency starter rope--a few pulls should do. I was just lazy.

Off the subject of outboards, I could not believe how much better my small engine tools worked this year after I winterized them last year. Night and day.

When I researched this last year I was amazed how many conflicting points of view I found from different mechanics on different web threads etc.

Eric,
i will look into it more,ask more ?'s w the mechanic.

ilucas

Hey its been awhile since ive posted last.
I work at the marina that coolwater used to work at..
All the outboards we winterize, two stroke or four, make and model doesen't matter, we run them on a mix of two stroke/fogging oil and stabil(mixed heavy so they smoke) for about 8 to 10 minutes,it coats the carbs and cylinders..
VERY IMPORTANT... If you don't want to change the lube in the lower, atleast pull the plug and check for water. When you pull the bottom plug, if there's any water, it will come out first.
TRUST ME, ATLEAST CHECK THE BOTTOM PLUG.
WATER LEFT IN THE LOWER UNIT WILL FREEZE AND CRACK THE LOWER UNIT CASE. SEEN IT........
Best of luck to the crew on the rest of the season....Pete

Main reason i said that about the lower end, Sometimes you never know and i don't know about anyone else but i sure wouldn't want to pull out in the spring find out there was water in there it froze and cracked the housing Good Point Pete!!!!!!!!! Take Care God Bless and Tight Lines LOL Dave From up North

That seems like the easiest part of the whole deal,why not do it.

John S.

Definitely good idea to check the lower unit. Its just you don't need or even want to replace it more frequently than recommended by the manufacturer. Pete's description of what they do at his marina sounds exactlty like my local Honda tech was doing.

Now we all know how to winterize on our own, right?

It is the easiest part. Unscrew the little bolt, drain it, then screw in the hose and pump it in.

Joe G: do you have a recommended schedule for changing the oil in the lower unit? Also, I thought you needed a special pump / attachment to pump in the new gear oil. After the 20-hr. service, my manual says I don't need to replace (but should still check) the lower unit oil until 200 hours. Whats your experience? -Eric

I have had a 1993 15 HP Johnson for the past few years. I just make sure I change the lower unit oil before there is a frost. I tell the guy at West Marine what type motor and he gave me the lube and pump for it. Very easy to do

Eric,
I appreciate all the info. I've never done it to my 4 stroke and it sounds like we have the identical year and model.

Likewise Joe. I think I'll look into getting what I need to change the oil in the lower unit this year. I was going to check it, but changing it can't hurt.

-Eric