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Thread: How to protect my engine

  1. #1
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    How to protect my engine

    I have a 1987 18 foot 2+3. I have owned it as the second owner since 1989. Every year I winterize it. I was taking care of my Mom at the time and in her later stages I could not leave the house to use the boat. I am concerned about the motor seizing up. What I did to winterize it was to using the spray can of fogging fluid while the engine was running at an idle and opened the secondaries, and slowly added fogging fluid until the motor stalled. I know you are supposed to put a teaspoon of oil in the cylinders and crank it but that is not what I did.
    So anyhow I won't be using it this summer but want to know what I can do now in order to prevent the motor from seizing up. It has been over 5 years since it was run. I would like to spray a combination of WD40 and motor oil into the cylinders through the spark plug hole without having to crank (starter replacement due) but am wondering how best to do it. I know I don't want to overload the cylinders but just blow a fog in there. Any suggestions. I was also thinking of placing a torque wrench on the crankshaft pulley and give it a partial spin to guarantee it is still moving. Which direction is the way to move it, or doesn't it matter. No battery in the boat.
    Background. I had a body shop for 20 years and also became a licensed state inspection mechanic. I appreciate your suggestions. Cars and boats are two entirely different ball games. This boat only has about 600 hours on the original motor. Thanks ahead of time. The photo is the original gel coat.
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    1987 18 2+3 Classic 350Mag Alpha SS

  2. #2
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    you'll get more complete answers but, in my opinion you're doing everything I would know to do.

    Pull the plugs, I would just use fogging fluid since it is lightweight, turn the crank back and forth using a breaker bar

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    In the old days we'd run them with fogging oil going down the carb 'till it stalled . Then extra safety , pull the plugs all out and shoot in the cylinders as well and turn over by hand a few times and then put the plugs back in . So , yeah , you are doing it pretty good so far.
    Of course it doesn't hurt if you change the oil with fresh and use that as it's last 'run oil' while you do the fogging job.

    Bear in mind that an engine that will/has been laid up for that long will need a new pump impeller before re-launch as it will have either deteriorated or taken a set.

    Then you get to the part about filling the block and heads with anti-freeze solution if you're in a freeze zone and that's been well covered on other threads.

    :edit: Oops , forgot to say that for that period of layup you should also ensure you're running very well treated fuel through everything before you shut it down . That's if you can run it again for this final extended storage preparation .
    Someone can no doubt give best advice on brand , Stabil ,etc . But if you're lucky, fixing a bunged up carb and a few fuel lines is one thing . Having to replace injectors and other stuff can get mighty expen$ive. (I originally misread the post as though you were going to be laying it up for 5 years .. but it still all applies anyway)
    Just because something's old doesn't mean you throw it away !

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    Only concern would be the WD40. I would just go with the motor oil and not mix it. If you have power one suggestion is to put a shoplight in the engine compartment to provide a bit of warmth and keep the relative humiditydown on cold days.

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    No wd40 inside motor fog each cyl with fogging oil and if the gas has ethanol in it get every last drop out of the boat
    Spray the wd40 on any external surfaces that might rust especially if in a salt environment

    Squirt dish soap into any impellers if possible

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    Quote Originally Posted by mattyboy View Post
    No wd40 inside motor fog each cyl with fogging oil and if the gas has ethanol in it get every last drop out of the boat
    Spray the wd40 on any external surfaces that might rust especially if in a salt environment

    Squirt dish soap into any impellers if possible
    Ditto that. WD is light, fogging oil will not evaporate away the same way.

    (Starting to think a fresh impeller is maybe worth doing every year though, given the lost time and headache when one goes to pieces.)
    "I don't have time to get into it, but he went through a lot." -Pulp Fiction

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    Thank you for your replies.

    Thanks guys for the information. Morgan you hit every nail square on the head. I never even thought about the impellar. Great tip. I had planned on actually having the carb rebuilt, and figuring on draining the fuel, and do some kind of clean out method. Maybe you or someone else has an idea as to how to go about that. I am sure there is a thick film on the tank. I did use gas store but only the seasonal kind. There is about 10 gallons left in the boat or less. I bought an electric fuel pump so I can disconnect the fuel line from the pump on the engine, and connect it to the electric fuel pump, and then run a hose out the drain plug in order to get rid of the old fuel. What is the best way to purge the whole system? Pour a couple of gallons of fresh fuel in with some sort of cleaning agent? Can't really swish it around?
    Changing the oil before doing the last run through for fogging etc at the end of the season is a great idea. I did run antifreeze through the block before storing it. The optional dock hook up for fresh water was bypassed so when I put the rabbit ears connected to a hose on the outdrive it goes through everything. I make sure the motor is fully warmed up as in the thermostat is fully open before I pour the 50-50 mix of antifreeze the the rabbit ears until it shows green coming out the thru-hull exhaust.

    That is another question I have for anyone who can help. The boat during the last few years I was using it was started to run warmer than usual. If I opened it up, it seemed i could only do so for a minute or two tops before I started getting to 190 degrees, and it would go more if I didn't back off. Someone told me that it is the exhaust collectors getting some scale in them inside of the waterjacket. I guess I have to replace them. What do they cost these days, and where is the best place to get them? Yes this is a carberated Quadrajet instead of injection. It's a Mercruiser right before OMC bought Donzi.

    Okay one more thing. For the last couple of years I ran the boat it had a strange problem. Something with the wiring. It would stall out and or run with a bad miss unless I reached under the dash and pulled the wiring harness toward me. I finally wrapped a wire around the harness and tied it to the base of the steering wheel. I tried to find the short, or bad connection, but after spending hours on it, I was satisfied doing the wire tie thing. That is not acceptable for the long run though. So what do you think it could be. Is it a ground going to the ingnition? Is it the hot side of the key switch? Is a wire not making contact somewhere?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morgan's Cloud View Post
    In the old days we'd run them with fogging oil going down the carb 'till it stalled . Then extra safety , pull the plugs all out and shoot in the cylinders as well and turn over by hand a few times and then put the plugs back in . So , yeah , you are doing it pretty good so far.
    Of course it doesn't hurt if you change the oil with fresh and use that as it's last 'run oil' while you do the fogging job.

    Bear in mind that an engine that will/has been laid up for that long will need a new pump impeller before re-launch as it will have either deteriorated or taken a set.

    Then you get to the part about filling the block and heads with anti-freeze solution if you're in a freeze zone and that's been well covered on other threads.

    :edit: Oops , forgot to say that for that period of layup you should also ensure you're running very well treated fuel through everything before you shut it down . That's if you can run it again for this final extended storage preparation .
    Someone can no doubt give best advice on brand , Stabil ,etc . But if you're lucky, fixing a bunged up carb and a few fuel lines is one thing . Having to replace injectors and other stuff can get mighty expen$ive. (I originally misread the post as though you were going to be laying it up for 5 years .. but it still all applies anyway)
    1987 18 2+3 Classic 350Mag Alpha SS

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