How to clean and degrease engine

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guido

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Hi Guys.

I just read a list of things to do for winterizing your boat and on that list was clean and degrease your engine. I am new at this, what do I use and how do you guys go about doing this?

Thanks,
JC
 
Never heard of "degreasing" an engine, (especially an outboard) for winter storage. You sure you don't mean "re-grease"?
 
Yes it says to clean and degrease the engine. It is a winterization check list from west marine. Perhaps it applies to inboards and is general in nature.
 
guido said:
Yes it says to clean and degrease the engine. It is a winterization check list from west marine. Perhaps it applies to inboards and is general in nature.
Click to expand...

Yea, probably referring to inboards. If you have your Yamaha owners manual, check out "storage", in the maintanence section. It pretty much covers everything, (topping off 2 cycle oil, fogging, lower unit oil, etc.) but nothing is mentioned about "degreasing". If you feel it's necessary to clean the power head area, I wouldn't risk using any strong cleaners or solvents.
 
Thank you for the advice. I had wondered whether or not to spray the engine. I saw something on a show about spraying the engine with lube and penetrating oil, but was unsure if it would hurt anything. Any thoughts about that?

Thanks again,
JC
 
Yea, I've heard some recomendations about spraying down engine blocks with a corrosion inhibiter, (crc, wd-40?). Again, mostly about inboards, or i/o's. Imo, I would only use something like that for any exposed bare metal surface. Anything that's already painted, anodized or coated, I wouldn't. I would simply touch up with paint. Some of those lubricant/corrosion inhibiter sprays can actually eat away paint, attack certain plastics and god knows what else. As a matter of fact, wd-40 is great for removing stickers and labels, (eats up the glue), lol.
Now as far as actually lubricating certain areas of the engine... yes. You want to dab grease on any linkage connections, (shift, throttle, choke, etc.). There are also several grease fittings, (zerk) you want to hit them 2, maybe 3 times a year, (as well as winter lay-up). The one for the shift mechanism is the toughest to get at. It's burried behind the shift and throttlle linkages, in the center area. Check out your manual.
 
Last winter I sprayed my power heads down with Fluid Flim, should I rinse it off some how before I re-spray it?
 
http://www.fluidfilmsalesusa.com/

They say it won't harm painted surfaces, plastic and most rubber. It's lanolin based, (not oil) and contains no solvents, so I wouldn't worry about rinsing it off.
One of my concerns, (besides damaging any surface) was to avoid excessive build up or any pooling anywhere that might be drawn into the air intake. Especially any silicone or teflon based lubricants, because they can effect an oxygen sensor. That's why, when I grease up any linkage, (especially close to the intake) I like using "triple guard" grease, (an old OMC brand). It's thick, and resists wash off very well. I use it every where on the motor.
Imo, spray lubricants, are great for quickly freeing up frozen or tight area's, but they don't seem to cling-onto and last as well as grease. As far as actually protecting any surface, I just don't see the need unless, again, it's untreated. I guess the bottom line is, as long as they're safe, use it, I just wouldn't go crazy with it.
 
I pressure wash the engine when its hot with a not to agressive pressure washer tip on a small electric pressure washer. After it dries I spray the entire engine down liberally with BoeShield http://www.boeshield.com/ . I love that stuff! Engine stays looking like new. On older Yamahas (and most other brands I think) the steering arms and the trim motors are notorious for rusting out. Trouble spots like those get a coating of marine grease applied with a throw away paint brush.
 
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