I need some info about degreasing an outboard motor:

- Should we degrease an outboard motor? The author of a book says
we should degrease the motor. But I am not sure if he meant for
an I/O engine or for an outboard motor.

- Can we use freshwater to spray the engine block of an outboard
motor after applying degreaser and brushing? I have never done
this before. Therefore, I want to know if this is the right thing
to do. Should we mist it instead of spraying it? I am afraid that
water may find its way inside the engine block and rust the
inside. Is there a sure way to prevent water from getting in or
getting rid of water after the water has found its way into the
motor?

- What should I apply on the engine part of an outboard motor after
I have degreased and cleaned the engine. One book says nothing
about doing anything after degreasing the motor; another book says
using WD-40, another book says that we should use something
else. I have a feeling that we should put something on the engine
block to prevent corrosion. WD-40 is cheap and readily available.
But WD-40 is a kind of oil, right? Isn't the purpose of degreasing

is to remove oil film from the surface of the motor? Putting WD-40

will be putting oil back to where we have just removed the oil.
I don't understand this.

Next week will have two warmer days in my area. I expect those two
days will be the last chance for me to finish winterizing the boat.
Therefore, I want to get all the info ready before next week.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

wrote in message
oups.com...
I need some info about degreasing an outboard motor:

- Should we degrease an outboard motor? The author of a book says
we should degrease the motor. But I am not sure if he meant for
an I/O engine or for an outboard motor.

- Can we use freshwater to spray the engine block of an outboard
motor after applying degreaser and brushing? I have never done
this before. Therefore, I want to know if this is the right thing
to do. Should we mist it instead of spraying it? I am afraid that
water may find its way inside the engine block and rust the
inside. Is there a sure way to prevent water from getting in or
getting rid of water after the water has found its way into the
motor?

- What should I apply on the engine part of an outboard motor after
I have degreased and cleaned the engine. One book says nothing
about doing anything after degreasing the motor; another book says
using WD-40, another book says that we should use something
else. I have a feeling that we should put something on the engine
block to prevent corrosion. WD-40 is cheap and readily available.
But WD-40 is a kind of oil, right? Isn't the purpose of degreasing

is to remove oil film from the surface of the motor? Putting WD-40

will be putting oil back to where we have just removed the oil.
I don't understand this.

Next week will have two warmer days in my area. I expect those two
days will be the last chance for me to finish winterizing the boat.
Therefore, I want to get all the info ready before next week.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan


My first reaction to this is to ask why the motor is greasy to begin with.
Is this a used motor you bought, or did you buy it new and it's gotten
greasy since you've been using it?

The main risk in hosing down the motor is getting water into the electrical
stuff. The air intake should be big enough that you can cover it with
plastic wrap or something, but the electrical things involve little crevices
where wires & sensors connect. Take care with the direction in which you aim
the water, and use a mist. Do this early on a warm day if possible so things
will dry. Even better if you can get the thing warmed by the sun first, or
even run it for a few minutes so the block is medium warm (but not really
hot).

I don't like the idea of coating the engine with anything afterward.
Anything on the motor will inhibit cooling.

My first reaction to this is to ask why the motor is greasy to
begin with. Is this a used motor you bought, or did you buy it
new and it's gotten greasy since you've been using it?

I just bought the used boat one month ago. Actually, the outboard
motor is cleaner than my car engine. I am not sure whether I really
need to clean it at all. But the book on boat maintenance suggests
that I should clean the boat as a course of standard maintenance, and I
really cannot judge whether this is an overkill or not.

The main risk in hosing down the motor is getting water into
the electrical stuff. The air intake should be big enough that
you can cover it with plastic wrap or something, but the
electrical things involve little crevices where wires & sensors
connect. Take care with the direction in which you aim
the water, and use a mist.

I understand the part about plastic wrapping the air intake, and use
misting instead of hosing down the motor. I don't understand how you
will clean the electrical things and wires and sensors. How do you
clean them? Do you clean them with paper towel or just leave them
coated with oil and grease?

Do this early on a warm day if possible so things
will dry. Even better if you can get the thing warmed
by the sun first, or even run it for a few minutes so
the block is medium warm (but not really hot).

Sound like this is not something I will do in this year because I am
expecting warm but rainy days in this week, and there will not be any
more warm days ahead. I will clean the motor next summer when the
weather is hot and dry.

I don't like the idea of coating the engine with anything afterward.
Anything on the motor will inhibit cooling.

This means you prefer cleaning the oil and grease from the motor, and
you don't want to add anything back afterward. Good. This makes sense
to me.

Jay Chan

wrote in message
ups.com...
My first reaction to this is to ask why the motor is greasy to
begin with. Is this a used motor you bought, or did you buy it
new and it's gotten greasy since you've been using it?

I just bought the used boat one month ago. Actually, the outboard
motor is cleaner than my car engine. I am not sure whether I really
need to clean it at all. But the book on boat maintenance suggests
that I should clean the boat as a course of standard maintenance, and I
really cannot judge whether this is an overkill or not.

Back to the reasons for the grease: Jay, are you talking about 1/8" thick
layers of burned, dried oil? If yes, and it's beneath the dipstick or oil
cap, perhaps the prior owner was a slob. Get yourself a can of spray
degreaser from an auto supply place. They come with a tube so you can direct
the spray more precisely. Be sure to read the label - some of these products
aren't safe for plastics, so you'll want to watch where the spray goes.

If the grease is everywhere, it's important that you find the reason. Might
mean a leaking gasket or something. For that, you'll want to get the motor
totally clean so you can see any further seepage. It might be worth paying
an outboard repair shop to do this.



The main risk in hosing down the motor is getting water into
the electrical stuff. The air intake should be big enough that
you can cover it with plastic wrap or something, but the
electrical things involve little crevices where wires & sensors
connect. Take care with the direction in which you aim
the water, and use a mist.

I understand the part about plastic wrapping the air intake, and use
misting instead of hosing down the motor. I don't understand how you
will clean the electrical things and wires and sensors. How do you
clean them? Do you clean them with paper towel or just leave them
coated with oil and grease?

Are you saying that all your wires are also covered with grease? Exactly
what type of motor is this? How old? 2-stroke or 4-stroke? Brand name?


Do this early on a warm day if possible so things
will dry. Even better if you can get the thing warmed
by the sun first, or even run it for a few minutes so
the block is medium warm (but not really hot).

Sound like this is not something I will do in this year because I am
expecting warm but rainy days in this week, and there will not be any
more warm days ahead. I will clean the motor next summer when the
weather is hot and dry.

Or, there's always a hair dryer, on low heat setting, used very carefully.


I don't like the idea of coating the engine with anything afterward.
Anything on the motor will inhibit cooling.

This means you prefer cleaning the oil and grease from the motor, and
you don't want to add anything back afterward. Good. This makes sense
to me.

Jay Chan

Back to the reasons for the grease: Jay, are you talking about 1/8" thick
layers of burned, dried oil? If yes, and it's beneath the dipstick or oil
cap, perhaps the prior owner was a slob. Get yourself a can of spray
degreaser from an auto supply place. They come with a tube so you can direct
the spray more precisely. Be sure to read the label - some of these products
aren't safe for plastics, so you'll want to watch where the spray goes.

If the grease is everywhere, it's important that you find the reason. Might
mean a leaking gasket or something. For that, you'll want to get the motor
totally clean so you can see any further seepage. It might be worth paying
an outboard repair shop to do this.

Are you saying that all your wires are also covered with grease? Exactly
what type of motor is this? How old? 2-stroke or 4-stroke? Brand name?

There is a thin coat of oil over most of the surface of the motor
including wiring. I have a feeling that the oil is coming from the
leaky oil reservior that is inside the motor. The motor is a 1995
Mercury Marine 2-stroke 115hp outboard motor that has an oil injection
system. According to past messages posted in this message board about
Mercury outboard that has oil injection system, the cap of the oil
reservior (that is inside the motor) may leak oil when we tile up the
motor. This happens to my motor when I tile up the motor. The leaked
oil gets soaked into the foam, and gets transferred to other parts of
the motor. Moreover, I am not sure if the oil injection system works
or not. I will find out next spring when I run the boat. For now, I
intend to get around with these two problems by only half filling the
oil reservior to avoid leaking oil, and mixing engine oil into the fuel
(just in case the oil injection system doesn't work). When I know the
status of the oil injection system, I will know what to do. For now, I
have this oilly surface that I probably need to clean up. This is
really not that bad. But I have a feeling that I may not want the oil
to keep soaking the rubber surface for a long time. If I am going to
clean the oil from the rubber surface, I may as well do the whole area
all at once.

Jay Chan

wrote in message
oups.com...
Back to the reasons for the grease: Jay, are you talking about 1/8" thick
layers of burned, dried oil? If yes, and it's beneath the dipstick or oil
cap, perhaps the prior owner was a slob. Get yourself a can of spray
degreaser from an auto supply place. They come with a tube so you can
direct
the spray more precisely. Be sure to read the label - some of these
products
aren't safe for plastics, so you'll want to watch where the spray goes.

If the grease is everywhere, it's important that you find the reason.
Might
mean a leaking gasket or something. For that, you'll want to get the
motor
totally clean so you can see any further seepage. It might be worth
paying
an outboard repair shop to do this.

Are you saying that all your wires are also covered with grease? Exactly
what type of motor is this? How old? 2-stroke or 4-stroke? Brand name?

There is a thin coat of oil over most of the surface of the motor
including wiring. I have a feeling that the oil is coming from the
leaky oil reservior that is inside the motor. The motor is a 1995
Mercury Marine 2-stroke 115hp outboard motor that has an oil injection
system. According to past messages posted in this message board about
Mercury outboard that has oil injection system, the cap of the oil
reservior (that is inside the motor) may leak oil when we tile up the
motor. This happens to my motor when I tile up the motor. The leaked
oil gets soaked into the foam, and gets transferred to other parts of
the motor. Moreover, I am not sure if the oil injection system works
or not. I will find out next spring when I run the boat. For now, I
intend to get around with these two problems by only half filling the
oil reservior to avoid leaking oil, and mixing engine oil into the fuel
(just in case the oil injection system doesn't work). When I know the
status of the oil injection system, I will know what to do. For now, I
have this oilly surface that I probably need to clean up. This is
really not that bad. But I have a feeling that I may not want the oil
to keep soaking the rubber surface for a long time. If I am going to
clean the oil from the rubber surface, I may as well do the whole area
all at once.

Jay Chan


You bought an engine without knowing if the oil injection worked. I won't
even ask why.