How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

[firebug85]

i need some help. i have a boat that was given to me it was in very good working condition engine wise when parked at my grandpas body shop. needed some repairs do to a little crash. I dont know if it was flushed or anything but i would like to get it going again. it was parked in 2003. what do i need to do before i can try to see if the engine will turn over. oh by the way it is a merc stright 6 inboard/outboard motor. i Have never owned a boat so i am a rookie at this boating stuff. thanks for the help

Cris

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

Cris,
Welcome aboard..

In the adults only sticky at the main entrance to this forum, you will find the entire merc manual for your motor..
Here is a link with lots of good info on mercs in pretty layman terms..

http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

There are many fine people on this site that can give better advice than I can.Will also depend on where you are, if the boat was "winterized" prior to storage? But I would start with...

Changing the oil & filter..
Pay attention to what the old oil looks like..milky? Metal shavings?

Remove spark plugs, leave em out...

Spray some lube down the plug holes..PB Blaster is some pretty good stuff

Give her a crank and see how she turns over...

Post your results and you will be walked through everything you need to do..Step by step..

If you give good info on your issues, you will get good, solid advice from these guys...

Good luck

 

[WizeOne]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

You didn't bother to say where you were from Firebug! Are you in a winter freeze zone. Any chance the motor was never winterized? If your winters get significantly below freezing and the motor was not drained, I can guarantee you it's broken. Get ready to watch for water in the oil.

If you do not live in a freeze zone (or even if you do) then you may want to also change that puny little Merc water pump impeller. It will probably have taken a set or turned brittle.

 

[firebug85]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

ok like i said im new at this. I live in california were im at we do get freezing temps but the lowest is about maybe 25 degrees over night and if it makes a difference it only gets this cold 2-3 time throughout the winter. im not to sure if it was winterized that is why i am needing some advise but i will go to the shop by next weekend and try to see what info i can get off the motor so some of you guys can get a better idea of what i have. know while im over there is there a way were i can check if it was winterized. also we might not even have the key to the boat anymore so thats another thing i will have to work around. i truely appreciate what help you guys can provide.
thanks
Cris

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

I would soak the cylinders down with some oil and after a week it should have no problem cranking up, with some fresh gas obviously.
This enviromentalist crap gas only lasts a couple of months. Real easy to disconnect the fuel pump inlet line and just run a rubber hose from a redneck gas can to the pump for testing purposes. Those old six cylinders never seem to die.
I'm sure the ignition switch with be a fairly straight forward swap with there only being 4-6 wires on that switch, any universal ign. sw. should work, if its console mounted.

You could open a drain on the block, riser or intake and see what comes out, if winterized it should be antifreeze.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086

 

[firebug85]

Re: How to get a boat Motor going again after being parked for years

ok cool thanks guys i will try what you guys said and see how it goes now i just need to make some time to try this out.
thanks once again
cris