[bblauvelt]

I have z272 with the 7.4 and I've opted to winterize myself. I'm figuring the best laid plans of mice and men (More a kinked hose) has me out a impeller. Having learned the hardway to watch my gauges, I shutdown long before the buzzer of doom with engine not making it past warm to the touch.

Anyways, after I got thing sorted everyting was running and flowing fine. I did a test fogging using spray fogging oil and couldn't make the engine miss a beat. I gave up and instead ran the anti-freeze, changed the oil, figuring I'll just finish off by spraying fogging oil each cylinder.

Question 1 - Is fogging oil down each cylinder as good as fogging out?

Question 2 - Is there a way to fog out the EFI?

[Z 202]

1. Probably almost as good, I think any amount of fogging oil is better than nothing.

2. I understood the correct way to fog an EFI is to have an assistant kill the engine via the key at the helm as you add fogging oil.

[blockp]

Sorry to hear about the impeller, but good on you for doing the winterizing yourself. Consider the impeller preventative maintenance... you should change it every couple years anyway

With our outboards we always just sprayed fogging oil in each cylinder. After spraying each cyl, we would bump the starter to roll over the motor helping distribute the oil on the cyl walls.

I read the same thing about having an assistant shut it down. I can't seem to find a link right at the moment though. It seems like the bigger the motor, the harder it is to get it to stall out while spraying fogging oil in the intake. Maybe spraying 2 cans at the same time to offset the amount of air going into the bigger motor? The 4 & 6 bangers that I've winterized seem to stall out quickly once I start spraying the oil. The 5.0 in my "new" boat & 5.7 in my brothers boat just sputter a bit but won't die. If someone is close by, I have them shut it off while I'm spraying the oil, otherwise, I spray for 30 seconds or so, then scoot to the front and shut it off while the motor is sputtering.

[Z 202]

If it's a carbed model, just close the choke.

[bblauvelt]

Thanks for the info and the sympothy on the impeller. The service life here on the Hudson River is only two years so it not a bad thing to learn and I have the entire off season to figure it out.

EFI Fogging - I found a Merc Cruiser service bulletin indicating to mix 6 gal of gas, 64 oz of 2 stroke oil and 5 oz stabilizer and feed it through the fuel line. I'm still a little skeptical since I would have thought the EFI used a high pressure pump in the tank like a car. However, it's definetly a weekend project so I'll need to wait.

Starter - I did learn moving the rear seat is the ticket for working on the engine! Getting to the starter still seems tight without removing the manifold. I suspect my starter motor cable is loose since the problem started directly after the repower. This issue is on cold start I often just get a solenoid click and have to turn the key back and forth 10-50 times. Once warm the starter engages on the first or second attempt. The starter is only a season old so I'm hoping it's just a cable.

Brian

[Tom]

I have no idea if this is the correct or preferred method, but I have used this before on my Porsche for winter storage and tried it on the Talari. Take the plugs out and squirt regular automotive oil in each cylinder and then crank it for a bit to spread the oil-not long, just a few turns and shut it down. I'll let you know in the spring, but it should be fine. Every time you turn the engine off for a period of time moisture accumulates in each cylinder because of the huge temperature change. This is why you see smoke coming out of your tailpipe every time you start your car. I'm really not an expert on marine engines since this is my first season with one, but my guess is that it probably doesn't matter much how or if you do it at all. If I'm wrong, let me know.