[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by peiserma

I have the following plan, assuming the seller is OK with everything: get some new spark plugs. Work some oil into the cylinders through the spark plug holes.

Good idea..

Change motor oil in order to look at the oil fill plug (for shavings) and see if its oil or sludge in there.

This is a 2 stroke engine...yes? If so there is no engine oil to change, other than the oil that's in the tanks ready to be pumped into the engine while the engine is running.. If he's running pre-mix than the portable tank will need to have the proper amount of 2 stroke oil mixed into it before you try to run the engine.

I like the suggestion of a portable gas tank. That way I do not have to mess with draining the old gas, and I can throw in a $5 bottle of fuel injector cleaner (the outboard is fuel injected).

Use Mercury injector cleaner. And I'd also highly recommend treating the fuel with Seafoam.

Oh, and I should probably drain the lower unit to make sure it has no water in it.

Absolutely a great idea... Look for metal shavings of any kind, as well as milky or cloudy oil.

What else would you suggest? Assuming the engine ran two years ago and has no major problems, can I reasonably expect that I can get the engine running with the steps outlined above?

Yes, however some things to keep in mind. Optimax engines require a marine starting battery with a mininum of 1000 Marine Cranking Amps. They are very power hungry while cranking because of the air and fuel injectors. And, while running, because of their huge power requirements, they don't start charging your battery(s) until about 2500 rpm. Below that they are drawing some power from the battery. Additionally, be sure that, when in neutral, the throttle cable is adjusted so that is holding the throttle arm up against the idle stop. The engine's computer is looking for a specific value from the throttle position sensor...and if the cable is not adjusted correctly this will trip an error code. (DON'T USE THE WARM UP LEVER OR THROTTLE ONLY FEATURE OF YOUR CONTROLS DURING STARTING).

I'm not sure about a couple things. First, I assume its possible to hook up a garden hose to cool the engine? Is there a FAQ (with illustrations if possible) on this?

Yes, use what are called engine muffs or mouse ears. Basically rubber disks that clamp around the bottom around the engine's water pick up holes and are attached to a garden hose. NEVER run an engine without water. You will destroy the rubber impeller inside your water pump in less than 10 seconds.

Second, is it possible to run this motor on a portable tank?

Yes.. in fact for your tests it's recommended so you can rule out possible old or bad fuel.

And finally, can the motor be turned over by hand, to work the oil into the cylinders? How would one go about doing this? Is there a service manual for the Optimax available on-line?

Yes, just turn the flywheel. It will probably be impossible or really, really hard to do with the plugs in, and since you want to work the oil into the cylinders and rings, it's advisable to have them all out... but it's so much easier to just use your engines' starter.. squirt the oil in and hit the starter switch for a few seconds to turn the engine over... let it sit for a few minutes..then do it again... you're done. Oh, and as a general rule of thumb, unless a service manual calls for it, never turn an engine backwards.. you can break things that are only designed to move in one direction.


Probably not on the service manual. They like to sell these things to make money. Look for Seloc or Clymers, or a genuine service manual from Mercury online in eBay. Usually they go for around $30-$50.


Hope that answered your questions, with a few comments thrown in for good measure. Red skys at night....