Winterize an outboard

[Geekie1]

I try not to have alot of fuel in my main fuel tanks and put Stabil in the main tanks on my last long run of the season. I use Startron in my tanks all season. When winterizing, I run my Yammie using Stabil and Startron treated fuel in a small portable tank for about 10 minutes. Since the older Yamaha 2 strokes inject oil directly into the engine crankcase, not through the carburetor, I pull the fuel hose and run the engine until it quits. (The engine gets lubricated until it quits) I then open the carburetor float chamber fuel drains and drain any fuel that is left in all three carburetors. I also drain any gas in the Racor and Yamaha fuel filters then pull the plugs and spray in fogging oil. I also drain the lower unit oil and refill with synthetic gear lube.

I had my steering seize over the winter a couple of years ago and since then I make sure the steering tube on the engine is lubricated with Fluid Film spray. I also spray FF on carburetor linkage and on the shift rod.

The last thing I do is disconnect all of the wires to the batteries and fully charge the batteries. I then hook up two Guest Battery Pals, one for each battery which keeps them charged all winter.

I also bring my compass into the house for the winter.