Tune Up question

N

No Worries

New member
Its that time of year when I need to get my boat tuned up. I keep my CC in a boat house and typcially haul it out and have a mobile marine mechanic come to my house to tune it up. Well I am fairly mechanically inclined, so I got a manual on amazon and looked it over and it doesn't look to hard. I thought I could save some money and hassels if I tuned me up these myself. I have twin Honda 50's. Now on to my questions.

1. Can I tune up the outboards without taking it out of the water? Saves a lot of hassel if I can do it on the water. I can back my boat into the boat house so I can acess the outdrives. At low tide I could put the outdrive almost all of the way down. Will that be enough of an angle to change the gear oil????

2. Should I use a salt away product?? I have not been flushing my engines after use, for I was in a slip before I bought my boathouse and could not physically do this. I am going to start flushing now.

It appears there should be no problem with the oil change. I am at about 200 hours and it looks like that and the fuel filters is about all that need to be done.


Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Doug
 
I am sorry, but what C Dory do you have--center console--with an I/O?

I have always taken the outboards out of the water to drain the lower unit oil. The proper level is filled from below to the top of the upper drain hole. I would find it difficult to get the lower unit full unless it wsa straight down.

oil change is straight foreward--Again I do it on a lift (along with oil filter change, fuel filter change, and grease the fittings on the bracket and steering.

I would always flush an outboard used in salt water (exception is when the boat can be run in fresh water for at least 10 minutes before putting up. You also want to be certain that the outdrive is out of the water, to avoid corrosion. If the motor has been in salt water for a peroid, then I would use "Salt away".

Also it is very possiable that you are due for valve adjustment--this can be done in the water.
 
My mechanic says "Salt Away" and flush 10 minutes after every trip in the salt water. flush for 8 min then add the salt away and run it last. Also use it on the outside and it's ok on the boat itself. Sorry, I don't do monkey wrenching, OH no, sorry, what I do is called monkey wrenching and What I need done is mechanicing, so I get the tune up done at the Yami Dealer.
Harvey
SleepyC
 
I keep my boat in a boathouse and on low tide there are only a few inches of water under the boat. On my previous boats (new boat hasn't enough hours) I did my oil change and lower unit while the boat was hanging in the straps at low tide. As far as flushing the motor I use Salt Away everytime the boat is used to flush the motor, washdown the exterior of the motor and the boat itself especially the bow rail and hand rails. If I trailer the boat I use the Salt Away on the trailer. In the top of my boat house on the bottom of the rafters I ran a piece of 3/4" PVC waterline with tee's every 5 feet. I installed plastic lawn sprinkler heads in these tees and use it as what I call a Lazy Man's boat wash. It works pretty good for a final rinse and beats crawling around on a wet deck 10 feet above the water.
 
Thanks for the information guys. Marvin, sounds like you have a slick set up there. Do you happen to have any pics of what you have made up?? I could be adding this to my to do list...... I am going to go down there at low tide and see what it looks like. I dont have my boat in straps, it sits in the mud at low tide, but I think there would be enough room to put the outboard down to change the gear lube. I Can trailer it out, just would save a pain in the arse if I didnt have to....... THanks again for all the replys.

Doug
 
Doug I don't really have any pictures but it's pretty simple. 20' of 3/4 pvc with a tee about every 5 feet and a plastic sprinkler from Lowes screwed into the tees. All this is attached to the bottom of the rafters with two hole plastic conduit straps with the tee's facing down. I have two valves one under the boathouse and one outside the boathouse. With the valve outside the boatbouse turned off I turn on the one under the boat house then exit the boat and turn the outside valve on. This procedure keeps me from getting a shower along with the boat. I'm considering adding a way to add Salt Away to the rinse water. When I come in from a boat trip I first flush the motor and rinse the boat and motor with salt away using a hose then unload what ever I have to the dock. I then turn on my boat shower and while I'm putting everything away and perhaps cleaning fish the boat gets a good rinse. Be careful to shutdown the system after finishing to avoid over working the bilge pump and perhaps filling the boat with water. My new boat has a screw in plug on the outside of the transom and I can't get to it while the boat is hanging in the lift. On previous boats I always keep the plug on the inside because of this.
 
sounds like a nice set up..... I am going to add this to my winter to do list. IF you happen to get a chance to take a few pics let know... what size heads did you go with on the sprinklers? Do you drythe boat off when you are done, or just let it air dry ?

Thanks again.
 
I just let the boat air dry. The heads I have are the cheap plastic ones that have a screw in the middle that you can adjust the flow with. Lowes and Home Depot both have a variety of these get the full circle ones. If I get some pictures I'll post them. My boat house is enclosed with netting to keep the birds out so it's hard to wash the boat from the dock.
 
No Worries I don't know what part of the country you are in but if freezing weather is and issue I'd be sure to put some sort of drain in to protect the pipe from freezing.
 
Where are you, Doug? If you click on "Profile" in the menu you can edit the info that appears along with your name, what kind of boat you have, etc. It helps to know that info when having conversations!

Warren
 
I am really mad at the Yamaha repair shop.... I took my motors in for a Tune-up and when they came back they ran fine....but they ran fine when I took them in.... it was just 250 hours and I thought it was time.... they charged me $300 plus...... later I found out all they did was change the plugs and the oil and filter.... that's it....nothing else...

I started to have idle problems...thought it was bad gas....I even replaced all my fuel lines...everything.... finally thought maybe I should look at the carbs..... to my amazement the three anti-tamper plugs were still in place over the adjustment screws..... I pulled the plugs and adjusted the carbs...all of a sudden the motor idles now and runs smooth again....
Being a Automotive mechanic it really pisses me off when you get ripped off by an unprofessional shop....

The shop was: Pacific Marine Repair on Palma in Oxnard....
 
I am located in the tacoma area and have a 23 cape cruiser.

Yeh that is why I want to do my own maintance, that and its a pain in the grapes to put it on the trailer and what not to get a tune up.....

Doug
 
Joel,
I feel your pain. I got my lower end back from them with an extra $100 tacked onto the bill because they broke the lower half of the water pump housing trying to remove it. They replaced 3 seal sets, $285, 2 hrs labor.

Or, you could take your motor(s) to the place in Castaic (not today, they're on fire) like I did for their 10/20 hr service, you get your motor(s) back with missing screws!

Take your choice. I'm spending my money on the specialized tools for my next need...
 
For what its worth, there is no way I would do the oil changes with the boat in the water. Too much risk of oil spill or water intrusion from a rogue wave. So, since that is the case, may as well do the tune up at the same time when you have the boat out of the water.
 
No worries Mate.... No waves, and I am going to do it at low tide, when it sits in the mud....., hence no waves when no water. OR at least I hope not.

:wink:
 
1. Can I tune up the outboards without taking it out of the water? Saves a lot of hassel if I can do it on the water. I can back my boat into the boat house so I can acess the outdrives. At low tide I could put the outdrive almost all of the way down. Will that be enough of an angle to change the gear oil????



Doug-
I did my engines earlier this summer on the trailer and think your going to have to pull the boat. Just from a mess (oil spill) and the "oops" of dropping a the fluid plugs perspective. It would make the Job much harder knee deep in water or muck. I say pull it and save yourself the the frustration of lost plugs.

Chris
 
I think you are correct.... I am trying to save a hassle, and in the long run I may end up with more hassel then it is worth. Plus it will give me a chance to check the bottom paint. Thanks for all the replys guys.....

Doug
 
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