The time has come to store the outboard motor and prepare it for the next season. What are the fundamental rules to respect in order to carry out a  safe storage and which allows us to use the engine without having to face expensive maintenance?
Obviously, a good winter storage cannot replace normal maintenance, such as the replacement of oil, filters, spark plugs and impeller, but it will certainly prevent the engine from undergoing unnecessary “aging”. Now let’s see what are the 5 rules that should always be respected.

The Five Rules:

1) Rinse the engine cooling system with fresh water for 15 minutes. This allows you to prevent the engine from standing still for several months from developing oxidation in the cooling system. Even more so if the engine is not equipped with a heat exchanger, rinsing is vital for keeping the water passages in the cylinder liners clean.

2) Draining the fuel from the heat exchanger / carburetor tank and eliminating all the petrol means avoiding the formation of incrustations inside organs that are very sensitive to dirt such as the carburetor. Often it happens that the failure to start the engine is caused by the clogging of some passage inside the carburetor involving the needle or the float

3) External washing of the motor. Although it may seem trivial, after carrying out the above operations it is important to always  rinse the outside of the motor with fresh water in order to remove all saline residues.

4) Grease the various mechanical points for this operation, use a non-washable protective grease as is commonly the blue one used in the nautical field.

5) Spray specific protective spray oil for many products on the market, we suggest you use the one indicated by the manufacturer. For this operation always wear a protective mask to avoid inhaling harmful substances while applying the product.

One last tip. In the use and maintenance manual of your outboard motor, you will find lots of useful information and indications, on how, what and when ordinary maintenance activities should be performed. This ensures that you always have an efficient and performing engine.