1997 Winterized in October 2010; not ran since

[rcthorpe]

I purchased a 1997 Nautique (351 EFI GT 40) over the winter. It was winterized at the end of the 2010 season (October 2010), and has not been ran since. The oil and transmission fluids look good, and the fuel looks pretty good (has 1/2 tank with fuel additive at winterization). The boat has been stored in Michigan/Wisconsin. I have read that oil breaks down by being used, but since the boat hasn't run, should I be okay? Do you think the fuel is fine? Any other considerations before I fire it up in the spring? Thanks.

[mastercard]

Personally, I would change all fluids and after that let the engine warm up real good before putting a load on it.

[Quinner]

Fuel now a days seems to go bad very quickly, this past spring I had fuel related problems with gas that was only about 5 months old and was treated, boat stopped running on the second half of the treated tank, adding fresh fuel solved the problem.
If it's not too much trouble I would consider draining that fuel or at least adding some fresh stuff.

And as mentioned, change the motor and trans fluids for sure.

[core-rider]

Real question is how was it witerized? Didi they fog the engine before lay-up or just drain the water? Without fogging oil in the cylinders, having sat that long I would bet there is at least a small amount of surface rust. I would remove the plugs and give each cylinder a squirt of fogging oil, as well as remove the coil wire so you can turn the engine over for a bit until it make oil pressure. At least that way you know there is oil everywhere it needs to be before running.

You could change the fluids too... cheap insurance! As far as the fuel goes, even treated, if the tank was only half full that leaves a lot of room for condensation. Over 1.5 years that could equal a good bit of water in the fuel, more so if ethenol. It may be worth draining the fuel to put new in. If nothing else you possibly prevented more problems.

[vanislwake]

I agree with everything core rider said and would most definately drain that gas

[crobi2]

Yeah, make yourself feel better and do all that before you start her. Did you get a new battery?

[rcthorpe]

Thanks for the advice; looking at removing the old fuel and replacing with new, squirting a little Mystery Oil into the cylindars, running it 5-10 minutes to warm up, sucking the crankcase oil (replacing with Valvoline VR1 20W50) and tranny (replacing with Valvoline Dexron-red bottle) fluids out and replacing (still need to get a new battery). What do you guys recommend for oil extraction (my boat doesn't have a hose attached to the drain to pull through the hull)? I have been looking at the Pella 6000's and similar pumps. They seem to get pretty good ratings on Amazon (skidim has a good price). Am I missing anything?

[wskiboy]

I would also change your impeller and check your O ring in your strainer so you won't have overheating issues

[rcthorpe]

I pulled the impeller (and it is definitely past its prime); not sure if it was time or from the antifreeze and rubber combo.

[Rick]

I think everyone has just about covered it. Putting a new impeller in is a really good idea. You don't know how old the one installed is and it's possible that it may be stuck and turning the engine over might rip off one of the vanes. As for the gas, I would siphon out as much as you can and add new or just top up the tank.

[crobi2]

While you're doing it all, you might want to go ahead and install a drain hose on your crankcase, then you can make a fitting for IT to fit your vacuum extractor.

I got an 8 L extractor that can pump both ways. Really nice for dumping out the chamber.