Storing 4 stroke outboard engine

[slawosz]

Hi,
I wonder about buying 4 stroke engine (mariner) for my little yacht. I will remove it from cockpit well during sailing and apparently you need to store the engine on one side, due to possibility of oil leakage. I wonder if rocking of the boat during sailing could cause the issue with the oil, when stored on the cabin floor, what do you think? I would appreciate some diagrams to understand where this leakage could come from - apparetly from crankcase, but where will the oil leak to?

 

[Caraway]

From dipstick hole. To inside the cowl and then, who knows?
Easy enough to put a dot of paint (Yellow/red/whatever) to remind you to leave it with the paint showing upwards.

 

[wallacebob]

Most 4T engines I've had have rubber pads on one side of the cowl or casing to show which side is down. Some do not recommend transporting at all in a horizontal position if filled with oil. Oil running from cam cover, head or valves into cylinders can cause lock up; if worried remove plugs and pull the cord before running, to eject any excess oil..

 

[Mark-1]

4T engines

Apologies for the digression but I've been using bottles of oil with 4T/2T on them for years and until you used the abbreviation today I've never wondered why or thought to use that abbreviation myself. So thanks, your post has prompted me to Google. Every day's a school day.

 

[Teko]

Not sure what boat you have. On a leisure 23 that was kept on a swinging Mooring, I used to store the outboard inside. I had a excellent of timber that went across the door way into the forepeak hat could be installed with 2 bolts (quick and easy) the engine would then be hung across this timber

 

[Caraway]

I've has Yamaha, Mariner and Tohatsu (same thing) 4 and 5hp motors and not had a leak during storage as recommended.

 

[johnalison]

I believe that there is no uniformity between makes about which is the correct side, with Honda and Suzuki being opposite. I normally keep ours on the pushpit but I don’t think there would be a problem laid down in normal conditions.

 

[slawosz]

I made some reading and turns out that based on what they say, the engine can't be damage just by oil leak - damage is only due to running without oil, or it can't be started due to 'cloging cylinders' - did I missed something? Anyway, I need to rethink 4 stroke idea as it really looks like complicated beast (and heavy)....

 

[VicS]

[

From dipstick hole. To inside the cowl and then, who knows?
Easy enough to put a dot of paint (Yellow/red/whatever) to remind you to leave it with the paint showing upwards.

Unlikely in most cases to be from dipstick / filler because they usually screw down onto seals..

Perhaps more likely to be via the crankcase breather into the air intake silencer box and to then be drawn into the engine fouling the plug(s) when you try to run it

I made some reading and turns out that based on what they say, the engine can't be damage just by oil leak - damage is only due to running without oil, or it can't be started due to 'cloging cylinders' - did I missed something? Anyway, I need to rethink 4 stroke idea as it really looks like complicated beast (and heavy)....

If you fancy a 4 stroke don't be put off by the laying down issue. Just be sure to lay it down as specified in the owners manual

A small 4 stroke need not weigh a ton. .. Compare the weights of different brands ( although a good few are rebadged Tohatsus) as part of the process of deciding which to buy.

You will be rewarded with very low fuel consumption compared with a 2 stroke and the freedom from having to mix fuel and oil

 

[slawosz]

It is also abundance of extra stuff - like valves and oil pump. Out of curiosity, how often does oil pump needs changing? It looks like quite tricky job.

 

[Mark-1]

It is also abundance of extra stuff - like valves and oil pump. Out of curiosity, how often does oil pump needs changing? It looks like quite tricky job.

Just out of interest are valves on small outboards typically hydraulic or shimmed or locknut?

 

[VicS]

It is also abundance of extra stuff - like valves and oil pump. Out of curiosity, how often does oil pump needs changing? It looks like quite tricky job.

So valve clearance adjustment once a year or with experience probably less......... Only 2 to do on a small outboard unlike 8 ( or more) on a car engine)

Id not expect to have to change an oil pump any more frequently than you change one on a car. (I've changed one in 60 years)
If there is an oil filter then I'd expect a simple screw on job and change probably once per year.

Just out of interest are valves on small outboards typically hydraulic or shimmed or locknut?

Most ITYWF, at least in small engines, are simple screw adjustment and lock nut. One popular engine has side valve IIRC but I don't recall how the clearances are adjusted.

 

[slawosz]

Thank you Vic. I should probably rephrase the question - is it possible to do such a service at home without specialistic tools and if not, how do you estimate cost of service for 5-6 HP 4 stroke?

 

[VicS]

I would think so but then I have always done almost all my own car maintenace for over 50 years.
Most of what is required will be described in the owners manual. About the only thing that I can think of that might be suggested as a dealer job is valve clearance adjustment. If they are shimmed they will most likely only need adjusting after a major overhaul. If they have adjustable tappets then it is a piece of cake anyway if you have a set of feeler gauges and can use a spanner.

 

[Homer J]

My Yamaha 4 stroke 5hp can be stored on either side. The only restriction was not allowing the gear box to get higher than the power head, which sounds easy until you are trying to get it off the flubber whilst alongside a pontoon. And it was quite heavy, I swapped it for a torqeedo and never looked back.

 

[Caraway]

It is also abundance of extra stuff - like valves and oil pump. Out of curiosity, how often does oil pump needs changing? It looks like quite tricky job.

Just about never.

 

[Stemar]

One of the dafter things about my Mariner 4T and, I suspect others, is that there's a carrying handle, but pick it up by that and the engine's tipped 90 deg from the only permissible way to tip it. I bought mine second hand and innocently carried it by the handle to the OB mechanic's for a service and got told off about it.