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I winterized my ETC today for the first time and the process is the slickest thing I've ever seen. There is a sequence you go thru and it automatically goes into a cycle and fogs the cylinders and prepares the motor for winter storage. Beats the process that I have gone through with my previous motors. I am really impressed with it. Really neat process
Interesting. Where did you find the recommended winterizing procedure?
I was reading my manual and noticed they recommend leaving the motor vertical all the time. Does anyone know if that means to leave the motor tilted into the water between uses when it's docked? I've been tilting mine out of the water.
An outboard motor only drains completely when the engine is vertical, plus the trim rams are retracted and protected from the elements.
If the boat is left in the water during freezing temps, it is best to leave it vertical so the block will drain and not freeze any trapped pockets of water.
arthureld
I agree with seahorse in that it simply drains better in a vertical position. When mine is in the water I leave it tilted out of the water also. As far as the winterizing, there should be a section in your manual that explains it. On mine you move the idle arm to the halfway point. (in neutral) Start it and let it run for 15sec. Move to slow idle for 15 sec and then move back to 1/2 until it shuts itself off. (About 1 minute) During this procedure your sys chk lights will all stay lighted and then blink until it's completed.
Edited by ioptfm on 11/12/07 - 5:02 PM
Tom
1979 Sport 15'
The manual recomends that you leave the motor tilted down, especially in freezing weather. If you must tilt it up, they recomend that you leave it vertical until it drains completely and then tilt it up. I usually pull mine onto my jetdock and shut off the outboard. I then leave it vertical while I empty the boat, put the mooring cover on, and generally cleanup. This takes 20 minutes and then I tilt it up.
Winterization starts on page 40 of your manual. It's pretty easy to winterize, the trick is the "fast idle button" is a fancy way to say, push the button that takes the engine out of gear. I have to actually re-winterize mine, because I though I was going to actually put the boat back in the water, I did the winterization but didn't fill the tank with gas or put in stabilizer, both of which I need to do next weekend.
Really neat process
