Outboard Motor Care and Maintenance

Blake K

Blake K

Active member
Picked up a Tohatsu MFS6D outboard yesterday which I plan to pair up with a County Line 1038 which I have on order and hope to get by early to mid summer. This motor is 3 years old and was used strictly as a kicker motor and has only 1 hour on it. Only planning to use the internal gas tank since places I plan to use it are a very short trip and being a smaller boat want to maximize space in the boat.

It has been 30+ years since I have owned and maintained an outboard motor. Simply looking for suggestions on care and maintenance. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
 
First thing before you even try to start it is drain old fuel and lines and any filters, sediment bowls, etc. especially if motor has sit for any period of time with no use. If 2 stroke mix up a small amount of new fuel and try it in a tank or on ears if able to do so. If 4 stroke might want to do an oil / filter change prior to starting just to be on safe side. Hopefully you won,t run into carb issues if motor isn,t fuel injected. Might be a good idea to run some startron in fuel to help clean up any residue left over from previous fuel. Lube throttle linkages and associated cams, Grease it, change lower unit oil and check for filings or water intrusion into lower unit. How long has motor sit up without use. Is it still pumping water good once started? Previous salt water use and long periods between use impeller may have deteriated , hopefully not. Boat motors seem to work best when used frequently at least in my experience.
 
A lot of what Roy said but also change the water pump immediately. Any motor that sits for a period of time the pump needs to be changed. I would freshen it up with all that Roy said but right off the bat just replace:

- Plugs
- Fuel pump (if it has one which I believe it does)
- Water pump
- Change lower unit oil
- Take the prop off, grease the shaft and hub, and replace with a new cotter pin.

I would also buy a carb rebuild kit just to have on hand. I keep that, a water pump kit, a fuel pump, plugs and lower unit oil and plug gaskets on hand at all times.
 
The previous owner before every duck season would hook it up to an external tank, start and run it short bit, then run it dry. Also would change the lower unit oil annually as a precaution. I know the previous owner well enough to know that he takes great care of all his equipment. It is a 4 cycle and never been used in salt water. He camo'd the motor with a power sprayer when he bought it and there isnt even any wear marks on prop which was painted as well.
 
If its been that well taken care of, I'd change the water pump, get some fresh no-ethanol gas and then crank her up and see how she runs.
 
Carl said:
If its been that well taken care of, I'd change the water pump, get some fresh no-ethanol gas and then crank her up and see how she runs.
Click to expand...

Water pump fairly simple to replace? Figure there is a you tube video out there somewhere.
 
It is in most models, take off a cover, release the shift rod, unbolt the lower unit, put in the new impeller, rebolt lower unit, re-attach the shift linkage and replace cover.
Done.
Just that easy.

[;)]
 
Here's an embarrassingly simple question that I don't know. Is it best to store an outboard upright on a rack, or laying down on its back? I've got room in a loft that I'd love to lay it down.
 
Sounds like you hit the jackpot then. Put it in some water and try it. At 3 y.o. impeller should be in good shape hopefully especially in just fresh water use. Just a note that even running motor till its dry or cuts off which is actually what happens still leaves some fuel in the system. Not sure if motor fuel injected or carbed but if fuel injected you don,t want run them till they run out of fuel. Carbed it is proper procedure. That little bit of fuel sitting in system after motor cutoff is actually first fuel to motor when restarted after sitting . Thats what can mess up carbs, injection system. When you run motor first tank full try that startron to clean fuel system. And sounds like motor hasn,t been run enough to even break in so follow break in procedure for a new motor described in owners manual. Usually amounts to not running full throttle and varying rpms for sometimes as much as 20 hrs.
 
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I have no idea!

I read the Tohatsu webpage on this motor and it seems it can be stored laying down on 1 of 3 sides.
But I believe other 4 strokes are very picky about which way they are stored.
Dont think it matters much with a 2 stroke????

BTW, this looks like a really cool, light weight 4 stroke 6hp. I imagine it would be ideal for true displacement hulls.
 
Carl said:
I have no idea!

I read the Tohatsu webpage on this motor and it seems it can be stored laying down on 1 of 3 sides.
But I believe other 4 strokes are very picky about which way they are stored.
Dont think it matters much with a 2 stroke????

BTW, this looks like a really cool, light weight 4 stroke 6hp. I imagine it would be ideal for true displacement hulls.
Click to expand...

Carl--A too read the same in the manual as far as laying it down. However I still will store it in an upright position.

Really excited to break it in a give it a trial run. I have another aluminum layout boat which is almost identical in size and shape to the County Line 1038 which I would like to try it out on and break it in on, but temps for this upcoming weekend are highs in the lower to mid teens and lows below 0. Think Ill just be smart and stay indoors all weekend. LOL
 
Paul Mc said:
Here's an embarrassingly simple question that I don't know. Is it best to store an outboard upright on a rack, or laying down on its back? I've got room in a loft that I'd love to lay it down.
Click to expand...

I didn't know the answer for a 4 stoke outboard so I asked the question and this was the first thing that popped up.

It's almost never a good idea to lay an outboard motor down on its side or back. This is doubly true in the winter, when moisture from condensation needs to drain from the motor. Evinrude/Johnson emphatically states that four-stroke motors must be stored upright and recommends this for all other motors.
How to Lay Down an Outboard | Gone Outdoors | Your ...
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goneoutdoors.com/lay-down-outboard-8553714.html
 
Paul Mc said:
Here's an embarrassingly simple question that I don't know. Is it best to store an outboard upright on a rack, or laying down on its back? I've got room in a loft that I'd love to lay it down.
Click to expand...

2-stroke: Store it any way you please. Just be careful if you store it with the prop facing skyward. If water gets trapped in there, it can crack.

4-stroke: Consult the manual. If they are stored in the wrong manner they can leak oil into the cylinders. I always recommend storing them upright, regardless of what the manual says.
 
2 stroke almost any which way. My 4 stroke has a small bumper on the side that indicates it can be placed on that side only or upright.
 
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