It’s Outboard Motor Tune-up Time, Part II

When we left off yesterday, we were right in the middle of a visual inspection of the outboard motor – the sort of examination that should be performed every time you undertake the annual tune-up process. Now that we’ve established that no fluids have obviously leaked from the motor to the ground, it’s time to take a close look at the propeller. Small cracks or nicks in the tip of the blades can decrease efficiency, as can misaligned or bent blades.

Again, I’d ask you to defer to your owner’s manual at this point. Seek out the seasonal tune-up recommendations and find out whether or not you should be changing lubricant in the motor’s lower unit. If recommended, remove the top and bottom fill plugs and watch carefully as the lubricant drains into a spare waste container. Just as you replaced your old motor oil with bulk oil, substitute in new lubricant.

The lubricant applicator’s nozzle should fit nicely in the bottom fill hole; squirt it into the gear case. Then, just as it starts to overflow and ooze out of the top fill hole, return the top plug to its accustomed place. Do the same with the bottom plug and wipe away any extraneous lubricant with a cloth. We’ll continue with necessary lubrication in tomorrow’s edition.