Boat Engine Maintenance and Troubleshooting: Part Four

Many people assume that as long as they add coolant to their system they are doing something beneficial for their boat, which is certainly not the case. Before adding coolant to your system, you must premix it and ensure that it has the proper ratio of water to fluid. Adding too much coolant to your engine can cause a sticky mess in the cooling system, while too little coolant has obvious ramifications.

The other main fluid to change regularly is the outboard motor oil, which will begin to develop carbon buildups. When this happens, the carbon that is suspended in the oil is transferred throughout the entire engine. A good rule of thumb is to change your oil every 100 hours, although some boaters opt to do so more frequently. Tomorrow we will continue outlining the oil changing process and conclude our series on engine maintenance.