YAMAHA CERTIFIED WINTERIZATION PROCESS - MUST SEE

[Leojay]

This MUST SEE video is well worth your time and worthy of sharing, that is unless you’re fortunate enough to boat year round!

Finally! Let’s all be clear on what Yamaha engineers recommend for winterization/long term storage.

 

[Dave burke]

Good video Leon. Very helpful

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Great as always Capt Leon!

Where did you get the TSB on long term storage ?

 

[RobbieO]

Leon is the best. After watching his video I researched my owners manual as well as my service manual. The only thing I could find was lubrication the throttle plates. I may fog my engines any way, so I’m going to try to do it through the breather hose inlet rather than pull both air cleaner boxes off. I have done this on vehicles. He forgot to show us how to do the antifreeze, which is good, but where I live I don’t think I need to do it. If you aren’t dubscribed to Leon’s YouTube channel, I highly recommend it. He’s hilarious

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Leon is the best. After watching his video I researched my owners manual as well as my service manual. The only thing I could find was lubrication the throttle plates. I may fog my engines any way, so I’m going to try to do it through the breather hose inlet rather than pull both air cleaner boxes off. I have done this on vehicles. He forgot to show us how to do the antifreeze, which is good, but where I live I don’t think I need to do it. If you aren’t dubscribed to Leon’s YouTube channel, I highly recommend it. He’s hilarious

Go and look at his winterization NY Style video… Leon and his friend Ken do the rv antifreeze thing.

 

[Julian]

Go and look at his winterization NY Style video… Leon and his friend Ken do the rv antifreeze thing.

"The anti freeze thing"

The thing Yamaha doesn't mention because these engines are self draining. Bothers me when anyone espouses something unnecessary. So many former IO/OB owners who can't stop themselves from doing it. Oh well....OCD is real, I'm OCD about having clean glasses. At least LeoJay is open about what is required.

 

[Judge]

I watched the video several weeks ago after buying a '22 275SD and Hurricane Ian wiped out our marina and I now I have to leave the boat in PA until the marina reopens in 6 - 12 months

I also know Julian has always been firm that antifreeze is a waste of time and money. Plenty of guys from Canada and other northern climates swear your don't need antifreeze as well. I also have that Fogging TSB I found online back in 2014 when I bought my '14 SX192. I never worried about using antifreeze because I stored it in a heated garage. But after buying a $160K boat I wanted to make sure I did the right thing with a boat I never thought would ever see cold temps.

You can put this in the "for what it's worth" bucket when it comes to the antifreeze topic...........

I purchased the Service Manual for my '22 275SD and there isn't a word in it that I can find about winterizing the boat / engine using antifreeze. There are some diagrams for the cooling system that show components and water flow. In the legend it specifically points out components "for water draining when engine is stopped" that emphasizes the self-draining features of the engine.

So the only place Yamaha really talks about long term storage and blowing out the exhaust by revving the engines is in the Owners Manual. I think it is pretty safe to assume that you don't have to worry about the block freezing and cracking. I will preface that by saying I think that assumes you have throughly flushed the engines so there are no blockages preventing water from draining out.

If Yamaha intended / required these engines to be winterized with antifreeze, I think they would certainly have a detailed procedure in the Service Manual.

Quote Reply

 

[InmyElement]

Great video! I've watched all versions.
Few things I've added to my routine.
Torque the plugs to 18.4 ft/lbs, so I don't over tighten
Dielectric grease on the spark plug boot for protection and lubrication (easier to get off and on)

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The engines may self drain but the water boxes hold a lot of water, if they should freeze there is a possibility that the internal ice can break loose the baffles inside the muffler I have seen where engines created too much back pressure in the muffler due to a broken baffle and that caused engine damage. Also as I have mentioned in past decades the water sitting in the box evaporates and then condenses in the cylinders that have open exhaust valves. My assumption as to why the number 3 spark plug gets stuck and breaks off in the MR1 engines. I would think by now they would have some sort of a drain in the box but I realize someone would leave it out and sink their boat and when you design things you have to go with the lesser of the 2 evils. I have also mentioned that if you pulled the exhaust hose from on top of the muffler and then used a wet vacuum at the exit hole of the exhaust next to the pump you could get the majority of the water out of the muffler and then just block the hose above the muffler and remember to reattach it in the spring like leave yourself a note at the helm so you remember , I know I leave myself a lot of notes these days just to be on the safe side. lol.
One more thing to add I NEVER rev the engines on the trailer to blow out water, I just let it idle for about 20 seconds and shut it off, These engines are loaded with valves and a huge timing chain revving an engine with no load on it in my opinion is dangerous and if just one valve sticks open for a fraction of a second you have a damaged engine , on the other side of this is never run a cold engine hard without letting it run a few minutes at no wake speed so you loosen the moving parts easily and circulate the oil and refill the water box before driving the boat fast . After that you should be fine for the rest of the day.

 

[Bluewater272]

"The anti freeze thing"

The thing Yamaha doesn't mention because these engines are self draining. Bothers me when anyone espouses something unnecessary. So many former IO/OB owners who can't stop themselves from doing it. Oh well....OCD is real, I'm OCD about having clean glasses. At least LeoJay is open about what is required.

There's nothing wrong with doing something unnecessarily. Water sits in places, and while I'm aware that it is extremely unlikely to freeze and cause damage, I waste my time with 'the antifreeze thing' (since I need to set it up anyway for the shower), and despite revving it out when I'm done as usual, when I first run the boat in the spring I get a few seconds of pink coming out the pissers.... certainly not coming from the exhaust.

Doing the bare minimum should be the floor, not the ceiling.

 

[Julian]

There's nothing wrong with doing something unnecessarily. Water sits in places, and while I'm aware that it is extremely unlikely to freeze and cause damage, I waste my time with 'the antifreeze thing' (since I need to set it up anyway for the shower), and despite revving it out when I'm done as usual, when I first run the boat in the spring I get a few seconds of pink coming out the pissers.... certainly not coming from the exhaust.

Doing the bare minimum should be the floor, not the ceiling.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Yamaha doesn't recommend it. So I'll continue to post so that new members/owners know what YAMAHA says should be done.

 

[212s]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Yamaha doesn't recommend it. So I'll continue to post so that new members/owners know what YAMAHA says should be done.

I blast a bit of pressurized air through the system to get a little extra water out (not much comes out), that's about it. Next spring I plan to do a vinegar/water flush to see if there is any calcium/scale build up from the hard water we boat in - didn't think about it till this fall. I do an annual flush of our tankless water heater for the same reason to keep it clean and flowing well.

 

[Cambo]

The newer E series boats have the push button . I was going to turn the motor over but was concerned it would keep spinning and splatter fogging oil. Another tip when you have two motors put a bend on the red spray hose you can heat up the end and bend them to a 90 degree at the last 1/2”. The spray hose can be inserted into the breather hose with the tip facing directly at the butterfly then spray away. With two motors removing the air box is very time consuming and they are more difficult due to the tighter space. For the best application of the fogging oil a second person to shut the water and the engine as its being sprayed will allow the best residue for protection. Once winterized don't just leave it untouched for months, grab the jet nozzles each month and and move them back and forth this will help prevent the steering cables from seizing. Same with the buckets for forward and reverse on the E series you can flip the lever in the control box to release the cable so they can be moved up and down. This pertains mostly to salt water boats that have issues with cables failing.

 

[Julian]

The newer E series boats have the push button . I was going to turn the motor over but was concerned it would keep spinning and splatter fogging oil. Another tip when you have two motors put a bend on the red spray hose you can heat up the end and bend them to a 90 degree at the last 1/2”. The spray hose can be inserted into the breather hose with the tip facing directly at the butterfly then spray away. With two motors removing the air box is very time consuming and they are more difficult due to the tighter space. For the best application of the fogging oil a second person to shut the water and the engine as its being sprayed will allow the best residue for protection. Once winterized don't just leave it untouched for months, grab the jet nozzles each month and and move them back and forth this will help prevent the steering cables from seizing. Same with the buckets for forward and reverse on the E series you can flip the lever in the control box to release the cable so they can be moved up and down. This pertains mostly to salt water boats that have issues with cables failing.

Yeah, keeping those cables well greased is crucial to having them survive longer!