Fogging the engine

[sirlandsalot]

Has anybody ever Fogged a Suzuki four stroke before? book says nothing about it but common sense says other. Any suggestions?

[Tony E]

If its a 4 stroke then you don't have to fog it. That is what you use to do to the old 2 strokes to get them ready for winter and such. Now all you have to do is run it out of gas totally so the gas doesn't sit all winter in your bowls and turn into turpentine but other than that , that's it. Its a good time to do an oil change and check the leg bottom end oil and change it all. Good luck!!!

[Russ]

I never fog my Suzi. Not even sure how. These motors are weird, you can't just take plugs out and put them back in without "indexing" them so the gap faces the valve. So I don't mess with that. Not even sure where the air intake is.

As mentioned, run the gas out of it. Pull the fuel line and connect a garden hose to the input port and run it out.

I added fuel stabilizer and ran that through. Then pumped some RV antifreeze into the flush port and run it through. They don't say to do this, but I like to have antifreeze in there someplace. This doesn't let me run the fuel out, but it's never been an issue with the fuel injectors in the spring.

Also, store the motor tilted DOWN. This allows it to drain and is how Suzuki states to store it.

[1-Tntimbo]

Glad I live in the South

[sirlandsalot]

Great, thank you guys,

never had a boat engine before....and we get about 6 feet of snow here..lol

[Russ]

We don't get 6' of snow, but it gets COLD. We have a week or so of sub zero temps, so winterizing is important.
The other thing to winterize is the sink pump. I used to run RV (non toxic) antifreeze through it. Some in the sink drain also. However, in the spring that stuff smells nasty in the lines.
This year I tried something different. Taking a lesson from my how they winterize my underground sprinkler system at the house, I forced air through the lines to blow out all the water. I took my dinghy air pump and blasted air through the lines. Seems dry now. Hopefully there is not enough water in there to freeze and cause damage.

As mentioned, this is good time to change the oil. The Suzuki is very easy to change the oil/filter. Warm up the motor and use the provided allen wrench to unscrew the plug on the port side. It will drain fast and down the side so have a bucket to catch it. Filter is on the starboard side inside the cowling and unscrews by hand. Buy a couple of filters and have them on hand for next year.

Lower unit oil is a bit trickier. Two screws for drain and vent. You must fill it from the bottom by pumping it in until it squirts out the top hole. There are lots of Youtube videos on this. Like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkU-xdNW-3M

I'm no mechanic and can change the engine oil in 30 minutes. Pretty easy to work on.

[Tony E]

If you don't do the lower leg and if there is water in there from this year for some reason, then it will freeze when it gets below 0. After that there is a chance that your lower leg will crack and then that will cost your thousands to replace so it is worth it. When you are draining your oil usually if the oil is contaminated with water it will be a white milky color and then you know that you have a seal leak or O-ring shot. If its good clear oil color then you just add new stuff and you are good to go. Sad part is shutting it down for the winter. Up here is Saskatchewan it is shut down time in Sept and then I start it up the beginning of May or so. Dam stupid winter I am sick of it already and haven't seen a flake yet...lol Good luck

[dlandersson]

Getting to be that time of year again - engine fogging.

Has anybody ever Fogged a Suzuki four stroke before? book says nothing about it but common sense says other. Any suggestions?

[Russ]

[OverEasy]

Ditto for what Russ said.
Suzuki manual doesn’t mention anything about winter prep other than keeping it vertical to ensure it’s drained of water before things freeze up. Personally I’ve gone a little extra and rig up my air compressor to the “ear muffs” and blow out the water cooling passages after the end of season freshwater flushing and oil changes of the upper & lower units. (Note: In full transparency….Last year I skipped the end of season oil changes as it wasn’t but 50 hours since I had changed it… I did do a fresh oil change in the Spring before starting the season)

On our home up north when winterizing the domestic water system I used to blow out the entire system but have since changed over to using the RV winter antifreeze as it does a better and more effective protection of the entire system. I also make sure to drain the toilet tanks and all traps before refilling them with the RV antifreeze which is good to better than -30 F… if it gets colder when our home is located then that there is some other more serious things to contend with!

Just Blowing down can still allow for fresh water to remain accumulated in low spots and/or drip down from the plumbing interior surfaces.

I’ve Never had an issue with anything funky happening when reactivating the system in the Spring.

The minimal cost of the RV antifreeze is low cost insurance, the process is simple and takes minimal time to accomplish compared to the time, effort, coordination and noise of an air blow down. Just my personal perspective.

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Russ]

My Suzuki manual says nothing about fogging. As OE says, it simply states to store with the motor tilted down to allow to drain. This has worked for many sub zero winters.

I have little to winterize. I run some of the pink RV antifreeze through my fresh water galley pump and washdown pump and then run them dry. That's it.

The cockpit drain seems pointless to treat as any antifreeze would get flushed out with rain. I've never had a problem with it.

The ONLY reason I cover the boat is to keep snow and water off the deck fittings where it can freeze, expand and cause leaks. So far that has worked well.

[DaveC426913]

Sunuvagun. I thought my neglecting to fog my engine was a sign of a bad owner. Turns out I was neglecting to fog my engine before it was cool.

[Be Free]

Me too. In more than 50 years of boating, the only time I've fogged my engine was when I found myself anchored or occasionally sailing in an area where the perpetually moist air here has been cooled to its dew point. Does that mean I've been fogging my engine in the winter and not even realizing it?

[adudinsk]

Was told to never fog a EFI engine by the dealer.. only fog and stall out a carb'ed engine.
Just installed a DF60A Suzuki .


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[dlandersson]

Sunuvagun. I thought my neglecting to fog my engine was a sign of a bad owner. Turns out I was neglecting to fog my engine before it was cool.