Boat not run in 5 years -help

[chrisleeburns]

I'm wondering what I need to do, might need to do, should watch for, how bad it is, if my boat has not been run in 5 years. I last winterized it at the end of the season in Ohio about 5 years ago. I ended up moving to Southern California shortly after and brought the boat with. It's been in covered outside storage since, never freezing temps. I just have had too many things going on to make any trips with it and we don't have an abundance of fresh water lakes in close proximity of San Diego, at least, not what I was used to having in Ohio. Anyways, I broke it out and cleaned everything up and it looks great, but now I'm worried about the engine and what kind of work it will need. I opened the engine compartment and it still looks good as new. Thoughts? Warnings? Thanks.

2000 Prostar 190 LTR 330HP
140 hours.

[Gamble]

change the fluids, and replace the impeller for sure.........

[Hammer]

I would prime the motor. IE spin the oil pump to circulate the oil around. And keep an eye on it as the seals may have hardened/ dried since no oil has circulated in that length of time. Things to look for: valve seals, front main seal, rear main seal, oil pan, head, and valve cover seals.

[BrianM]

Drain all of the fluids and fill with fresh including fuel, replace the impeller and plugs, charge/replace the battery and go ski.

[etduc]

I'm wondering what I need to do, might need to do, should watch for, how bad it is, if my boat has not been run in 5 years. I last winterized it at the end of the season in Ohio about 5 years ago. I ended up moving to Southern California shortly after and brought the boat with. It's been in covered outside storage since, never freezing temps. I just have had too many things going on to make any trips with it and we don't have an abundance of fresh water lakes in close proximity of San Diego, at least, not what I was used to having in Ohio. Anyways, I broke it out and cleaned everything up and it looks great, but now I'm worried about the engine and what kind of work it will need. I opened the engine compartment and it still looks good as new. Thoughts? Warnings? Thanks.

2000 Prostar 190 LTR 330HP
140 hours.

Spinning the oil pump moves oil to top of the block (valve train). Squirt a little 30wt oil, into cylinders, thru spark plug holes. (Let it sit.) The idea is to slightly lube the piston rings. I was told, to do it.

Also, have your alternator inspected, the brushes often stick, when set up for long time.

Some say to turn the engine over, a couple of times, before making attempt at starting. Loosens things up? :confused:

After you get it running, let it completely warm-up (just a tad above idle speed) 1000ish rpm. Watch the temp and oil pressure guages.

Turn off engine, give engine time, to let oil drain. Drain oil, thru cheese cloth. Inspect chees cloth, for debris(actually metal grit/sludge. stuff that'll mess up your oil pump). Remove oil filter, drain and cut in half. (Do not use a saw.) Inspect for debris. If it looks reasonable, put in new regular oil, go to the lake.

Cross your fingers. Go for a long ride, the engine under load will perform differently, than the driveway. Basically, your breaking-in the engine, again. So use the same pre-cautions. I also recommend, another oil change (looking for debris.) fairly soon.

[babymoore3]

I would agree start with changing oil complete with filter - viscosity of your manual or slightly thicker since your oil may be degraded with fuel by the end. Also agree with the removing plugs (not only WD40 into the cylinders but to replace them once you get the engine going and running smooth). I wouldn't worry about being light with WD40 as you probably have rust on cylinder walls. Disconnect the distributor / coil and turn the engine over slightly by hand if you can (two sockets and crow bar on a damper pulley bolts) or screwdriver to the flywheel tooth if you have a port for that. Go after the WD40 again. Once the engine has moved (hopefully a revolution+ put the plugs back in and crank with the coil disconnected and no fuel (carb only can damage injectors if fuel is required to cushion injector movement). Only turn the engine over for 30 seconds or so at a time then let it rest for about 1-2 minutes to aviod damaging the starter. You may need extra battery power (jumpers to a vehicle or another battery) to do this a considerable amount of times (10-15). I know NOT fun right? This would be to get the cam, crank, bearing journals all wet before loading the engine with actual combustion. Ideally you would be able to supply 40-60 psi oil pressure to block while turning over but few people have access to external oil pumps. Now add fuel if you are carbed, (if you are injected you will be having heavy amounts of gas in the oil change it once the engine is started and runs for a while.) Lots of good advise above that should also be followed...

[Monte]

Pictures????

[Jim@BAWS]

Sounds Like All The Bases Have Been Covered

[chrisleeburns]

Thanks for all the help, this is all great advice, exactly what I needed. I'll be getting to it this weekend, I'll let you how how it goes...

[JimN]

The first thing I would do is remove the spark plugs and try to rotate the crankshaft with a ratchet wrench. If it's stuck, it's likely that the rings are rusted in place, to the cylinder walls. This may, or may not, break loose with only minor damage and if they really don't want to come loose, the rings may break, which can really screw up the pistons and it won't be good for the cylinders. I would stay away from using WD40 since it has cutting oil in it.

I would also remove the starter and make sure the shaft is lubed, so it doesn't stick when the key is turned to crank it over. Once the starter has been checked out and it's known that it will return to its normal position, check the fuel pressure and take a sample. Unless the tank was completely drained and the fuel lines flushed/purged, what is in there won't burn well, if at all. Make sure you have fresh gas at the Shrader valve before you try to start it. If there's no fuel pressure while cranking, it's obviously not going to start and pouring gas into the throttle body won't make it start unless you're pushing air from the tank, which you can do without running it by turning the key ON, listen for the fuel pump and assuming it's working, turn the key off and wait for more than 5 seconds. Repeat this 4-5 times and take a pressure reading again. If you have 30 pounds of pressure, try to start it. If you have less than 20 pounds, fix the fuel issues before trying to start it.

If you plan to crank it over to loosen it up, remove the lanyard from the safety switch and pull the spark plugs- it'll be a lot easier on the starter. If you want to get oil to the top end, remove the metal disc where the distributor normally is located and put a large slotted screwdriver tip in a cordless drill. Bump the starter to see which direction the shaft rotates and use the drill to turn the oil pump for about 30 seconds.

If there's any gas in the tank, remove it and dispose of it properly. That gas won't be good for the motor. and after 5 years, I wouldn't even use it in a lawnmower.