Help Winterizing my EFI Outboard

[31Cigarette]

I’m preparing to winterize my outboard and need some advise. It is a 1987 Mercury 220 Laser EFI.
I am going to put a fuel stabilizer in the main tank.
I am looking at two ways of doing the next step.
I am going to mix up a mixture of :
50% gas
35% 2 cycle oil
5% fuel stabilizer
5% dry gas
5% fuel system cleaner (Mercury recommends Quickleen)
I was going to mix this up and remove my fuel/water separator filter dump it out and place the mixture in it. I will have to clamp or remove the fuel line so no main tank fuel goes through.
The other way was to mix in a bigger proportion in a 6 gallon remote outboard tank and hook it up and run the motor like this while I’m flushing it with fresh water.

My next question is should I use antifreeze.
What books I have say to simply make sure all the holes in the lower unit are not plugged and leave in an up right position for the water to drain out.
Someone has suggested that I pour some antifreeze in the by pass hose on the thermostat or remove the T-stat and pour in there. If I do this do I run the risk of getting antifreeze where it doesn’t belong? Will it just flow out of the holes in the gear housing?
He said that I should do this because water can lie in some spots and not flow out.
I just want to know if others do this or is it something not to worry about.

I am going to also drain the speedometer tube.
Replace the water/fuel filter.
Drain and fill the gear housing.
Grease what areas the book says.
Clean and spray things down with WD 40 or equivalent.

Any more suggestions other then move to a warmer climate!

Thanks,
Cordell

[ImbadBob]

Dump the water seperator, check or change the lower unit. You can fog it if you want to.Use fuel stabilizer, trickle charge the battery. Down trim to make sure all water is out of it . Used to have a 220 efi . Worked o.k. Move south to avoid early freeze . Bob

[pyro]

The OEM service manual says to mix up a 50:1 tank of gas, so it will be double-strength 25:1 with the injection (Mix 25:1 if you've pulled the oiler system)
Add some stabilizer while you're at it.

Yeah, dump that separator out. It DOES remove some water from the fuel, regardless of what you've heard. Mine set off the alarm a couple weeks ago after it collected 50cc of dirty water.

You should really run it on the lake for a few minutes on the smoky gas mix, to oil up the innards real nice :D Running at idle will only mix injection oil at 100:1 (if it's an oiler), and the crankcase will not get a very heavy dose of the over-oiled fuel.

As far as I know, you don't have to do any antifreeze with it. I'm pretty sure all the water drains out normally, as long as you tilt the motor fully down.

I have the same motor as you. I usually pull the spark plugs to spray some fogger in there too, probably overkill, but it doesn't hurt. Grease the mechanical goodies (throttle cable, etc.) and grease the steering cables too. Coat 'em real good so the water/snow/ice **** don't find its way in.

Don't bother with the fuel system cleaner. Most cleaners don't do much anyway, and they only help if the motor is running. The stronger cleaners (B-12, etc.) MUST be burned up in the fuel immediately after mixing, since they contain volatile solvents (acetone, toluene, etc) that will vaporize within several days of mixing. Put your fuel system cleaner in in the spring when you run the first tank of fresh gas through it.

Put a open box of D-con rat/mouse poison bait under the hood and in the boat too while you're at it. Dead mice do a lot less damage than live ones. They always find a way to get in there, chew up the wiring, and make a nest out of your seats and cowling foam.

[gaineso]

The easiest thing to do would be to let me keep it in Florida over the winter. That way it could be used every week and you wouldn't have to worry about foggin' and stuff.

Seriously, spray a little foggin' oil into each cylinder with the engine turning on the starter. Pull the kill switch and all the plugs and spray while somebody cranks it. Put the plugs back. Change the gear oil. Leave it tilted all the way down. If there's a small amount of water left in the passages, it'll be a small enough amount that it won't hurt any thing if it freezes.

Best of luck. My only experience with winterizing is keeping my shirt on untill about 11:00 AM.

[31Cigarette]

In looking for information on winterizing I came across this at the Murcury web site. Storage Seal is a fogging oil spray.

Q: Why is Storage Seal Rust Inhibitor not recommended in the newer EFI and OptiMax engines?

A: Storage Seal Rust Inhibitor uses a thick base designed to protect the internal engine surfaces. In some applications we have seen a build up of the thick base inside the injectors, causing the injectors to stick or operate incorrectly. On these models we recommend Quickleen and 2-cycle engine oil as a replacement for Storage Seal Rust Inhibitor. Quickleen is used to clean the injectors. The engine oil lubricates, as well as prevents rust from forming. We continue to recommend Fuel System Treatment and Stabilizer to help prevent the formation of varnish and/or gum in the gasoline. Always follow the storage procedures outlined in your Operation, Maintenance & Warranty Manual or Service Manual.

Cordell

[JW]

I was planning on running fogging oil into the intake while it was running (1995 Promax digital EFI) and it looks like I almost blew it............