Terry offers some helpful advice for anglers wanting to maximize the life of their outboard motors.
By Terry Brown
For most of us, buying a new outboard is a major investment so regardless of its size, it’s imperative to properly break it in. Not only does it ensure everything works appropriately, but also gives the engine the best opportunity to be well lubricated to include pistons, rings, cylinders and even the lower unit.
Today’s engines are sophisticated machines and taking the proper care both in break-in and maintenance will make sure that investment lasts longer and runs better.
There isn’t a lot of difference in break-in between two and four-stroke engines, but of course you don’t have to add oil to the fuel of the four-stroke. The four-stroke is like a car engine where periodic changes of oil and fuel is all that’s necessary. Two strokes have to have oil added to the fuel and range from 50:1 to 100:1 mixtures depending on brand, horsepower and age of the engine.
