Transporting a 4 stroke

I did a search on this and only found a couple comments about what it says in the manuals. I looked on online manuals for motors too and read the same thing about they should be stored upright to prevent oil from leakind. However, does that mean that they will leak if you lay them down, or are they just trying to cover themselves? That is one of my deciding points now from getting a 4 stroke (probably Tohatsu 9.8 because of the weight) or a 2 stroke. Just wanted to know if anyone had any problems with laying them down. I would keep it stored upright, but just transporting it sometimes may need to be laid down. Thank you.

Re: Transporting a 4 stroke

Hi, Joey.<br /><br />As you have probably read in other posts, the small 4 strokes almost all have very strict rules for transport. They must be laid on one side ot the other to prevent oil from getting into places it shouldn't be, or even leaking out of the engine altogether.<br /><br />If you need to transport a kicker or small outboard regularly I would consider that a major disadvantage, along with weight, of a 4 stroke.<br /><br />Good luck.

Re: Transporting a 4 stroke

What are you going to be using the motor for? Kicker, Johnboat, Ect. As JB said, they can be transported, ut you must be carefull. If you plan on doing this alot, get the 2-stroke unless you plan on draining and refilling the oil every time you transport it.....

Re: Transporting a 4 stroke

Yeah for a kicker. I thought I should take it off of my main boat when transporting it to take the strain off of the transom, but then I realized it bounces more while running in the water than on the freeway! So I'd probably only be transporting it when using my little boat in the back of the truck. I just want the option to lay it down if I need to and I did see where it says to lay it on a certain side. I know about the weight, but the 80 pound Tohatsu and the 60 pound 2 stroke 8HP's don't seem like that much weight difference. I just wish I could hear both of the running because some people say the 2 is a lot noisier and some say its not big deal! Too many choices!!!!!