Engine & outdrive oil change after 18 months?

[kep5niner]

I winterized my T/5.0 I/Os in my cruiser the fall of 2017. I deployed overseas spring of 2018, and get back this spring 2019. I changed the oil in the engines, as well as both out drives when I winterized. So it will have been 18 months on the hard once I get the boat back in the water this year. Do I need to change the engine oil / outdrive lube or should it be good to go for the season? Thanks for the feedback.

 

[harringtondav]

If "on the hard" means on blocking, trailer, out of water I think you are good to go. It would be a waste of time and good oil & lube to change them.

 

[Scott Danforth]

since its just fresh oil that is in there, you should be good to go

your fuel on the other hand.....

you may need to clean out the fuel system. there is not a fuel stabilizer anywhere that will make fuel last 18 months.

 

[kep5niner]

Thanks for the feedback fellas. I did run plenty of Sta-Bil 360 through there during winterization, and I was kind of out of options beyond that. I did split the difference and only leave the tank with approximately 50% / 60 gallons of fuel. Figured if the "winterize with tanks 100%" idea was followed, I'd have 120 gallons of bad gas this year, and if I left it empty - well, let's just say I didn't have the means to de-fuel when I was winterizing. Maybe some gas-dryer (HEET) and half a tank of fresh fuel this spring will do the trick. If not, off to the marina for de-fuel.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[H20Rat]

Full vs empty is a borderline religious fight, but one undisputed fact is that fuel you haven't bought yet can't go bad. I always try to have tanks as empty as possible, condensation has never been an issue and I don't worry about bad fuel.

I wouldn't add heet, that is essentially nothing but ethanol. I would first take a whiff down the fuel filler. If it smells like bad varnish, I'd get it out of there before starting clean. Given 18 months, it should be fine though, I wouldn't expect varnish in that time. Fill it up and go boating!

 

[QBhoy]

If you are following the manual, then yes.
I certainly would. It’s a very low cost to do so.
Just my thoughts.