Winter Storage Question

[meder24]

I will be taking my boat in for winter storage tomorrow in a local underground mine. Last year I made the mistake of storing the boat with the out drive all the way up, which I have since learned is bad for the boat.
I called today and they do not allow for the out drive to be all the way down as they have to be able to move the boat, if necessary.

My question is in order to not hurt anything internally, does the out drive need to be lowered all of the way to the ground or will a partial lowering be alright to utilize? I do plan to support the out drive as to not leave all of the weight on the seals.

 

[oldjeep]

Any amount of lowering will straighten out the bellows partially. I sure wouldn't worry about supporting the drive, if it can't hold itself up then it needs repair.

 

[meder24]

Thank you for the response. The out drive has no issues supporting itself, I just didn't know if this helped anything.
This puts my mind at ease a bit so thank you.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you could simply pull the drive off if needed.

 

[meder24]

Thank you Scott but not looking to get that involved

 

[Scott Danforth]

you need to pull the drive once a year for inspection of the u-joints, bellows and gimbal bearing anyway

 

[meder24]

I personally do not have the resources at this time to do so.

 

[oldjeep]

you need to pull the drive once a year for inspection of the u-joints, bellows and gimbal bearing anyway

I'd be curious to know how many people actually do that. Mine was off once in 9 years to fix a leak.

 

[meder24]

I'd be curious to know how many people actually do that. Mine was off once in 9 years to fix a leak.

I second that.

 

[thumpar]

I pull mine every other year. Meder24: If it is a Merc all it takes it 10 minutes to pull the drive. Put it in forward, remove the pin from the rams and then the six nuts holding the drive on. It will pop right off.

 

[meder24]

I am building a garage as we speak so come next Spring, when I take it out of storage, I will have the resources to do such. Hopefully there is no need to do so though aside from a check-up.

 

[bruceb58]

I pull mine every year or every other year. Problem is if you don't and you have water in your bellows, your input shaft will corrode, and water will enter your drive. You also want to check alignment so you don't wipe out a coupler. On a Bayliner I had, it needed adjustment every few years. It takes all of an hour once you are good at it. Small amount of work to prevent an expensive problem.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I pulled my OMC every other year, primarily for inspection of the ball gears, etc.
I pulled my Mercruiser every other year to install bellows, inspect, and replace the water pump
I pull my Volvo every year, primarily to repaint the lower, however it also helps for inspection.

 

[garbageguy]

winter storage tomorrow in a local underground mine. Last year I made the mistake of storing the boat with the out drive all the way up, which I have since learned is bad for the boat.
I called today and they do not allow for the out drive to be all the way down as they have to be able to move the boat, if necessary.

My question is in order to not hurt anything internally, does the out drive need to be lowered all of the way to the ground or will a partial lowering be alright to utilize?

First off, that's a great use for an old mine - I think.

I am in a similar situation, where I store my IO in a warehouse I can't get to, and cannot put the drive down. So, i am in the same situation as the OP and am wondering if it is bad enough for me to find another storage location. In the three years I have stored there, I have had to replace the bellows twice - the first time because it was a new to me boat and I just had it done to be sure, the second because the exhaust bellows got ripped during other work. I would like to see what others experience has been with storing with the drive up.

 

[oldjeep]

First off, that's a great use for an old mine - I think.

I am in a similar situation, where I store my IO in a warehouse I can't get to, and cannot put the drive down. So, i am in the same situation as the OP and am wondering if it is bad enough for me to find another storage location. In the three years I have stored there, I have had to replace the bellows twice - the first time because it was a new to me boat and I just had it done to be sure, the second because the exhaust bellows got ripped during other work. I would like to see what others experience has been with storing with the drive up.

For what it is worth, my 2005 Bayliner 195 was stored year round with the drive up in the trailer position for the 9 years I owned it and I never had an issue with it. Only time the drive was ever down is when it was in the water.

Looking around at all the boats sitting in outside storage lots I'd be hard pressed to find one that had the drive down.

 

[bruceb58]

On Volvos and OMCs..nor sure about Mercruiser, your shift cable will also last a lot longer with the drive down.

 

[boatman37]

I put mine in an underground mine 2 weeks ago. I asked them about me putting the drive down but they said if they have to move it they will use a forklift and they will lower the tongue to prevent the outdrive from hitting

 

[bruceb58]

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/faq/

From Mercury:

Question:
Should my sterndrive be stored in the up or the down position?


Answer:
If you store your sterndrive installed on your boat, you should keep it in the down position. Otherwise, the rubber bellows in the transom assembly can become permanently deformed and fail.

There are also people that go ten years between changing their impellers so you will always have stories where people don't follow the recommendations of the manufacturer and survive.

 

[airshot]

I second that.

Well I do it every year and have for the life of the boat, as the previous owner did. !983 and all original except for gaskets and seals and other normal maintenance items. As stated it takes less than 15 min to remove it and it allows me to more thoroughly inspect everything and do a thorough drain and refill of the lower unit oil. Actually this takes at least a week to completely drain out, I leave it drain for a month in my garage before refilling with fresh merc lube. I t also allows me to check the gimbal bearing and boots for any damage. Never had to be towed in and do not want to start. Yes I do all the maintenance needed to keep things working like new. In the spring I reinstall, takes about an hour and test run in the driveway before ever going to the launch ramp, so I know all is in good working order before I get there.

 

[meder24]

Good information everyone. I think that I want to pull mine come spring since it does not sound that bad to do. My boat was cared for well by the previous owner and i want to keep that up.