Starting up for Spring

[quitchabitchin]

We have a 1969 17' Cavalier Ski Boat with a 327Q. We plan to fire up the boat for the first time next weekend. When we bought it the temperature was just dipping into the teens and it had not been winterized yet. We winterized the block but could not start it because the starter was shot. The boat went into storage the next day in the barn. We did not get a chance to change the oil before storing it for the winter. After sorting through many, many posts, I am trying to find out the best way to approach the first startup.

The boat last ran in August 2008. The starter went out on the last trip and she had to be towed in. I have a new starter and will put that in as well as hook the battery back up and put all of the draincocks back in. It was filled with fuel and we added plenty of Stabil to the tank for storage. With that said, I have a few questions.

1. What is the best way to change the oil? Are there any recommended pumps/siphons that you may like? Should the oil be changed before it is started or should I start it to warm the oil to make it easier to suck out with a siphon?

2. What is the best way to hook up water to the water pump? I can make an adapter to hook up a garden hose to the water pump intake hose pretty easily. But should the water be under pressure from the garden hose, or should it be placed in a large bucket/garbage can to allow the water pump to pull the water out of the container without hose pressure? I thought I saw a post at one time about not hooking up directly to a spigot because the water pressure could cause hydraulic lock or other damaging condition.

3. Should anything be sprayed or poured through the sparkplug holes to lubricate the cylinders? I have seen this advised on older engines that have sat for a long time but I am not sure if 8-10 months is long enough for this to be worthwile.

We plan to do a minor tune up before starting. Spark plugs, fuel filter, oil filter, water pump impeller, and possibly plug wires will be replaced. The boat was converted to electronic ignition last summer, so the cap and rotor should be ok.

Any other suggestions would be helpful.

[57 chris]

Hi Andy & Ryan,
Go ahead and install your new starter. Next, make sure the oil level is where it should be by the marks on the dip stick. For cooling water you want to make a short hose to attach to your raw water intake on the pump end and into a bucket on the other, let the pump draw water out of the bucket as needed,(watch this hose when the engine is running, the pump may try to collapse it) you don't want to pressurize the engine from a hose connected directly to the faucet. Assuming all parts are back where they should be you should be ready to start. There's no reason to put any oil into the cylinders as this will only serve to foul the plugs, sitting over the winter is not considered long term storage. Once you get her breathing, allow it to come up to full operating temp then shut her down and drain the oil ( getting the oil up to temp does two things; (1)it makes the oil thinner for easier draining but (2)more importantly it suspends all the dirt and crud in the oil so it can be removed unlike doing a cold oil change where all the sludge lays in the bottom of the pan where it can't be removed.) Unless you have something different for draining oil you'll have to use a vacuum pump to draw it out through the dip stick tube. There's bunch of different pumps out there made for the purpose and for the most part they all do a pretty good job, just get one that fits your budget. The only major thing to look for before you buy is: make sure the reservour has enough capacity for your oil pan, if it's not large enough you'll have to empty it half way through.
When you do your tune-up, it's advisable to replace all wear parts even though they may look fine. Plugs, cap&rotor. You don't have to do this but it's cheap insurance. At the very least pull the distributor cap off and clean it out, you'd be amazed how much dirt/carbon and moisture can be in there just from sitting.If it's been a while since the wires were replaced, do it, bad wires can cause all sorts of problems.
You're on the right track with replacing all filters, I do that every year at least once.

Did I cover all the questions?
if not just ask!

Craig

[quitchabitchin]

Thanks Craig. I have great news. I just got a phone call from Ryan, my brother in law, and he and a couple of our friends decided to get some work done today and the boat is running great. They had to call and rub it in with a couple revs into the phone. I am still going up next weekend to do the tune up part, but it is running really strong. They said it took a few tries for the first fire but after that it was all go. I hope to have a video posted on youtube as soon as they email it to me. I am pumped up for this boating season. If it wasn't going to rain and snow on Monday here, I would call in sick and go take a ride. Thanks for your advice.

[57 chris]

Glad to hear everything worked out so well. Keep us posted with the progress.

Craig