Fluids and Filters and Plugs, Oh My! ...
I have grown to really appreciate the boat’s 8HP outboard motor. This little four-cycle engine starts easily, runs quietly and pushes the boat along at 4 knots at a midrange RPM; it uses only about a half gallon of fuel each hour at that power setting. Now that the boat’s on the hard, it’s a great opportunity to do the annual maintenance and keep the Yamaha purring along dependably. Time to pull out my metric sockets! GEARBOX OIL First up is the gear oil and two concerns immediately come to mind: Can I get the drain screws out without stripping them and will the old oil be contaminated with water? Thankfully, the answer to the former was “yes” and the answer to the latter was “no”! As you can see, the used gear oil was dark mocha, which means it needs to be changed, but it shows no evidence of the dreaded milkshake color or consistency; this is a great indication that the seals on the gearbox are still doing their job and keeping the water out and the oil in. After putting new p