Engine/Pump Storage Problem

[tittyman]

If you have a boat that has been in storage for 3-4 years without running..what should you do prior to firing back up the motor and pump..other than removing the old fuel, how should you handle the situation so you don't have damage..Berkley pump/BBC..boat has been in Central CAL. all this time...

[Cas]

Here's what I would do/did-
Change the oil and filter, it'll take awhile being it's old and cold. You might see if one of those oil changing places will suck it out for you. It's worth the $$ spent. 20/50 oil would probably be a good choice.
Pull the plugs and spray WD40 into the cylinders. Install new plugs.
Change cap/rotor and the points if it has them. Better yet, just get a new electronic ignition. Static time it at about 10º BTDC.
At least clean out the carb but a rebuild would be better and replace the fuel filter.
Get yourself an oil pump primer, pull the distributor and prime the oiling system for a few minutes. Keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge to make sure you're getting a reading. If not, make sure it's hooked up properly and/or add a mechanical gauge. I did mine with a friend, while he was priming the engine, I was turning the engine over by hand.
Disconnect the gas tanks and use a 2 or 3 gal gas can to run the engine on. Just run the gas line from the fuel pump into the can. You will probably want to change the fuel pump as the diaphram is probably dried out and possibly cracked or brittle.
After getting it to run and cleaning out the gas tanks, I'd install a fuel filter/seperater.

[Cas]

oops, double post

[b's sanger]

Yeah what he said and turn it over a few times without fuel to get the oil flowing before the HP kicks in.

[tittyman]

Any potential problems within the pump...seals..oil..water..etc..It has a Berkley pump..

[CPBRIAN10THMTN]

if you have a high lift cam i would check your valve springs and make sure they are still good, if they were compressed for that long you may have problems. If its a stock cam maybe not, i personally would still change them since boat motors run under more load and higher rpm's for longer periods of time and you risk floating a valve and having it hit the piston. As far as the pump goes i would obviously grease the bearing and change the gear oil in the bowl then run it, if the bowl seal is cracked and bad you won't have any gear oil in the bowl after running it. Best bet is to replace the seals if you don't know when the last time it was run. I would just do the oil and bearing and run it and see how it does.

[tittyman]

1. Any way to visually check valve springs prior to running the motor..to prevent damage if one springs breaks..or just let it idle for a while and see what happens..
2. If the seals are bad in the pump or there is water in the pump oil..can you still safely run the pump and just eventually let the water lubricate instead of the oil..

[Nick69]

pull the bowl off and the impeller and clean around the wear ring because there is always some sand or debris that gets in there, if you don't you will get extra wear so it is worth the extra time