A friend of mine just bought a 1998 Tracker Boat with a 1998 60hp Tracker (Merc) Two Stroke motor on it. The boat has been sitting outside, unused, for two years. Being a new boat owner, he asked for my help in looking over the boat and identifying what may need to be repaired. I told him the first things he should do is replace the water pump impellar, and inspect the spark plugs and fuel bowls under each carb. A few hours later he came down to my house to borrow my ear muffs for pumping water into the lower unit pickup. I commented that he worked fast. He said he didn't do that stuff yet but just wants to fire the motor up to see if it runs. I asked if he check the fuel tank for cleanliness before filling it and what two stroke oil he bought. He said the gas and oil injection tanks were still full from when the previous owner filled them over two years ago. He was not sure if any kind of fuel stabilizer was added back them but he had just dumped a can of STP Heat in it earlier that day. Judging from the disasterous condition of the boat, I was assuming the previous owner may not have stabilized the old fuel.

I told him I did not think it was a good idea to run the motor on the old gas whether he added Heat or not. I also told him he should at the very least fog the cylinders before attempting to start the motor for the first time and to use fresh fuel if not fresh fuel and fresh, quality, two stroke oil. Although I am not going to claim to be savy with motor mechanics so I'm asking for your opinions. I'd hate to see my friend damage his motor because of being too impatient to check a few things out first.

you gave him the proper advice

if he doesnt want to follow it there isnt much you can do about it

...if it was my rig I'd drain the gas and oil, plus drain the fuel line up to the motor and put in fresh gas and oil. In an ideal world I'd also attach a remote tank with 1 gallon of fuel mixed at 50:1 with oil and some merc Quick-Kleen for the first 10 minutes or so of running on the ears. Then I'd pull the plugs, pull the kill switch lanyard, and see if the motor will turn by hand. Next I'd squirt 1 ounce of oil into each cylinder and work this around by turning the motor slowly by hand through about 10 revolutions. Next I'd get the owners manual and hit all the grease fittings and lube points on the linkages- this includes the starter shaft and it's gear teeth which typically on a Merc require a thin coating of a moly based grease. Then I'd put in new plugs.

To start, I'd leave the kill switch pulled, prime the remote tank thru the bulb, then hit the primer/choke and run the starter for about 2 seconds with no spark. Then I'd turn the kill switch to "run" and see if she'll start. If it starts and runs on the ears, let it warm up and then shut off, get your gear, and head for the water for about 30 minutes of running close to the dock- and bring that spare tank with the 1 gallon of fuel- just in case.
Doug