Is it really necessary to fog your motor? I plan on doing it this year not sure if I need to or not but I figure I better. I got me a new 2007 115 4 stroke.

1, when I do this I need to pull the spark plugs and spray in the fogging oil. Then I need to crank over the motor. Do I do this with the plugs in our out?? I know I do not want to hook up the spark plug cables when I do this with the plugs in but if I turn the motor over with the plugs out will the fogging oil fly out all over the place?


Thanks

Some will say it's necessary, some will say it isn't. I don't like the idea of my pistons setting in one place for an extended period of time with no lubrication (mine usually sits for 3-4 months over the winter).

Pull each plug, spray in the recommended Merc fogging oil. While all plugs are out, manually give the flywheel a couple rotations. Give another quick squirt in each hole, and turn again.

Put plugs back in.

I talked to a Merc mechanic about the subject. He suggested to me squirting a small amout of engine oil into the cylinders and a quick turn of the key to disperse the oil. I mentioned that I normally fogged my engine, and while he preferred the oil method, he said fogging was fine. In my humble opinion, I thing that the aerosol fogging would disperse better. That's my 2 cents. mr

I never fog an out board. To me it`s no different then having a vehicle sit all winter never heard of any one ever fogging a vehicle. Fill the tank Run Seafoam check lower unit for moisture, and I am done.

I run my 4-stroke in the winter just as much as any other season. We don't get that cold down here and the water doesn't freeze, either. The coldest I've gone fishing is the low 30's at daybreak.
The only problem I see is the motor may not reach the required operating temperature if run short stop and go distances.
The only thing I do in cold air/water is extend the warm-up idol time and not trim as high to put a higher load on the motor.
I broke my motor in in the late fall and winter. I think that may have caused the rings to take longer to seat due to low engine temperature.
I also run a tank treated with Marvel Mystery ( www.marvelmysteryoil.com ) as a top oil a few times a year.

Spraying storage oil into the cylinders is not "fogging" . Fogging is running the engine,spraying the oil into the carbs. On a 2 stroke it was necessary since the entire top and bottom end of the motor got lubricated this way. This is not necessary on a 4 stroke since the majority of the moving parts already has a film of crankcase oil on them. So when people state you do not need to "fog" a 4 stroke ,this is what they mean. However, spraying a little oil into the cylinders on a 4 stroke is a good idea for long term storage.

Be cautious on how you do this. Pull the plugs,spray the cylinders. With the plugs still out,you can spin the motor with the electric start but BEFORE YOU DO THIS, PULL THE SAFETY STOP LANYARD OFF THE LANYARD SWITCH. This will allow you to engage the starter with the ignition circuits completely disabled. Also stuff some rags in front of the spark plug holes because spinning the starter will spit a lot of the oil out which is ok. You don't really want a lot of oil pooled up in the cylinder. Then replace plugs and wires. Reinstall safety lanyard.