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My ancient 9.9 outboard could use a once over (or twice over) before we put er' back in the water. Can anyone recommend a mechanic that makes house calls? Our boat is at Carr Creek Marina in Annapolis.
Instead of looking for the mechanic that's good and makes house calls, I'd be looking for the best mechanic. A 9.9 fits handily in the trunk of a car and can be delivered to the best shop.
The outboard weighs about 90lbs and is currently 8' up in the air. I was trying to avoid having to un-cable it from the remote throttle control, rig a sling to a halyard, and lower it to the ground.
It's going to have to come down to work on it. Detaching remote cabling really is a major PITA. But somehow, you're going to need to get the motor into a water tub or attach water muffs to the cooling intake, in order to just warm it up or test leaks for an oil change, let alone any real work.
When I used to have a console dinghy, with all that cabling, I also had a trailer to pull it out of the water for storage or maintenance. The wheel steering was fun, especially for guests, but the exercise you're going through was not worth it. I sold it and went back to a basic tiller. More room in the dinghy and a no brainer to pull the motor off. I bought a $30 outboard stand to work on it ashore.
I've had too much experience with shops I trusted for regular winterizing maintenance skipping critical lube points until corrosion set in. Now I'm the mechanic. I forget things, but then it's on me.
The active process of detaching the cabling itself is important, allowing you to monitor accumulating corrosion and degrading quick-connects.
Since it's "ancient" I'm guessing that it's a two-stroke? Maybe a Yamaha?
Anyway, eherlihy is giving you good advice. Find a manual (many are available for free download on line) and do some wrenching. If it is a Yamaha, you're gonna need some metric wrenches or nut drivers so a trip to Harbor Freight might be in order.
The most common malfunction with these engines are fuel mixture problems (i.e., dirty carb jets.) There are a couple of decent YouTube vids that show how to remove, disassemble, clean, reassemble, and reinstall a carb. Not really tricky, just gotta be careful not to lose any parts. As far as cleaning the jets, I've had good luck using small welding torch cleaning probes.
Replacing the lower unit lube is pretty straight forward. If you can change the oil in your car, you can do an outboard lower unit. Same goes for the plugs.
I would learn to do it yourself, basic mechanics/troubleshooting skills can come in very handy.
Just did mine last week including dropping the lower gearcase for an impellor change.
Total price for impeller, fuel filter, plugs, gear and engine oil was 70$ with taxes.
Don't buy your oils and plugs from a dealer - huge markup. They want 12$ for a litre of Yamalube!
Of course with a 2 stroke you don't have crankcase oil just lower unit gear oil.
Check with Mario G, who is also a forum member, at Port Annapolis Marina.
Good luck,
Gary
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