Repair & maintenance guides

Trim Leaks: When the Motor or Drive Won't Stay Up

Track down why your outboard or sterndrive slowly sinks, trails down on the trailer or leaks trim fluid. Work from the free checks (release valve, fluid level) to hoses, ram seals and internal leaks, and learn when a rebuild or a new cylinder makes more sense.

Trolling Motor Won't Run, Runs Weak or Cuts Out: How to Troubleshoot It

Work through a dead, weak or on-and-off trolling motor from the cheapest checks to the hardest: battery charge and load test, connections, the breaker, line wrapped behind the prop, stow and deploy problems and GPS anchor glitches. Most problems turn out to be power supply; motor head and steering electronics are a service-center job.

Two-Stroke Smoking More Than Usual - Troubleshooting Guide

Tell normal two-stroke smoke from a warning sign, then work through the usual causes in order, from the oil mix and choke to spark plugs, oil injection, carburetor and overheating, and know when to shut down.

Vapor Lock and Hot Restarts: Why Your Boat Won't Start After a Stop on a Hot Day

On hot days, fuel can boil into vapor in the lines, carburetor or fuel system after you shut down, so the engine cranks but won't start, or starts and dies after a fuel stop. Learn how to recognize heat soak, restart a hot engine the right way, and reduce the problem with fuel choices, ventilation and line routing.

Water in the Lower Unit Keeps Coming Back - Seals and the Pressure Test Explained

Milky gear lube means water is getting past a seal, and changing the oil alone will not stop it. Learn where water gets in (prop shaft seals, driveshaft and shift shaft seals, drain and vent screw gaskets), how a pressure and vacuum test finds the leak, and when to do it yourself or hand it to a shop.

Water Inside the Outboard Cowling - Seals, Latches, Drains and Washing

Find out how water is getting under your outboard's cowl, from simple causes like a latch that isn't fully closed, blocked drain holes or the wrong washing technique to a worn cowl seal or a cooling leak, and fix it before salt corrodes the powerhead and electrical parts.

Where Is the Water in My Bilge Coming From? A Step-by-Step Leak Finder

Track down the source of water in your bilge, from the cheapest clues (when it appears, salt or fresh) to the usual suspects: rain and deck drains, the freshwater system, AC condensate, the shaft seal, raw-water hoses and through-hulls. Fix the leak instead of relying on the bilge pump.