Taking 50hp Outboard Off The Boat

[wheresbob]

Is there anything I really need to know about removing my 1986 50hp Force outboard engine off of my boat? I have cable ties with ID labels and plan to label everything as I disconnect it. I will be transferring the engine to an engine stand (it’s gotta weigh over 200 lbs or 91 kgs!). Can I reconnect the engine and run it while it’s on the stand? Or is there a compelling reason not to do this? It’ll be on the stand for a month or so while I flip the boat over and work on the hull and transom. Thanks for any advise – I searched around for info on un-mounting an outboard, but didn’t find any.

[PAR]

Your engine weighs about 170 pounds and it's a simple affair, once you've got everything uncoupled or removed. With small engines like this, I just lift off by hand, though an engine hoist, come-a-long or block and tackle can save some back pain.

You can reconnect the engine and start it up, but I wouldn't recommend it. A typical engine stand will likely dance around like a bare footed babe on a fire ant mound with a running 50 HP on it. You can buy stands designed to take a running engine, many are bench mounted, but these are for those that work on engines every day and will divest the cost over many customers. A month isn't a long time for an engine to sit unused. Most 50 HP outboards would be grateful if their life included getting started once a month. If you're concerned about fuel going bad or cylinders rusting, etc. then "fog" the engine with oil, after you run it, until it's completely out of fuel. This will permit you to keep the engine for several months in storage, until time to hang it back on the transom.

[wheresbob]

Thanks for clearing that up - I'l take your advise! jt