Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Torque Time
Chapter 22: Keeping Your Engine Happy
At 5,000 revolutions per minute, there are a lot of vibrations in a marine engine.
Vibration makes nuts, bolts, and screws work loose.
To keep something unfortunate from happening, it’s wise to check your engine every four
or five trips for anything that might be coming loose and retighten all suspects.
In engines with aluminum heads and blocks, including all outboards, it’s easy to strip the
threads by putting too much pressure on a stainless-steel bolt or screw. A torque wrench is
needed, along with the shop manual suggesting how many foot-pounds can safely be
applied to each fastener.
It’s also a good idea to regularly check the mounting toggles on small, portable outboards;
vibrations and compression of the transom can cause them to work loose over a period of
months or years, and if they get too loose, they can jump right off the transom.
Lube Job
Because the steering systems on outboards and stern drives are constantly exposed to
water and to salt in coastal areas, they require frequent lubrication. The fittings and
297
The belts on stern-drive
engines like this one drive
several critical systems.
Check the belts for tightness
and wear regularly.
(Photo credit: Bombardier
Corp.)