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Fogging engine optional or not


cjespinoza

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Hi all,

I have a 2005 Malibu Response LXi and I have read tons of posts on this site and googled the topic as well, I've read about leaving gas in the tank or draining it out, I've read about using antifreeze vs. not using antifreeze and it seems that some of these items are personal preference.

I live in Colorado will very low humidity and my boat will be covered in my garage all winter.

My question is this: what could possibly happen to my boat engine if the engine is not fogged before it is put away? And to fog it, who can tell me exactly what has to be removed in order to use the spray fog in the engine? Thank you in advance for your responses.

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Indmar recomends if you have Cats,to fog the cylinders by removing all the spark plugs and spraying

directly into each cylinder for 3-4 Sec. Then turn the motor over a few times and then replace all the plugs. Done! If you don't have cats " catalytic converter ETXcat" just spray through the throttle body while the motor is runing just before shutdown.

Here is a different take from my dealer, he basicly told me not to wory about fogging at all. Do you fog a car engine if you lay it up for a few months....Hummmmmmm.

Interesting point.

Any other opinions from the crew would be interesting!

Edited by Dare2goBare
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I fog mine just because it is outside during the winter, covered spot, but outside. We get plenty of snow and things do rust just sitting around here. But.....plenty of people don't fog and their motors are fine. It doesn't take me that long to pull all the plugs and fog each cylinder, so I do it.

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I'm in Calgary. Similar altitude and humidity. Have owned inboard boats and winterized myself since 2007. I have never fogged an engine and have had no problems. Over 400 hours and 6 seasons with no issues on a moomba outback with an assault 325. Didn't fog the VLX this year either. I think you will be fine.

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I used to fog when I kept the boat outside for the winter and didn't use the boat for 5 or 6 months. When we built a house 6 1/2 years ago, we also built a garage for the toys, including the boat. Since then, I haven't winterized the boat or fogged the engine. I do fill the tank with gas and add some Stabil for the 2 or 3 months that the boat doesn't get used.

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I live in Colorado and have never fogged any of my boats due to how dry it is here, my boat that is in Missouri and only gets used a few times a year I fog every time we put it away.

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I live in NC and store the boat in a warehouse over the winter. I have never fogged. I pour Marvel Mystery Oil into the gas and run it up and down the lake. Then I winterize go through the rest of my winterization (which does not include antifreeze). Then I take the boat to storage and drink.

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If you don't fog and put the engine away, it will increase the change of a small amount of corrosion forming on the cylinder wall above the pistons. This corrosion would be wiped clean by the first couple revs of the motor after the first start-up in the spring and you would never know it.

Most people that fog, like myself, are trying to eliminate the chance of their piston rings wiping off corrosion in the spring. This along with many other things would contribute to very small losses in compression over the life of the engine. Engine cylinder to piston fitment as you might guess is very precise and adding a bit of corrosion on top of the cylinder wall causes an abrasive surface to build up over the winter that the piston rings will momentarily have to run on until they clean up the cylinder wall. If you forget, it is far from catastrophic in the spring, but I prefer to fog to help prolong the life of my engine as long as possible. My Bu's old and I want to keep her healthy. :thumbup:

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Fogging is done to lubricate or put an oily protective layer over the machined surfaces of the engine for an extended storage period. Those include the cylinder walls and the valve seating surfaces. If in a very moist environment the unpainted cast surfaces could also corrode or develop a light rust coating. To Martin's point though, the corrosion does happen above the rings and the rings will rehone the wall upon starting but I have seen where the crevices (low area of the hone or crosshatch pattern) will remain corroded. Usually does not really hurt anything, but un-corroded is better. I like to fog and to spin the engine over monthly just to keep the rings from sticking on the cylinder walls due to extended periods of non running. One really won't see / feel the effect over the life of the boat but it is cheap insurance particularly for those that tend to keep their toy for a long time. Probably most important for long storage / low annual hourly accumulation users than the frequent user.

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Fogging a carb'd engine through the carb while its running is perfectly fine. Now, with the EFI engines, the thinking on fogging, and how it should be introduced, differs greatly. it even differs between the EFI non-CAT and EFI CAT motors.

Some say no fogging in the traditional way because it can coat the AIT(air intake temp) sensor, resulting in false reading later. They suggest pulling the plugs and inducing the fogging oil into each cylinder directly. Some suggest no fog oil at all, but to put a couple ounces of 2-stroke oil in the fuel/water filter and then run the engine for a minute. Some with CATs say not to fog or oil at all. Consult the engine manufacturer.

IMO, for a freshwater trailer boat thats going to spend a few months in winter storage, fogging is not needed, but doesnt hurt if done to the manufacturers guidelines. If had weekend drivers/project cars that have spent more time sitting between runs then boats, with no issues.

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Indmar recommends fogging into the air intake with flame arrestor removed on non-cat motors. On cat equipped motors they do not recommend fogging into the air intake to prevent damage to the CATS, fog cylinders with plugs removed instead.

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I fog thru the throttle body while cranking engine, then thru the plug holes and give the engine one or two revolutions. 50 year old habits are hard to break.

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I fog thru the throttle body while cranking engine, then thru the plug holes and give the engine one or two revolutions. 50 year old habits are hard to break.

You started fogging when you were 2 Electricjohn??

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