How to lubricate the motor?

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

Hi everyone,

I am interested to find out if anyone cleans and lubricates their motor after use. I have been told that you can use Inox, WD40, or a high temperature grease to lightly cover the parts. Keen to hear what works best.

My motor is new and came with a light coating of grease all over. Any thoughts on what I can do to maintain this protective coating to reduce the risk of corrosion?

Thanks
Darren

[bf90]

mate the best thing I find is lanolin as it never really dries up and you can spray it on all wires and connections it repels water and salt cant get through it I have a honda bf 90 09 model and that little puppy has not one speck of corrosion any where :) I sprayed it on the power head after each outing for the first 3 trips and have no need to do it again as it is so thick and tacky :) as for greasing of joints by nipples ect normally do that every 10 hours and get the 100 hourly service done by gary (spanyard king) cheers Brad.

[nigelr]

'nother lanolin fan here. Both grease and spray, lanotec.

[stumbles]

yeh my mechanic suggested lanotec as well

[Stuart]

Yeh mate, rub a sheep all over the engine, will last for ages. Lanotec is a great product and whats even better is its made from freshly sqeazed Australian sheep.

Stu

[googarra]

Lanox, lanolin what ever brand. GGGGreat. I used to kill motors with degrease & washdown, kill with kindness. Just leave it greasy

Spray that sucker with lanox. or similiar, cant go wong

[lethal]

it was suggested to me that i should take the cowling off every couple of trips as i use my boat weekly and rinse it with cold running water from the hose and spray with inox. dont use high pressure hoses.

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

it was suggested to me that i should take the cowling off every couple of trips as i use my boat weekly and rinse it with cold running water from the hose and spray with inox. dont use high pressure hoses.

Hi Lethal, I was just wondering did you take the advice and hose the motor off. What does everyone else do?
Does anyone hose the motor down first, then apply inox or lanolin base products. Is there any disadvantages to the exercise eg water sitting in the wiring connection, possible water going into the throttle body?

[Kero]

If you get any salt residue around the motor, just hose it off. I do this before flushing the motor and then run it up to operating temperature. Leave the cowl off for a while to let any remaining water dry off, then coat it with Lanox. Inox/WD40/RP7 will eventually bugger any rubber and electrical insulation. The Lanox dries, leaving a nice clear glossy finish, looks great and protects beautifully.

[stue2]

Inox/WD40/RP7 will eventually bugger any rubber and electrical insulation

Yep read the can to make sure that what ever you use is natural rubber friendly. lanox is friendly.

There is another post here abouts that someone posted on(can't find it) said to spray the motor with degreaser if you used Inox or WD40 or othe unfriendlies and wash it off. Then re apply Lanox. I made the same mistake.

Cheers, Stu

[Dignity]

It is not only the motor that suffers. My mechanic noted that the merc motor on the dinghy my missus bought had a noteriety for corrossion on the leg itself and to make sure I washed it thoroughly and sprayed it with WD40 etc but NOTon the motor due to it eventually working its way through seals, especially those related to electrical components. I cleaned the leg and cowling thoroughly, dried it well then used a lanlolin based spray on the ouside, it dried to a dull finish but I notice that when I wash the motor the dullness is still there and I have not seen any sign of corrosion. Doesn't look the best but hasn't corroded. I tried to clean it off with some cleaner and it does come off easily enough to put the shine back on as an experiment, but soon resprayed it again. I would rather it looked a little dull than corrode. The motor itself is simply misted with a little water and wiped off as the same lanolin product had been applied. No sign of corrosion anywhere and things look good. I do reapply the lanonlin every now and then.

I figure if lanolin is good enough for lacating mothers to use on their breast how can I not use it on my motors. I feel both mothers and my ouboard motors are Gods greatest gifts to mankind.

[lethal]

Is there any disadvantages to the exercise eg water sitting in the wiring connection, possible water going into the throttle body?


a light spray from your garden hose with the standard nozzel, then spray with the inox on the connections and use it to lubircate the parts that move. I havent heard about it decaying the rubber parts but worth a look at.

[lethal]

just found this post, worth a read
http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?69688-Cleaning-inside-of-outboard-engine

[TheRealAndy]

I hose salt residue off after use, then lanox. Lanox is fine for electrics/electronics, I used to use it directly on the circuit boards of industrial electronics that was used in wet environments, never had a problem.

Infact, I use lanox on everything except the steering bits, cause it turns to glue in winter!

[Crunchy]

+ 1 for lanox, dont use inox as it makes rubber / wires brittle over time...seen it happen to the spark plug leads on a mates motor....

[fat-buoy]

I had heard that the Inox was the ducks nuts as the lanotec solidified over time over the engine.. I had not heard that Inox affects the rubber etc.. I thought it was stable ... more so than RP7 and WD40 which is known to dry out.

Now I am just confused :)

[Crunchy]

Hopefully one of our expert resident marine mechanics will comment:)

[mojoe1]

same here use inox on motor and tralier was told same thing inox was the way to go on the motor better tham wd/rp7 no prob with the rubber side of things will need to look at lanox which is also in the shed.

[2IC]

I use inox as well,will ring garry (spaniard king) for more info

[Triple]

The old mans motor has inox liberally sprayed on it for 10+yrs and no I'll effects on any rubber or plastic and still looks like new without the gunkyness of lanox. Ppc state inox 'may' affect natural rubber after long term use but I haven't seen it do that yet. Where is natural rubber used on a motor?

[TheRealAndy]

honda likes lanolin BTW. http://www.hondacatalogue.com.au/products/Marine-Care-Kit.html

[Blusta]

I have used lanolin for ten years on my mercury and have never seen any corrosion under the cowl. I wash the outside of motor every trip without fail. I would not use lanolin on slidng levers in the engine as it sticks; perfect for corrosion inhibition but no good for cable movement. I would not run water over anything under the cowl. Actually, years ago I used lanolin on the hinges of plastic air vents in my Jackaroo to stop movement over Gulf roads; still works a treat.

[Dignity]

I had heard that the Inox was the ducks nuts as the lanotec solidified over time over the engine.. I had not heard that Inox affects the rubber etc.. I thought it was stable ... more so than RP7 and WD40 which is known to dry out.

Now I am just confused :)

As we all are. I suspect that all the stories we hear about WD 40, Inox etc generally relate to older motors. From memory I think it had more to do with these penetrating fluids working their way into electronic components along the wires as they weren't as well sealed as they are today and stuffing up CD boxes etc. Could be just another Urban Myth.

[stue2]

found this link. There is a caution at the bottom

http://www.inox-mx3.com/product_detail.php?productID=10&productContentID=44&pageID=APPLICATIONS

Cheers. Stu

[fat-buoy]

This is a question I have posted to Inox directly. I will post their reply (if received)


Hello,
My name is Patrick and I have been part of a discussion on the internet site ausfish.com.au fishing forum. The discussion has been bouncing around as to which product to use to give long term protection to outboard motors.
The discussion is centering around statements that Inox is like WD40 and RP7 in that it will affect the plastic / rubber products of the outboards over the long term.
Thus I thought I would send this enquiry so that you may respond directly and I will post your reply on the web site. Essentially the question would be, "is Inox a suitable product to use as an overall spray corrosion inhibitor on outboard motors, both new and old?"
I would appreciate a response to this question as we all pour a lot of time and money into our fishing passion.
Thank you

[Triple]

They have already stated in all of their inox advertising with this -
CAUTION INOX MAY AFFECT NATURAL RUBBER PRODUCTS WITH CONTINUAL LONG TERM USE (REFER TO LANOX)
So I am sure that's what they will reply with, but as many have stated they have no issues long term with any plastic or rubber shrinking or stretching on old and new motors using inox. They may have had one issue with a customer using it on NATURAL rubber and needed to make people aware of this so noone could claim for damages. I am unsure of what or if anything is made purely of "natural" rubber on a motor.

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

Hi everyone,

Went out and bought some lanotec, and coated under the cowl. There was some Landline stories about the product on youtube, which I found informative. If you have 10 min, check it out. Just go to (Lanotec on ABC Landline (2001) - Part 2).

The leg I put inox on and was very happy with both coats. After all that, I went a little over board and also coated all my tools with the product and going to do the trailer, and under the car for some added protection. Can't wait to see the full benefit, a few years down the track.


Thanks

[gpz1991]

Yep another lanox nut, under the cowl, around the tilt pump, any exposed metal, battery terminals, my mechanic said it was a good idea

[fat-buoy]

They have already stated in all of their inox advertising with this -
CAUTION INOX MAY AFFECT NATURAL RUBBER PRODUCTS WITH CONTINUAL LONG TERM USE (REFER TO LANOX)
So I am sure that's what they will reply with, but as many have stated they have no issues long term with any plastic or rubber shrinking or stretching on old and new motors using inox. They may have had one issue with a customer using it on NATURAL rubber and needed to make people aware of this so noone could claim for damages. I am unsure of what or if anything is made purely of "natural" rubber on a motor.

No reply from INOX at all so I guess it is up to us to guess whether there is any "Natural" rubber products on an outboard motor??? I have used INOX on my outboards for years but they have always been cheap arse 2 smokers but now that my motor and boat costs a few $$ more I would be more interested in knowing if I am doing harm instead of good... maybe a mix of both INOX and LANOX ;)

[fat-buoy]

I received this reply today from the email sent to INOX..

Hi Patrick

Thank you for your enquiry.
Inox or Lanox is not detrimental to plastic points however over the years we have found some natural rubber and silicone rubbers will tend to swell with prolonged use.
Inox and Lanox are both metal point anti corrosive products not specifically designed for rubber and plastic,
both products are designed to neutralize oxidization and corrosion on dissimilar metals i.e aluminum and stainless steel.

Inox is generally used for day to day maintenance and Lanox can be used for the same with longer term properties.

Inox doesn’t contain solvents as do most WD sprays but it is recommended to be careful around fuel lines with either. Every other metal point it should give optimum protection.

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

No reply from INOX at all so I guess it is up to us to guess whether there is any "Natural" rubber products on an outboard motor??? I have used INOX on my outboards for years but they have always been cheap arse 2 smokers but now that my motor and boat costs a few $$ more I would be more interested in knowing if I am doing harm instead of good... maybe a mix of both INOX and LANOX ;)

Hi everyone,

Patrick, I have started to use Inox on the outside leg components and I use Lanotec under the cowl. There was a post by Dignity which said "used a lanlolin based spray on the ouside, it dried to a dull finish but I notice that when I wash the motor the dullness is still there and I have not seen any sign of corrosion. Doesn't look the best but hasn't corroded."

After having a think about it, I believe he's on the right track. As long as there is no signs of corrosion anywhere, I would rather a dull finish anytime, and knowing alot more information about lanolin than when I started. It puts my mind at ease, that I'm doing the right thing with my investment.