Maintaining your boat's engine is crucial in elongating its useful life and avoiding costly repairs. Here's what you need to know to ensure your marine engine remains in good working condition.
Ensuring Clean Fuel
Your marine engine has delicate injectors that spray fuel into the combustion chamber. These require the fuel to be in an ultra-fine mist state. If your fuel is dirty, the engine injectors can get damaged. The combustion chamber can also rust if water enters the combustion chamber, resulting in a series of damage.
Once the injectors are damaged, the combustion process is compromised, leading to engine damage. You don't want this to happen; repairing your engine might take a huge chunk of your hard-earned money.
Your marine engine has two fuel filters that prevent foreign materials from getting into the combustion chamber. They need to be regularly inspected to ensure they are not clogged or damaged.
Inspecting Air Filters
Air is required in the combustion chamber for combustion to take place; you need to ensure the air is clean. An air filter is responsible for cleaning the air in a marine engine. Inspect it regularly to ensure that it is not clogged up or worn out. It needs to be changed as you have your boat serviced.
Inspecting Fuel Lines
Over time, the fuel lines get old and worn out; inspect them regularly, especially if you have an old boat. Failure to do so can lead to engine fires that damage your entire engine. You may require an expensive replacement that might dent your savings.
Ensuring Your Engine Oil Is Clean
Oil is responsible for lubricating essential parts of your engine. Ensure the oil is clean by having it changed out regularly during boat servicing. Dark oil is dirty; your oil should be an almost clear colour. To inspect the colour, check if there is an oil dipstick on your engine and pull it out. A part of it is smeared with oil, and you can easily check the colour. If you cannot manage to do this, a marine engine service specialist can help.
Marine Engine Battery
Always inspect the battery for signs of corrosion or rust. Ensure it is also securely fastened to avoid movement in rough water. A marine battery is different from an auto battery because it is not only used for cranking the engine but to power other systems on the boat. It should not run low, and that is why it is recommended to use a maintenance battery charger to charge it when idle, especially if you do not frequently take your boat out.
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