Laid my 4 stroke kicker on its side

[andrewscag]

I put my Yamaha 9.9 kicker in the back of the truck the other day and of course oil leaked out. Looks like the level is still fine and I pulled the plugs and cycled the engine a few times to see if the chambers were full of oil. Nothing came out and the plugs look normal. Anything else I should do before I start it again? TIA

[gmcgilli66]

Check with a marine mechanic. The best intentions of the forum members may not get you the proper advice.

[kilometers]

I beleive your suppose to leave it handle side down when laying it down. Most outboards have a picture showing it.

It wont harm nothing. Clearing the cylinders is a good idea. And just make sure the oil level is fine.
It will probly smoke on the first start up

[Husky7mm]

I put my Yamaha 9.9 kicker in the back of the truck the other day and of course oil leaked out. Looks like the level is still fine and I pulled the plugs and cycled the engine a few times to see if the chambers were full of oil. Nothing came out and the plugs look normal. Anything else I should do before I start it again? TIA
Funny the same thing happened to me and I was wondering the samething. Mine is a brand new coleman 5 hp. My oil level is good but it leaked a fair bit of oil. May not have had it on the proper side for storage. Wondering if it could have leaked out of the leg? There was some oil in the bottom of the plastic case that surrounds the engine but not nearly the amount that leaked out. Where is it coming from?

[Daybreak]

There are only 2 ways for oil to find it's way into the cylinders on a four cycle engine.

Past the oil control and compression rings from the bottom end and/or in through the valve seals on the top end. Laying it on it's incorrect side during transport will allow oil to flow through small drain galleries from the bottom end to the top end and it will be held captive in the top end by the valve seals and cover gskt. Your engine probably holds about 1 litre of oil in the crankcase and less than half of that would find its way to the top when on its side. I suspect the correct side to lay it on during transport is such that the small drain galleries are located on the top side so the oil will not flow through them.

As others have said, you and the engine will be just fine. Allow it to sit upright as designed, check you oil level and go fishing!:smile:

I used to use one of those old style orange key hole type life preservers and a small used tire to cushion my Evinrude for drives in the bush. The key hole provided a perfect cradle to keep the weight off the control arm and shift lever.

[andrewscag]

Thanks guys. Looks like carb side up is the correct side which for this one means handle down to travel in the truck. Yamaha guy said the same thing as the guys here. I might have to drain the bowl if there's a bunch of oil in the carb but no damage done.

[Brambles]

You'll be fine, did the same thing with my Honda, take the plugs out and replace them, give the pull cord a few aggressive tugs while the plugs are out, put new plugs back in, prime with fuel, top up the crank case and your off to the races

[Edzzed]

That's one of the reasons I went with a two stroke. That and more power to weight ratio.

[keoke]

No mixing, no smoke and reliability of a four stroke is the motor for me. Just picked up a 2015 Yamaha 4 stroke 9.9.

[ultramafic]

I don't find the mixing too bad... I just use a 25 l gas can and make it in batches and pour it into my boat tanks... The smoke however does suck and I am not a fan of that, it would be awesome to have a nice new four stroke but cant justify replacing that which I already have and works well... 15 yr old merc 25 horse short leg...

mike

[Edzzed]

No mixing, no smoke and reliability of a four stroke is the motor for me. Just picked up a 2015 Yamaha 4 stroke 9.9.My Yamaha 9.9 is 100 to 1 ratio so not much smoke. Plus if it were bad I'd troll into the wind.

[Deaddog]

not a big deal at all, make sure and drain the bowl as oil will collect there and it will never get going..lol..learned this the hard way, top of the level if needed but it won't be the last time this happens!