Action Outboards

If you have an Oil Injected 2 Stroke Outboard and are worried the oil injection system may fail leaving you stranded and looking at a huge repair bill, we have a tip for you - Disconnect the oil injection system and switch to Pre-Mix!

Note: Evinrude E-Tec Outboards should not be switched to premixed fuel because of oiling requirements of the digital fuel injectors on this Outboard. Check back with us after your E-Tec warranty expires to see if there is a modification to the EMM (Engine Management Module) to allow pre-mixing fuel on this Outboard.

Older 2 Stroke Outboards have been running just fine on pre-mixed fuel and oil since the Outboard was invented. Oil injection is a nice convenience and offers some performance advantages over a straight 50:1 ratio (or as recommended by your Outboard Manufacturer) especially if trolling for extended periods. Different methods of providing automatic lubrication have been developed over the years but they all have one problem. They can fail. Once the warranty runs out on your Outboard you're on your own if your Outboard suffers damage from lack of lubrication. One way to prevent this from happening is to discontinue use of the oil injection system and switch back to pre-mixing the oil with your fuel. The advantages of pre-mixing are:

As long as your Outboard is running it's receiving lubrication (pre-mixed in the fuel).

No separate oil tank or lines to worry about.

Knowing your Outboard will receive full lubrication at high speeds and while cruising.

The downside to Pre-mixing is:

More smoke at slow speeds and possible spark plug fouling issues after extended slow speed operations.

Depending on the way you use your outboard these downsides may not apply (i.e., you can make a few high speed runs during your trip to clean out the plugs).

Ok, so you've made the decision to disconnect your oil injection system and switch back to pre-mix. What's the safest way to do that? The answer is simple and has only 3 steps:

On this initial switch-over to premixed fuel, you must add enough oil to treat the full capacity of the tank!

Step 1: Determine the capacity of your fuel tank and fill it with the proper ratio (usually 50:1 Fuel/Oil) of premixed fuel.

For example, 1 pint of quality outboard oil to 6 gallons of low or no ethanol fuel yields a 50:1 ratio. Simply double the quantities to determine your correct mix i.e., 12 gallons fuel to 1 quart oil, 24 gallons to 2 quarts, etc. For larger tanks a good rule of thumb is 50 gallons of fuel to one gallon oil. 50:1, see?

Step 2: THIS STEP IS CRUCIAL. Run your outboard until you see a noticeable increase in the amount of smoke coming from the exhaust and/or the outboard runs rougher than usual at idle. The idea here is to BE SURE your pre-mixed fuel is running through your Outboard BEFORE you disconnect the oil injection system! Failure to heed this step can result in catastrophic engine damage from lack of lubrication while the fuel lines purge themselves of "pure" fuel and are filled completely with pre-mixed fuel. If running on a trailer or a lift, 15-20 minutes of running at 1200-1500 RPM should be sufficient. Be sure to connect an adequate supply of water to the Outboard while running.

Step 3: Now you can safely disconnect your Oil Injection system and head out on the water worry free!

HAPPY BOATING!!!...................