Outboard Motor Maintenance and Repair

Keep your outboard running reliably, season after season, with a clear, practical guide written for owners.

This guide explains how an outboard works and shows you, step by step, how to look after it and carry out owner-level repairs: the fuel system, ignition and electrics, cooling, the lower unit and propeller, lubrication, mounting and trim, starting and running, and seasonal care. Every idea is taught with a clear drawing set right inside the lesson.

What is inside:
- 144 short lessons on two-stroke and four-stroke outboards, from the powerhead to the propeller
- Fuel and ethanol, two-stroke oil mixing, primer bulbs, filters, carburetors and fuel injection
- Spark plugs, batteries, charging, starting circuits, wiring and simple multimeter tests
- Cooling: the water pump impeller, the telltale, thermostats, flushing and overheating
- Gear oil changes, propeller sizing and fitting, anodes, trim, engine height and controls
- Pre-trip checks, break-in, fuel planning with the one-third rule, winterizing and spring commissioning
- 32 step-by-step maintenance jobs with parts, tools, numbered steps and checks
- 9 owner repairs: recoil starter rope, carburetor rebuild, fuel pump, thermostat, solenoid and coil tests, control cables, light propeller edge dressing and the cut-off switch
- 70 troubleshooting cases and flowcharts for no crank, no start, overheating, loss of power, vibration and rough idle
- 16 worked calculations: fuel mix ratios, propeller slip, theoretical speed, fuel range and conversions
- 192 practice questions with answers and explanations
- Maintenance, fuel, propeller, battery and fault logs, checklists, a quick reference and a glossary
- A drawn chart of wiring diagram symbols, in the lessons and in the quick reference

Typical values and intervals are given as examples only. Your maker's owner's and service manuals remain the final word for specifications, intervals, adjustments and torque values, and work that needs special tools or software is left to a qualified technician.

Ideal for boat owners, anglers, sailors with an auxiliary outboard and anyone who wants to spend less time ashore and more time on the water.