How often do you remove and lubricate your Starter

[Mark rsa2au]

Hi Guys

I know the manual says to lubricate the starter motor gear and shaft every 50 hours, but considering the time and effort to do this I wonder how many actually do it? Removing the starter is the only way to actually get to the gear and shaft and from experience this is a PIA.

We average around 100 + hours a year so technically I need to do this 2x a year... Is this overkill as I would have thought every 300 hours or 24 months to be about right - maybe more for salt water? As far as I know there are no vehicle service requirements for Starter motors, even for 4x4's designed to deal with dirt and water?

For those that do it, are there any tricks to know? As I do not know when, if ever my, starter motor has been lubricated I plan to do it as preventative maintenance. BUT not sure it really needs it ever 50 or even 100 hours?

Keen to hear your thoughts

[mikeg205]

IMO its also a matter of the level of moisture you get in your bilge. I bought offset wrenches to make it easier, to do every other season. My bilge stays almost bone dry. I inspect every 3 seasons and my starter appears well lubed...

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[rh0dium]

Link to the wrenches please.

[eurosysytem0]

Hi Guys

I know the manual says to lubricate the starter motor gear and shaft every 50 hours, but considering the time and effort to do this I wonder how many actually do it? Removing the starter is the only way to actually get to the gear and shaft and from experience this is a PIA.

We average around 100 + hours a year so technically I need to do this 2x a year... Is this overkill as I would have thought every 300 hours or 24 months to be about right - maybe more for salt water? As far as I know there are no vehicle service requirements for Starter motors, even for 4x4's designed to deal with dirt and water?

For those that do it, are there any tricks to know? As I do not know when, if ever my, starter motor has been lubricated I plan to do it as preventative maintenance. BUT not sure it really needs it ever 50 or even 100 hours?

Keen to hear your thoughts

Wow! on my 2005 X7 MCX350 I have never lubricated the starter motor!! I am paranoid about keeping my bilge dry and suck out any residual water after and, if necessary (rain through tower holes on cover when on lift) before use. Boat has done 380 hrs!!. When you say lubricate. What do you lubricate and with what product.

[Mark rsa2au]

Wow! on my 2005 X7 MCX350 I have never lubricated the starter motor!! I am paranoid about keeping my bilge dry and suck out any residual water after and, if necessary (rain through tower holes on cover when on lift) before use. Boat has done 380 hrs!!. When you say lubricate. What do you lubricate and with what product.

I believe the recommendation is to use a marine grease and to coat the shaft and the gear. My issue is removing and reinstalling the starter which is a real pain so would like to extend this to about every 2 seasons.

Still interested to understand this requirement from Indmar vs an automotive application which never requires starter maintenance?


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[bturner2]

This is another of those hot topics that will get people fired up. If I had to speculate as to the logic behind this recommendation it would be that the OEM doesn't know the environment the boat will be used and is making the recommendation on worst case. I've seen boats left out season after season uncovered on our lake and others that I've worked on that were a complete disaster in condition in the bilge/engine compartment after only 5 or 6 years of use. In both cases I can see the recommendation for that kind of maintenance.

I'll get flamed for this but here we go..... I have yet to lube a single starter on any of my boats over my 40 plus years of boating. I have never had a starter issue with any of my boats (knocking on wood as I say this). I haven't bought a one of them new and ran a couple of them from 150 hours to over 700 hours. That said, like others on this forum my boat is maintained very well and there is never any water left in the bilge at the end of the day. Open the engine hatch on any of my boats and you'll find a very clean, dry engine and bilge. I believe this goes a long way on preventing this and other issues some people seem to have as well.

Am I recommending this for you? No, that's something that you'll need to decide for yourself. I can only say what my experience has been based on my personal and other boats I help maintain for friends.

[d2jp]

I upgraded to an Arco starter 3 years ago. I plan to remove it when it quits working, which should be many years from now. My bilge stays fairly dry and I always prop the engine cover when not in use to assist in airflow. I don't remove and lubricate my auto's starters and they are subject to some pretty harsh conditions......

[DCG2004]

I had my 2004 Maristar in for some service recently and I asked the service manager about this since I had seen it in the owner's manual but I had never done it before. He didn't think it was worth the labor hours to do it so it must not be that big a problem.

[Mark rsa2au]

Thanks Guys!

Pretty much where I was at. If the boat is clean and well maintained you will always have less issues, so the 50 hours starter lube service to me seems overkill for my boat and my circumstances.

However as this is a "New to me" second hand boat, and that we are still under COVID lockdown and I have time to burn, I am going to pull it and grease it up as preventitive maintenaince. I doubt I am going to do it again in a hurry but at least I will know it has been done.

[CantRepeat]

In my lifetime, never is the amount of times I’ve removed a starter in a boat to lube it.

[mike koen]

I towed an I/O in last summer. The starter would spin but not engage the flywheel . The boat didn't appear to have had any TLC.

[86Skier]

In my lifetime, never is the amount of times I’ve removed a starter in a boat to lube it.

AMEN!

...add car, truck, boat, motorcycle, lawnmower, atv to that list, too...

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[Maristar210]

In my lifetime, never is the amount of times I’ve removed a starter in a boat to lube it.

I pulled a lot of things out of my boat to lube it but.........

[mikeg205]

Link to the wrenches please.

Got them at home depot, i got a set of 3, 1/2, 7/16

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[rh0dium]

Got them at home depot, i got a set of 3, 1/2, 7/16

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Thanks!


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