MAINTENANCE
Oil-- Almost all engines are shipped without oil. Be sure to check and add oil. Backwater uses 10w30 conventional motor oil. We recommend to run the motor for 3-5 hours then change your oil and filter to get the break-in oil out of the engine. Run through the full RPM range during break in.
Fuel Connection-- We ship the motor with OMC(Outdoor Marine Company)/Johnson/Evinrude fuel connection. If you don't already have the male/tank side, this is the connection you will want on your fuel tank.
Starting/Tilt Switch-- Your motor has a safety tilt switch installed. This prevents the motor from starting when the prop is in the water or tilted as it would be when in the water. Tip the motor so the prop is high in the air to start the engine.
Battery -- We recommend using a small lawn tractor battery. You can buy them at your local auto parts store. If you would like to buy an Interstate we recommend model # SP-40. Any large car battery will work, but using a small battery saves on weight.
Grease-- We use NGL#1 grease. It is a light weight grease. Generally speaking, if you are not loosing grease out of your drive tube you don't need to be adding any. Grease the transom mount every 25 hour or as needed. Grease the transom mount if you feel it getting tight/binding. At this time also give the drive tube a pump of grease. If you feel pressure it is full. If it pumps easy, fill the drive tube full of grease. If you over grease the drive tube the grease should purge past the lower seals by the prop.
Yearly drive tube grease The best way to grease the drive shaft is to take off the prop and also the lower bearing housing. The lower bearing housing is left hand thread and can be loosened with a channel lock pliers. The bearing housing then can be slide away from the drive tube so grease can be pumped in to the drive tube with out over pressurizing. Pump grease until good clean grease comes out at the bottom. Wipe off excess grease and re-assemble.
The Drive tube can also be greased without removing the lower bearing by making sure the drive tube is warm to the touch. Have it sitting on the sun or in front of a heater inside. Pump grease very slowly to pass by lower seals without pushing it up and though the upper seals. We have weep holes built in to the bell housing so if grease does pass upper seals while under pressure it can drain from the bell housing.
Tighten Bolts/Hardware
Before every use, walk around the machine and look/feel for any loose bolts.
Grab the cavitation plate and make sure it is tight.
Grab the engine and try to rock it. If it wobbles tighten the swivel and pivot bolts.
Look at the bolts that hold the Versa-mount to the boat and make sure they are tight.
Feel for new vibration
When the engine is running feel to see if there is new/increased vibration. This could mean a few things. A hard hit can bend the shaft by the prop and cause a vibration. This can cause bolts to loosen, the scag to crack and the shaft to break.
Shimming the Surface Tracer Cavitation Plate-- Your cavitation plate might not need any adjustment. When you first run the motor make sure the prop depth adjustment is allowing the prop to fall about 12-14 inches in the water. This allows the cavitation plate to come and run on the surface with out being affected by the stop as your boat comes on to plane. Adjust the Surface Tracer in deep water/clean water. The surface tracer needs to be adjusted if the prop is diving deep in the water or jumping out of the water. The best performance is when the Surface Tracer is on or near the surface. If your surface tracer does need adjustment look at the diagram in the owner's manual or on the website. http://www.backwaterinc.com/shimming.html
Be sure to check that the cavitation plate bolts stay tight. Check this every time you spin your prop in to the boat for transportation.
Balancing point, Pivot holes-- (Note- The LITE series of frames has only one pivot option.) The different pivot holes are mainly to change the balance of the engine. We generally ship our engines in the balance point that we have found works best for that motor. (Generally in the center Hole.) But if you would like it to take more weight to push down the handle you can move the motor further out of the boat. Or if you you like to handle to take less weight to push down you can move the motor further in to the boat.
Fuel Connection-- We ship the motor with OMC(Outdoor Marine Company)/Johnson/Evinrude fuel connection. If you don't already have the male/tank side, this is the connection you will want on your fuel tank.
Starting/Tilt Switch-- Your motor has a safety tilt switch installed. This prevents the motor from starting when the prop is in the water or tilted as it would be when in the water. Tip the motor so the prop is high in the air to start the engine.
Battery -- We recommend using a small lawn tractor battery. You can buy them at your local auto parts store. If you would like to buy an Interstate we recommend model # SP-40. Any large car battery will work, but using a small battery saves on weight.
Grease-- We use NGL#1 grease. It is a light weight grease. Generally speaking, if you are not loosing grease out of your drive tube you don't need to be adding any. Grease the transom mount every 25 hour or as needed. Grease the transom mount if you feel it getting tight/binding. At this time also give the drive tube a pump of grease. If you feel pressure it is full. If it pumps easy, fill the drive tube full of grease. If you over grease the drive tube the grease should purge past the lower seals by the prop.
Yearly drive tube grease The best way to grease the drive shaft is to take off the prop and also the lower bearing housing. The lower bearing housing is left hand thread and can be loosened with a channel lock pliers. The bearing housing then can be slide away from the drive tube so grease can be pumped in to the drive tube with out over pressurizing. Pump grease until good clean grease comes out at the bottom. Wipe off excess grease and re-assemble.
The Drive tube can also be greased without removing the lower bearing by making sure the drive tube is warm to the touch. Have it sitting on the sun or in front of a heater inside. Pump grease very slowly to pass by lower seals without pushing it up and though the upper seals. We have weep holes built in to the bell housing so if grease does pass upper seals while under pressure it can drain from the bell housing.
Tighten Bolts/Hardware
Before every use, walk around the machine and look/feel for any loose bolts.
Grab the cavitation plate and make sure it is tight.
Grab the engine and try to rock it. If it wobbles tighten the swivel and pivot bolts.
Look at the bolts that hold the Versa-mount to the boat and make sure they are tight.
Feel for new vibration
When the engine is running feel to see if there is new/increased vibration. This could mean a few things. A hard hit can bend the shaft by the prop and cause a vibration. This can cause bolts to loosen, the scag to crack and the shaft to break.
Shimming the Surface Tracer Cavitation Plate-- Your cavitation plate might not need any adjustment. When you first run the motor make sure the prop depth adjustment is allowing the prop to fall about 12-14 inches in the water. This allows the cavitation plate to come and run on the surface with out being affected by the stop as your boat comes on to plane. Adjust the Surface Tracer in deep water/clean water. The surface tracer needs to be adjusted if the prop is diving deep in the water or jumping out of the water. The best performance is when the Surface Tracer is on or near the surface. If your surface tracer does need adjustment look at the diagram in the owner's manual or on the website. http://www.backwaterinc.com/shimming.html
Be sure to check that the cavitation plate bolts stay tight. Check this every time you spin your prop in to the boat for transportation.
Balancing point, Pivot holes-- (Note- The LITE series of frames has only one pivot option.) The different pivot holes are mainly to change the balance of the engine. We generally ship our engines in the balance point that we have found works best for that motor. (Generally in the center Hole.) But if you would like it to take more weight to push down the handle you can move the motor further out of the boat. Or if you you like to handle to take less weight to push down you can move the motor further in to the boat.
