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Aftermarket Outboard Parts Resources and Information

Upgrading and replacing outboard components is essential for keeping marine motors functional and operating at peak performance for years to come. Shop PartsVu’s extensive collection of aftermarket outboard parts to find everything from spark plugs, to propellers, to electronics and much much more!

Looking for more parts and accessories for your boat or outboard engine? Browse our marine products and accessories, or browse our aftermarket engine parts by category, including:

Aftermarket Engine Parts FAQs

How do marine spark plugs work?

Marine spark plugs supply the spark that ignites the air-fuel mixture, creating the explosion that allows your boat’s engine to produce power. Spark plugs generate an arc of electricity across two leads which are not touching but close enough together that electricity can jump the gap between them.

How often should I change my marine spark plugs?

Boaters debate the answer to this question. Some boaters are adamant about changing their spark plugs every year or 100 hours. PartsVu recommends religiously inspecting your spark plugs annually or every 100 hours, replacing them if they are fouled or damaged, and always replacing them every 300 hours.

What should I look for when inspecting my spark plugs?

Inspecting your spark plugs relays essential information about your engine’s health and can help you address small problems before becoming big problems. Specifically, the color of the insulator firing nose tells you a great deal about your engine’s overall operating condition. Generally, a light tan or gray firing nose indicates that the spark plug is operating at optimum temperature and that the engine is in good condition.

Suppose the insulator firing nose contains either wet or dry dark color deposits. This indicates an overly rich operating condition, that the engine is operating too cold, a possible vacuum leak, low compression, overly delayed timing, or a spark plug gap that is too large.

If the deposits are wet, this points to a failed head gasket, oil control from piston rings, or an extremely rich operating state depending on the specific liquid at the firing end.

If your engine is overheating, spark plugs may exhibit a bright white glazed or glossy insulator firing nose or include metallic speckling. This coloration can result when your engine operates at a temperature range that is too high or runs in excessively lean conditions. Additionally, improperly tightened spark plugs may contribute to spark plug overheating.

The root causes of spark plug fouling or overheating must be corrected quickly to prevent engine performance deterioration and possibly severe engine damage.

How do Racor fuel filters solve marine filtration dilemmas?

Fuel that is corrupted with excessive water will greatly reduce your engine’s performance, and ultimately risk the ability for your engine to operate as well as reduce your engine life. Water in your fuel will gum up your fuel system, choke off the engine, and could result in a tow home rather than happily motoring to your dock. Additionally, most modern gasoline contains at least 10% ethanol and if left untreated, ethanol-blended fuels break down leading to gum and varnish build-up that cause internal engine corrosion. The moral of the story is, without proper filtering and treatment, degraded fuel will leave damaging deposits throughout your fuel system and engine causing excessive wear and tear reducing engine performance and fuel efficiency.

Racor fuel filters use propriety Aquabloc media that meets or exceeds water removal and particle efficiency requirements for OEM fuel injection systems.
Racor uses high-quality materials and production processes to ISO/TS16949 to eliminate bypass problems.
Racor uses high-quality automotive-grade gaskets and seals that are compatible with B20 bio-diesel (i.e. NBR, HNBR, and Viton).
Racor replacement filters will perform as designed for the application.
Racor fuel filters use the same media and materials in original equipment and replacement filters.
Racor uses high-quality materials that are rated for operating temperatures of -40° to +255°F (-40° to +124°C).
Racor products are validated under extreme vibration and climatic conditions.
Racor canisters contain no banned substances and are validated under extreme salt spray and climatic conditions.
Racor uses a unique durable clear plastic bowl material with high clarity, excellent UV protection, low and high-temperature resistance, is impact resistant, and is impervious to all fuel types.
Racor has a wide range of filter accessories that are validated for integrity, EMC compatibility, and safety.

How do boat propellers contribute to a boat’s performance on the water?

Besides the tachometer, the propeller(s) is the most important thing on the boat because it is the only thing that moves the boat. Without the correct pitch and diameter, a boat will not perform. Propellers limit the RPM range that motors need to run in. They help control speed, fuel economy, lift, cornering, and hole shot. With such a wide variety of boat, motor, and weight combinations, there are hundreds of boat props to choose from.

Unique hull designs affect the way water flows across the bottom of a boat so having the technical knowledge of propeller design helps ensure that the best selection is made for a given boat. There is a vast difference in propellers’ performance; many consumers do not always understand the performance advantages of selecting a high-quality propeller like Turning Point.

Do the number and size of propeller blades affect boat performance?

Absolutely. Larger and more blades will perform better for work boats that need to push heavier loads. For racing, the high horsepower requires more torque, which leads to a change in diameter, pitch, and the number of blades.

Grabbing more water is what makes a boat propeller more efficient. More blades tend to reduce slip by submerging more of the blade surface area underwater. For multiple engine applications, Turning Point’s OS series has a larger blade diameter that works more efficiently than many of its competitors’ products.

What type of propeller maintenance should boaters do?

Routinely inspect boat propellers for larger knicks and make sure the blades are not bent. Also, remove the propeller every six weeks. Fishing line tends to wrap around behind the thrust washer, which can lead to a seal failure.

With a ball-peen hammer, tap the edge of the washer to knock it loose so the fishing line can be removed. When putting it back together, apply a light coating of grease on the splines.

How do I service my outboard lower unit?

Use an appropriately sized screwdriver assisted by a wrench if necessary to loosen these screws which should be pretty tight. An impact driver and hammer might be needed. If the drain screw has a magnetic tip, inspect the plug after removal to see if heavy deposits exist. Some fine shavings are normal, but chunks or a large quantity of metal is cause for further inspection. Have a drain pan ready, and extra rags handy as gear lube will begin running down the skeg as soon as you remove the upper vent plug. Be sure to collect the used gaskets from both plugs after removal as these are not reusable and should be discarded.

Allow several minutes with the engine tilted all the way down to drain all the old gear oil fully. Like your engine oil, inspect the spent oil for evidence of water intrusion, other contamination, or metal. If you have purchased one of PartsVu’s handy lower unit oil change kits, you will already have new gaskets, oil, and a pump. Screw the pump into the lower drain hole, then connect it to the container of gear oil.

Begin pumping oil into the lower unit until oil begins to flow from the vent plug at the top. Stop pumping and wait a few minutes for all the air bubbles to work themselves out of the gearcase. After this brief pause, pump a few more times until clean gear oil without bubbles is flowing from the vent plug. With a fresh gasket in place, install and torque the top vent plug. Unscrew your fill hose from the lower drain plug and quickly swap in the lower drain plug with a new gasket — torque to spec.

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