General Maintenance & Hardware

Boat Maintenance Parts, Products, and Hardware - Resources & Information

Sooner or later, you’ll need to service your outboard engine with general maintenance & Hardware from PartsVu. Choose boat parts and outboard engine parts from top manufacturers that boaters have relied on for years of optimal performance on the water, including:

• Seachoice
• Sea-Dog Line
• Handi-Man Marine
• Perko
• Marine Fasteners
• Beckson Marine
• Bomar
• Sierra
• Sea Catch
• T-H MARINE
• and others

PartsVu’s comprehensive catalog of General Maintenance & Hardware includes everything you need to perform outboard maintenance on all boat and engine models:

• Buckets - Pails - Mixing Containers
• Adhesives - Tapes - Sealants - Gasket Makers
• Marine & Electrical Tapes
• Gasket Makers
• Disks & Pads - Polishing - Sanding - Grinding
• Motor Flushers
• Windshield Wipers
• Motor Locks
• Padlocks & Cable Locks
• Access / Utility Hatches & Hinges
• Hooks - Hasps - Latches - Pulls - Rings
• Vents - Clamshell, Cabin, Louvered, Hose, Cowl
• Deck Plates - FIll Plates & Keys
• Bow Eyes - Stern Eyes - Eye Bolts - Lifting Straps
• Handrails & Stanchions
• Rub Rails - Spray Rails - Moulding
• Fasteners & Accessories
• and more

Best of all, PartsVu offers a comprehensive catalog of how-to articles and other valuable maintenance information to help boaters to service their outboard engines. Browse our outboard maintenance blog for relevant topics covering everything you need to know. 

General Maintenance & Hardware FAQ

What should I know about General Maintenance & Hardware?

Here’s some info you need to know about General Maintenance & Hardware:

• In most cases, buying OEM maintenance parts is a better option than purchasing aftermarket parts or using a stop-gap measure (unless you’re in an emergency). 
• For example, using a boat motor kit with aftermarket parts may not provide optimal performance for your particular outboard engine or lead to damage due to parts not seating properly. 
• Similarly, trying to approximate a gasket maker material with all-purpose boat caulk or marine adhesives can lead to serious engine failure, as these chemicals are designed for different temperatures, tolerances, and lifespans.
• Part of servicing your engine and boat involves customizing your boat to fit your needs. You may choose to install specialty hinges to your fuel compartment or add a locking latch for cabinet in place of stock components, giving you access that was previously not available. 
• It’s always a good idea to research products before you buy by reading articles and browsing boaters' forums for useful information. The boating community is generous in sharing their tips, where you’ll find which handrail connectors actually avoid corrosion, what is the best primer for stainless steel, bilge cleaner reviews, and other information that only experienced boaters know. 

How do I protect the exterior of my outboard motor?

For the exterior of your Outboard Engine, coat these surfaces with anti-corrosion products like Corrosion Guard. This rust inhibitor forms a water-resistant barrier on both painted and unpainted surfaces. We recommend using it at every service interval with a liberal application to all metal engine surfaces. You can also use it on outdrives, lower units, and power trim motors.

The marine environment is one of the harshest on the planet. This is why protecting your boat from corrosion is extremely important. For premium defense against rust, we highly recommend this product.

Also, PartsVu carries a wide selection of Marine Spray Paint. The durable enamel coating of these spray paint products, in factory-matched colors, provide excellent coverage against the elements. Everything you need to restore or customize your cowling cover.

Suzuki marine spray paints are high-quality, factory-matched spray paint for touch-ups or full overcoat application. This durable enamel coating provides good performance in the rigors of the marine environment. 

As is the case with any painting task, surface preparation is very important. Note that paint may fade over time on an outboard motor exposed to the elements over time, so the factory-fresh color supplied in this can may not match older paint exactly. Therefore, the application area may need to be larger to provide for proper blending of the color.

How do I take care of my outboard engine’s exterior? 

PartsVu offers a wide array of polish and sealant products that will restore a lustrous shine to paint, chrome, glass, and smooth plastics like visors, engine cowlings, windshields, and gauges. For your Outboard Cowling and Casing Assemblies, you can expect to repel dust and dirt to keep a long-lasting, ship-shape shine. 

Additionally, boaters can use products like Yamalube External Engine Cleaner, a powerful engine degreaser and engine cleaner, to remove grease, mud, and grime. It is safe for use on most rubber, plastic, and painted metal surfaces.

What outboard engine tools should I have onboard?

Even if you don’t do your own maintenance, all boaters need some basic boat tools in their marine tool kits to help them out of a jam. Of course, if you plan to do your own maintenance or a portion of your own maintenance, you’ll need to be a bit better equipped.

So which boat tools and marine supplies for boats should you have always have onboard? The following are our recommendations and the reasons behind them. Of course, the tools you should have onboard are significantly dictated by the type of boating you do. As a practical matter, a near-shore, freshwater boater needs fewer tools than an off-shore boater. While a problem close to the shore can be an annoyance, a problem off-shore might be a whole different matter.

• Fuel filter wrench—good idea to have on board if you get enough water or debris in your fuel system that a fuel filter change becomes necessary.
• Adjustable band filter wrench—you may need to change your fuel/water separating filter if you have water in your system or if you got some bad gas at the marina. US marinas nearly always sell high-quality filtered gasoline, but marines in the Bahamas are notorious for selling contaminated gasoline.
• Prop nut wrench—carrying this wrench only makes sense if you carry a spare prop. Many boaters carry a spare inexpensive aluminum prop in case they spin a hub or bend a blade so severely that it wobbles.
• Deck fill key/deck plate key/spanner wrench—these universal tools are designed to open all types and sizes of deck fill lids and shackles. Many of these tools also include bonus tools like bottle openers. Perfect for a cold one after fishing.
• Toolkit—if you have room on your boat, all-purpose toolkits can come in handy. 
• Pliers—channel lock, standard, and needle nose
• Leatherman–a very helpful all-purpose tool.
• Rigging knife
• Serrated knife—for cutting rope, your all-purpose tool might include a serrated blade.
• Flashlight
• Emergency plug set—in case a leak manifests while you are out on the water.
• Battery booster pack
• Battery terminal cleaner
• Zip ties—because we all know that you can fix almost everything with zip ties and duct tape.
• Duct tape

How do I troubleshoot my outboard motor?

It’s best to first address the simplest potential problems before getting into more complicated matters. The following quick fixes may address the reason your outboard motor stopped working. 

• It may sound obvious, but check if there is gas in the tank. If so, is the tank vent open? A closed vent prevents air from replacing fuel as the motor pulls it out, which is necessary for firing up the engine. 
• If the kill switch isn’t properly attached it could very well be the source of your motor problems. Undo the electrical connection and put it right back into place. The kill switch may need to be replaced altogether. 
• The next point to check is your gear shift. It’s easy to knock out of place, which prevents the engine from starting. Make sure that you’re in neutral and try starting your engine once more. 
• Sometimes, the issue may simply be that your engine propeller has something tangled around it. This may be a fishing line, excessive seaweed, or some other material that’s worked its way around the blades. Carefully remove anything that may be wrapped around the propeller, and give it a once-over for any damage that may be present. If the propeller is damaged, it needs to be replaced. Debris around the propeller is the most likely culprit if your boat motor starts, but quickly dies.
• Try to start the engine both with and without using the choke. If this doesn’t work, try altering the throttle position. Applying more or less gas can sometimes do the trick. Finally, squeeze the primer bulb a few times to make sure the engine is primed up.
• Some batteries have an on/off switch. If this is true for your battery, make sure the switch is on. Then, if your engine is under 25HP, you may be able to use the emergency cord to pull-start. It’s possible to do this with up to a 50HP engine, but be aware that the higher the HP, the more difficult this will be. If this works, the battery is likely the issue. You may need to replace it.

How do I perform a 100-hour service on my outboard engine?

To ensure proper engine function, it’s always best to service your outboard engine every 100 hours after the initial break-in period (first 10 hours) and after the first maintenance interval (at 20 hours). 

As an example, the following is a Suzuki outboard 100-hour service checklist to help you service your engine properly. Refer to your owner’s manual for your particular engine make and model for an exact list of 100-hour maintenance tasks: