My new kicker

[seaward]

Hey guys. I recently bought a 2002 mercury 9.9 4 stroke. So far it runs great but I'd like it to continue to run well. I've never serviced an outboard before. I've replaced the gear oil and the spark plugs. I can't seem to find 10W-30 4 stroke marine oil. Does it need to be a specific marine oil? What else should I be doing before the season? Thanks for the help.

 

[scott craven]

You can run any good 10w-30 engine oil.
I run Castrol GTX. works fine.

 

[SpringFever2359]

New Impeller?
remove and grease prop,
Lube all grease nipples,
I also like to take the cover off motor and lightly but completely spray down with a can of penitrating fliud

 

[sly_karma]

Go straight to the internet and order yourself a proper Mercury factory shop manual for your year and model. Very comprehensive and all recommended maintenance is in there. I have the same engine, 2000 model. The annual maintenance items list isn't that long:
- replace water pump impeller
- change leg oil
- change engine oil and filter
- top up all grease nipples
- lube throttle and shift linkages, tiller pivots, prop threads
- change spark plugs
- visual check for zincs and other exterior corrosion

They're good engines that run quiet and smooth. Buy the book, assemble the parts needed ahead of time and an amateur mechanic like me can knock off the whole list in a short day.