Johnson PL4

20 - Fuel and Oil
BREAK-IN (10 HOURS)
IMPORTANT: 4-Stroke outboards are shipped
without oil in the crankcase. You must add oil to
the crankcase before starting the engine for the
first time. It is recommended you add
Evinrude/
Johnson
4-Stroke outboard oil. Refer to Changing
the Oil for acceptable substitute lubricants.
Follow this procedure to protect your new outboard
during its initial hours of operation. Careful break-in
allows internal engine components to “seat” proper-
ly, resulting in maximum engine performance.
Failure to carefully follow the break-in procedures
can result in engine damage.
High speed operation without sufficient engine
warm-up can result in engine damage.
Perform the 10-Hour break-in procedure with the
boat and engine in the water, using an appropriate
propeller.
DO NOT perform break-in using a flushing device.
DO NOT start-up or run the engine out of water.
DO NOT leave a running engine unattended.
IMPORTANT: Before the start-up of your new en-
gine:
• Read Engine Starting, Engine Stopping and
Speed Control.
• Check the crankcase oil level. Refer to Crank-
case Oil and Filter.
• Perform prelaunch checks of all equipment.
• Check the gearcase lubricant level. Refer to Lu-
brication.
Launch the boat and start the engine according to
the procedures in Engine Starting.
• Verify water pump operation often. Look for a
steady stream of water from the water pump indi-
cator. If the stream of water stops, shut off the en-
gine to prevent damage. Find and correct the
cause, or see your Dealer before you continue.
• Verify shift function by shifting into gear and ob-
serving that the boat moves and that the move-
ment is in the same direction as the shifter.
• Change the RPM often. Avoid holding a throttle
setting longer than 15 minutes.
• Check the crankcase oil level often. Add oil if
needed.
First 10 minutes of operation — Operate
engine in gear at idle only.
Balance of First 2 hours of operation — Oper-
ate in gear below 3500 RPM or 1/2 throttle only.
With easy planing boats, use full throttle to quickly
accelerate boat onto plane. Immediately reduce
throttle to one-half as soon as the boat is on plane.
BE SURE boat remains on plane at this throttle set-
ting.
Third hour of operation — Run the engine in
gear at various speeds up to 4000 RPM or 3/4 throt-
tle only.
Balance of first 10 hours of operation — Run
the engine in gear at various engine speeds includ-
ing full throttle, but remain at full throttle no longer
than 5 minutes.
Change the engine speed every 15 minutes.
DO NOT exceed recommended maximum engine
RPM. Refer to Engine Specifications.