Flushing Outboards

[Brian Degulis]

Hello all

I finally got my dink (11' AB Rib with 25 HP Merc 4 stroke) up on the boat. My Marquipt davit does not have the height required to raise high enough above the boat deck to lower the motor to run it and flush it. I'm assuming the motor should not be run when it's tilted up is that true? Does anyone flush while still in the water? Does anyone just not bother with flushing at all if so do you see any detrimental efects and over what time period?

Brian

 

[garyd]

Hi Brian.

Several of the old coots around town have come up with the best method. Don't worry about it.

Seems about 30-40 years ago there was the great debate on flushing the small outborads. Several informal tests were concluded. Each one pointed to "didn't make a hill of beans difference".

I have a 15 year old yame I've never flushed. It always starts even the other day when I started it for the first time in 7 years.

So I noey flushey. But I'm others say you must flush.

garyd

 

[Nonchalant1]

Maybe it makes a difference if you're in saltwater. I never flushed mine (40HP Yamaha) when I was in fresh water or for the last 6 months in saltwater, but we're just leaving saltwater now and I think that running it once we're in freshwater is good enough.

If I were going to store it after saltwater use, I'd flush it.

Doug

 

[MikeP]

I never flush them during the season (saltwater). Sometimes I do it at the end of the season but not always. I've never had any problems with them but can't argue that it's best to flush them w/FW at least for winterizing.

I have to admit that, oddly for a concerned mechanical guy, I never "winterize" outboards either; I don't fog them or anything. For the winter they just stay on the back of the dink which stays in it's chocks on the roof of the aft deck.

The only thing I do religiously for OBs is to disconnect the fuel line and run the engine until it quits before hoisting the dink out of the water and putting it back on board. I do this every time I use it; it never comes back aboard without running the carb dry.

 

[thoward]

I had an old Merc used in salt water that ate the water passage clean through. It had more than its share of hours on it so I patched it up with some epoxy and sold it to some suc, I mean really nice guy . With todays engines I would not worry about it unless it was going to sit for a extended period of time and that is just to clean the impeller. I have flushed engines in the tilted position and no harm no fowl......

 

[hattitude]

I'm in saltwater so I always flush mine before I put it back up on the foredeck. I never know when I'll be taking it off again.

I just hook up the davit, lift it about a foot over the water, put those rubber cups attached to a hose on it and flush away.

If I put it away at anchor, I'll use the same method once back at the dock, but just lift it high enough to straighten the engine, and flush it on the foredeck.

 

[Brian Degulis]

I have flushed engines in the tilted position and no harm no fowl......

I can see it would be no problem on a 2 stroke but I'm thinking on a 4 stroke with a cranckcase full of oil would tilting cause the pickup to be out of oil? In my case I would have to be near the full up position.

Brian

 

[67hat34c]

cant some outboards be flushed without running the engine?

 

[Beckytek]

I have a 5 HP Nissan I flush by removing a plug and installing a hose connection and flush without running the engine. Ron