Flushing Motors

[dclark]

I get names on this board confused, but I thought "Wind Dancer" belonged to some guy named Time Stone that came around the old Mac board a lot. Or am I confused again?

[mike]

I get names on this board confused, but I thought "Wind Dancer" belonged to some guy named Time Stone that came around the old Mac board a lot. Or am I confused again?

No, you are not confused... different boats, same name.

Our boat had this name when we bought it... the kids liked the name, plus I didn't want to risk incurring the wrath of the sea gods by not doing the renaming ritual exactly right.

--Mike

[mike]

If you decide on the Guardian unit, I'd suggest first going to their web site and printing the install instructions for your motor (It'll be the mini unit you want, the others are made for big boats). It;s basically a unit that fits in the motor cowling (anywhere you can find a place). It has an inlet for the water and two outlets. If you can figure out the right place for outlets to tap into and you are comfortable splicing into the lines then you'll be ok.

Yes, I found their site and read the directions for my Honda 50. One outlet simply taps into a water line that you cut and add a tee to. The other is a little more complicated, but doesn't look that bad... you replace the thermostat cover with one that they provide. No drilling/tapping.

--Mike

[dclark]

If you decide on the Guardian unit, I'd suggest first going to their web site and printing the install instructions for your motor (It'll be the mini unit you want, the others are made for big boats). It;s basically a unit that fits in the motor cowling (anywhere you can find a place). It has an inlet for the water and two outlets. If you can figure out the right place for outlets to tap into and you are comfortable splicing into the lines then you'll be ok.

Yes, I found their site and read the directions for my Honda 50. One outlet simply taps into a water line that you cut and add a tee to. The other is a little more complicated, but doesn't look that bad... you replace the thermostat cover with one that they provide. No drilling/tapping.

--Mike

Sounds a lot like theinstructions on my Suzuki (which are really the mercury instructions) except they didn't provide a thermostat cover. My thought now was to buy a new thermostat cover and drill and tap that. If it looks good and works I'll keep it. If not I'll have a easy way to go back.

The only other complication is they want me to run the inlet hose into the motor along side the motor cables. Although it sounds good, there isn't much room and the hose is rather large. No way will it fit. The other option is drilling thru the motor cowling and installing a grommet they provide. I'm not crazy about the idea of putting holes in the motor cowling, but I think it might actually be the better choice.

[PeteC]

dclark got me a little concerned so I decided to pull my thermostat to check it out. Like I had said I have flushed the motor through the pee-hole fitting after every use last year (2004). Prior to that the boat was in fresh water( 2001-2003).

I was surprised at how much salt was in the thermostat. I was expecting it to be clean. Fortunately I had bought a thermostat recently.

I took some pictures and I would post them if I knew how.

Is there a post somewhere that tells you how to post pictures?

Also, should I run some of that SaltAway through the engine?

[mike]

Interesting... so perhaps the pee-hole flusher is not the way to go after all. However, the other reports that indicate it does work well are hard to reconcile wtih dclark's comments and PeteC's salty thermostat observation.

I wonder if the discrepancies are related to differences in cooling system design between motor brands... maybe some are plumbed a certain way so that backflushing through the tell-tale hole DOES adequately flush out the motor, while others just result in the water simply exiting down to the lower unit without making it up through the powerhead.

I guess without any substantial evidence that this device will fully flush out my Honda 50, I'll have to go with the MST Guardian.

--Mike

[Terry]

DClark says:

If your in leave it in salt water and you don't have a built in flushing port, you're pretty much screwed. Don't bother trying the muffs, they really don't work underwater.

So does the engine have to be in the down position to flush with the muffs or can I raise the engine leg out of the water and run the engine with the muffs on.
I keep mine in a salt slip for four months of the year, the rest of the year I put the leg down in a huge tub of tap water in the driveway and run it every week or two throughout the year to keep it in tune. I have the muffs but have never used them yet, maybe I should try hooking up a hose with muffs at the slip with the engine leg up.

[mike]

So does the engine have to be in the down position to flush with the muffs or can I raise the engine leg out of the water and run the engine with the muffs on.

I vaguely recall reading something about it not being good to run 4-stroke motors when tilted all the way up like that (something about the oil)... however, reading through the manual just now, I can find no such reference. So, perhaps it's not a problem.

--Mike

[flbum]

I was told by my Yamaha dealer not to even store my 4-stroke engine in the tilted position much less run it. If I remember correctly, he said that the oil from the sump would flow past the piston rings into the cylinders.

Why wouldn't the muffs work underwater? There is positive pressure from the fresh water hose combined with the engine's water pump pressure which I feel confident would exceed the head pressure created by a foot of saltwater.

Regards,
ROB

[mike]

Why wouldn't the muffs work underwater? There is positive pressure from the fresh water hose combined with the engine's water pump pressure which I feel confident would exceed the head pressure created by a foot of saltwater.

I've considered that, but it looks like my Honda has a water intake under the anti-cavitation plate, in addition to the ones on the sides of the lower unit where the muffs fit over. So, I'm assuming that if I ran the motor in the water with the muffs on, some saltwater would still get sucked in through this other intake, resulting in half-saltwater flush.

Perhaps I could somehow block off that upper intake, but I doubt this is something I'd want to have to deal with regularly.

--Mike

[Theo]

Hi Guys,

Just my two cents after having gone through a cooling system nightmare recently. See my posts under "Suzuki Overheating".

It is imperative that you flush your motor after every use in saltwater. I,ve seen plenty of power boat guys flushing their motor at the dock with the engine tilted up. If your motor does not run in this position, tilt it as far down as you can but keep the water intake holes above the water. Put the ear muffs on and follow your owners manual instruction. On my Suzi I have to put duct tape on the auxiliary water intake hole under the anti cav plate.

If you are worried about no oil getting to the engine in the up position, run her in the water for awhile. This will bring engine up oil into the head. Then quickly tilt it up (turn it off first, you will destroy your water pump if you run it dry) and pop on the muffs and flush. You only need to flush for about five to ten minutes in idle. You should be OK.

Theo

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Depending on what motor you have now........some come with a built in flush hookup. The Hondas don't but there is/was a guy on Ebay selling kits that allows you to back flush using an attachment that replaces the pee-hole..........you hook up a hose to it and it flushes back through the engine and out. I have had mine for two years now and it works fine..... It has enough pressure to open the thermostat spring. Look on Ebay under engine flush. Pete C got one also last year......maybe he has the email of the guy in Ca.

Honda sells a conector that screws into a flush hole next to the lower unit lube hole. You can then connect a water hose to it and flush away. I bought it from a dealer for about $15 a year ago. Just make sure you connect it to the flush hole.
As for the dealer who tells you that fluhing is not necessary, who is going to be first in line to sell you a new one?

[Timm Miller]

I was refering to the outboards with flushing systems that only required a garden hose. I'm aware of the flush port on my Honda and use it quiet often with the adapter. I kept my boat in a slip last year and figured the pee hole adapter would work. Apparently not as well as I hoped looking at Pete C's thermostat.

[dclark]

First off I don't have as good of an understanding ofthe hwole thing as I'd like. But I do have a lot more then I had a short time ago.

First of all NO, you can and probably will do serious damage if you run your motor while tilted out of the water. There are probably a few reasons but the main one is for the oil to cycle through properly.

From what I understand, backflushing through the pee-hole does nothing for the upper unit. It just rinses out the lower unit and exits out the lower water inlet. I suppose that would mean it would find it's way to the pump and impeller since those are lower unit things. That may explain Steve's comment.

You can and I have many times flushed with the ears while in the slip. If I put the ears on and then lowered the motor it's hard to say how well they are covering the inlets by the time it's down. On the other hand if I lower it first, it's hard to tell how well Ive covered the inlets. In any case I always felt I was flushing with a mix of salt and fresh water.

[dclark]

After writing the above post I saw what Theo said. Personally I've never seen anyone at the marina running their motor while tilted up. But I won't question him either. Especially since my understanding is it was mainly an oil issue and he seemed to cover that. Somehow I don't think it's a method Suzuki would approve of and I'd be careful not to run it for more then a few minutes, but if it works it's better then trying to do it when it's down.