# How do you flush?



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Betcha thought I was going to get personal, eh?   :

I've been reading outboard maintenance advice regarding
rinsing internal engine passages after each trip. All state that
after use in salt, brackish or dirty water, flushing is a necessity.
I got to wondering, which method works better?
Which flush technique cleans cooling passages effectively?
I've pulled apart engine blocks that are only 6 or 7 years old
yet the water jackets are filled with crud, even though I know
the owner was religious about after trip maintenance. 
Are you a hoser or a member of the bucket brigade?
Any useful tricks or tips out there?

                                   :-?


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I use muffs on the hose.10-15 mins. I've used Salt Eliminator for 9 years and can't say it works for sure because I buy used but my 90 yammi was in for surgery last year 9 years old 4 to me and the Doc said the cooling ports were clean as he had seen.


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

I do put the seat down ;D


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

You must be married too... 

Salt Eliminator, is that a brand name or a generic description?

Google brings up a bunch of different options...


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## drewrossi (Jan 30, 2010)

My 85' evinrude has a special Tempo adaptor to hook a hose up...but I don't feel it is doing a good enough job. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm switching to the bucket method.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

What makes you think the adapter's not working correctly?


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## jimbarn1961 (Aug 2, 2009)

I use Salt Terminator, 4oz. after each trip. couple minutes on the motor then spray down the fishing tackle, boat, and trailer till gone. had some service work done this spring on a 6 year old motor. The mechanic said cleanest internals he had seen in a long time wondered if I had really been using in salt water. I'm sold on the stuff!


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## cvilt (May 31, 2010)

Salt Terminator my mistake. When I'm leaving the motor sit a while I the product in the motor


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I'm still learning the right amount of time to let the new 9.9 run,
so no salt crystals show up at the seam between the midsection and the lower unit.
Had to get a bigger bucket also, and that means I'm going to
have to add a way to empty it, otherwise I'll hurt myself.
Big difference between a 5 gallon bucket and a 10 gallon tub.
I don't like flush muffs, too noisy with the exhaust blowing straight out the prop.
Also, with the muffs, you can't tell if your water pump impeller is wearing out.
The hose adds too much pressure so you can't diagnose the problem.

I read the MSDS sheet on Salt Terminator, looks safe for general use.


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## lilredfish2 (Feb 19, 2007)

I use the bucket method.  Picked up a large plastic waste basket at walmart which when placed under the motor is high enough to fill with water up over the cavatation plate.  Running the engine is quiet like in the pond! Anyone else have any input on this salt terminator stuff and where you can buy it ?  Oh and when you are thru, just either tilt the engine if you have power tilt, or pull the trailer forward and it will knock the bucket over !  Doesn't hurt your back !!!


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I like the directness of your solution...thump!   ;D

I had this morning off from work,
so with a few parts I had in the junk bin,
put together a fill-drain fitting for my rinse bucket.

The parts...











The pre-assembly...











The inside information...











The final result, hook up the hose, turn the water on
it fills from the bottom, no more loose hose end snaking up and out.
Afterward, unscrew the hose from the fitting and she drains, no thump needed.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I use a tank from a junked water softener .... then empty it with the copper rattle siphon hose thing


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## skinnywater3 (Feb 8, 2009)

After a day in the salt water I have been running my boat around the the local lake right next to my house and just doing that for the "flushing" of my motor. 

good bad what'd ya say?


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Back when I ran a jet outboard I did the same.
Stopped at a lake or canal on the way home to run the boat.
But those were crystal clear waters, no algae or silt.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i flush everything with the muffs. even when i had the yamahas with the quick flush hose connectors , i have heard that those things are ok to flush if ya come home late at night and dont want to wake the neighbors but should be flushed again the next morning or asap with the muffs :-?


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

I was thinking ... as a PM you might want to pull the cylinder head at certain Interval to do a through Cleaning ... 

You could freshen up the valves on a 4 stroke at that time also ...

Dave


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Crud on the inside is a fact of life. It will build up over time no matter what you do. All water has elements that when it evaporates it will leave a reside behind. The fact that you load your boat and drive home, the water that was in the hot engine has been steamed of by the time you get home. Hooking a hose to it will rinse off some of the residue but not all of it. Repeat the process.

I am not a religious person but I do try to flush. I have way more hours on one of my 1998 merc 25's than you will ever reach and have only had one problem.

The water uptake tube has a rubber grommet at the top where it enters the block. Salt water will seep between the block and the grommet and the crud will grow. On mine it kept growing until it almost squeezed the grommet closed. I had to have it taken apart and cleaned. When it was apart, I saw the crud and the rest of the cooling system and it was, what I thought, was remarkably clean. It was so clean that the mechanic did not even clean it and there was only a slight amount around the thermostat. That was 7 years ago.

This particular engine is now retired from most heavy duty pushing and is now mainly used in salt. 

When I rinse I simply screw the hose to it (to the flush fitting) and let it run for roughly 10 minutes. Twice a year I use a bucket like you created and pour in Salt Away (West Marine) and just let it run until the water in the bucket gets warm to the touch (30 minutes or so).

After seeining how clean the inside of my motor was after the abuse I gave it (except that grommet) I came to the conclusion that it is better to do something versus nothing AND the amount of time spent is completely irrelative.


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## supercsci (Dec 8, 2012)

Makes me wonder....... all of those boats that I see on lifts behind the houses where I fish.... how often are those motors flushed? hmmmmmmm


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## Rediculous (May 5, 2012)

> Makes me wonder.......  all of those boats that I see on lifts behind the houses where I fish....  how often are those motors flushed? hmmmmmmm


Most boat docks have fresh water, for cleaning fish, flushing motors and spraying off bird dueces.

I use a drum cut in half. I figure it's the same amount of water getting used, maybe even less. It only takes maybe 5 minutes to fill up the drum. And it's much more quiet. The boat gets cleaned while it's flushing.


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> Makes me wonder.......  all of those boats that I see on lifts behind the houses where I fish....  how often are those motors flushed? hmmmmmmm


Kept mine on a lift over saltwater for quite a few years. Flushed with freshwater every single time, without fail, but that's me and not everyone is as anal. :


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## mudd_minnow (Oct 13, 2010)

After each fishing trip in the salt water I would just pull up to the closest fresh water boat ramp, run the motor while boat is still on the trailor. This cleaned the boat hull, motor, and the trailor. This seems like a long time but it works great.


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## disporks (Jan 19, 2011)

When I had my waterpump issue the service tech asked if I used muffs or anything to flush the engine, I use muffs but once or twice a year I'll let it run in a tub. He mentioned running in a tub could be bad news due to air getting sucked in through the water intake...dunno if he was protecting the job or just trying to help out. I need to flush more often!


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