Flushing motor

[Davidsel47]

Originally Posted by SSST

Ronnie has chimed in on this before. On an Etec, just hook up a hose and flush, motor doesn't have to be running. Idk about Yamaha.

A Yamaha mechanic told me that my thermostats would build up corrosion even with flushing and recommended to replace them every 2 or 3 years.

[SKIPJACKSLAYER]

Barnacle buster. Mix as recommended into a large container, pull lower and hook a pump up directly to the water pickup. Might have to heat a hose to make it fit. Tape trash bags or plastic around the cowl below the pee hole so it doesn’t ruin the paint. Find a way to get that pee stream back down into the container. Let it recirculate for a few hours, then make sure you rinse with fresh water for at least 30 minutes. Will clean most of that green marine growth in your water jacket / passages.. If that doesn’t work then pull the heads and gently clean with toilet bowl cleaner. Just don’t damage the coating or it will be the beginning of the end for the cooling system. Flush your motor, don’t flush your motor, whatever. But if it has problems, address them and you’ll be fine. I did this to my old Mercury and it made a huge difference. With help from a seasoned vet, I gained a lot of knowledge. Not sure where you fish but down here in the Laguna and Baffin it’s very salty with lots of algae and it can really build up in your motor over time.

[photofishin]

Originally Posted by c hook

i'd like to see the internals of a flushed motor versus a no flush motor, and see if there's a difference. and i flush cold no motor start, does this matter???

Maybe Ronnie can we chime in and we can get an expert opinion.

I had my water pump changed for the first time and I had consistently flushed with fresh water. It had so much salt buildup, I'm amazed that it was not overheating. I also had a bunch of rust on the trailer, despite rinsing with fresh water. My buddy has the exact same era yamahas on his offshore boat and has flushed with salt away since it was new. I saw his waterpump replacement at 300 hours and it was clean as a whistle. The trailer still looks like it rolled off the showroom. I'll be using salt away from now on.

[c hook]

Originally Posted by photofishin

I had my water pump changed for the first time and I had consistently flushed with fresh water. It had so much salt buildup, I'm amazed that it was not overheating. I also had a bunch of rust on the trailer, despite rinsing with fresh water. My buddy has the exact same era yamahas on his offshore boat and has flushed with salt away since it was new. I saw his waterpump replacement at 300 hours and it was clean as a whistle. The trailer still looks like it rolled off the showroom. I'll be using salt away from now on.

i personally change my impeller every 10 to 11 months. because i chew up a lot of mud/sand/shell, mine wears quickly. once my impeller gets a little worn, i have engine start problems after it's hot. mine is clean as a whistle every time, and as soon as i replace it problem gone for another 10 to 11 months. can't seem to make it a year on an impeller.

i'd like to see internals of one five years old with no flushes. i know what a 15 year old looks like with flushes.

[ChampT22]

I usually replace my water pump and thermostats every 2-years. When I fish freshwater I do not flush the motor. After I come back from fishing saltwater for several days I flush just the one time. I use the muffs and used to use the salt terminator system that plugs into the muffs. My 225-Yamaha started running hot even though it was ******* water. I replaced the Pressure Control Valve and Spring (poppet-valve) and it did not make a difference. I then made a container to flush the motor. I used a bilge pump to circulate the solution. I called a couple of shops and they said they used water and muratic acid, 4 to 1. I did not want to gamble with the acid so instead, I used RYDLYME biodegradable industrial chemical descaler, mixed 1 to 1 with water. I used 1-gallon of RYDLYME. I hooked the bilge pump up to a ac to 12-volt converter. I checked the progress every hour on the hour. I also used an old thermostat covered with scale to test how potent the solution was. When it is fresh it fizzes a lot when you introduce scale to it. In the first hour the water flow was not much. It took 8-hours, but there was a big increase in the water flow. By then I was not getting any fizz from the scaled up thermostat. If I were to do it again, I would get 2-gallons of RYDLYME. Run 1-gallon of mixture for 4-hours, pour that out and make a fresh batch for the next 4-hours. It fixed it, it did not run hot any more.

[HoustonTexas]

if you are driving a tunnel hull or have a jack plate the water pick up may become difficult. on suzuki df watch below link for water rail clogged. thermostat only functions for few minutes while engine is cold then it stays open for rest of the trip . The opening changes according to speed and heat . most engines thermostat is in open position and not working because they are a safety thermostat.

You Tube

You Tube

[Anderson Guide Service]

I have never seen or known of an outboard that failed because it wasn’t flushed. A mechanic about 15 years ago told me that if you have hard water, the scale will build up in the water jacket and cause it to overheat. I don’t know but I never flush mine. Then again my dad didn’t either. I guess us non oil changing guys get lucky over and over again sometimes...

[Jkmoore03]

Originally Posted by Anderson Guide Service

I have never seen or known of an outboard that failed because it wasn’t flushed. A mechanic about 15 years ago told me that if you have hard water, the scale will build up in the water jacket and cause it to overheat. I don’t know but I never flush mine. Then again my dad didn’t either. I guess us non oil changing guys get lucky over and over again sometimes...

That’s an interesting point about hard water. I flush my motor religiously after use and usually use salt away, but I’m also on well water. I have a deep well and a softener, but it probably still has minerals in it.

[HoustonTexas]

your thermostat is 90% copper and when it rust cooper turns green . It is called petena on old buildings. If you use soap make sure it has a ph of 7 so it is not to harm the engine . ecos sold at walmart and sams has a ph of 7. I believe you have a jack plate or tunnel hull boat and water is not getting to engine at high speed . try to have a high rpm but low speed by raising the bow . move the prop away from engine and increase the rpm . lower unit will get plenty of water.if you get alarm at high rpm with lower unit fully covered with water, you may have a bad impeller that can not produce enough water pressure during high demands as well. on suzuki df temp alarm is based on change in temp vs time so if you throttle up and down fast you will trigger the temp alarm .

[Davidsel47]

Originally Posted by HoustonTexas

if you are driving a tunnel hull or have a jack plate the water pick up may become difficult. on suzuki df watch below link for water rail clogged. thermostat only functions for few minutes while engine is cold then it stays open for rest of the trip . The opening changes according to speed and heat . most engines thermostat is in open position and not working because they are a safety thermostat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wNHEDRZPiw

A mechanic I met that told me the Yamahas open and close based off temp. He said if I ever saw the gauge not jumping around it was time to change them out. Im sure every brand has its own system.