Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

[mikelosey]

Besides the actual flushing of the motor with freshwater and the muffs is there any benefit to using the no salt stuff after every trip?

 

[robert graham]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Probably would depend on how often you run in the saltwater. I spent several days at the coast running in saltwater but my boat/motor is primarily a freshwater rig, so when I got back I ran the motor in a 55 gallon drum of water with a gallon of vinegar in it for about 15 minutes, just mostly to make myself feel better about it. If I was in the saltwater every day or every week, then I'd just rely on a good freshwater flush on the muffs, with a Saltaway flush maybe once or twice a year. Of course if you're in the saltwater all the time then it's going to eat your motor eventually no matter what.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I have seen outboards work well if only flushing with freshwater. Where I live outboards are constantly in the salt water 6 months out of the year, most people around here just tilt them up and spray them like they are watering their garden. Some outboards around here are 20 years old.

When I put my boat up for the winter in the yard I put the muffs on it and let it run for 20 minutes.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

A freshwater flush on the muffs after every use will work pretty well, but what's a Saltaway flush once a year going to hurt? Maybe if you can remove that salt at the end of the season it may prevent it from continuing to corrode your internals during the off-season? Just depends on how obsessive you are on preventive maintenance.

 

[capt sam]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

my amateur opinion is that if you used salt away or something from hour 1 then maybe it'll slow it down, otherwise don't bother. The freshwater flush at the end of the day is prolly the biggest engine saver alone when combined with good zincs. I've done acid flushes on several motors that were clogged with salt and that works well, just flush with copious amounts of water afterwards.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I have never been a big pro-flushing guy. If I have the time or remember, I will but if not, oh, well.

My motor has over 2000 hours on it. Spent its entire life in saltwater. Would not know how to act if you put it in fresh. The passages are nice and clean but the erosion in the block and heads is going to kill this motor eventually. No amount of flushing is going to help an erosion problem. It?s inevitable when you run a motor in a fluid with such a high percentage of solids.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Maybe if erosion is a bigger problem than salt deposits then the acid flush wouldn't be that helpful? I'm no saltwater motor expert but some motors I see along the coast really look rough, with barnacles and moss all over the lower units. Guess if you've got to be in saltwater then better to run your motor every day than have it just sitting there in that aggressive salt environment?

 

[capt sam]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I was talking about the powerhead water jackets but you're right about sealife growth. Most of the boats here that sit in the water even if used daily have bottom paint on not only the hull but the lower unit and that only slows it down a little.

 

[ngt]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I run mostly in brackish water and I flush it with freshwater after every trip for about 5 minutes. I do it everytime though.

 

[frankie g]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I boat in only saltwater and I flush after every trip, my motor is 6 yrs old know, and looks 6 months old. Once in a while I degrease the engine itself and re-lube but thats it. My biggest problem is the top of the cowling....black fades.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Flushing is a good thing.Take a gallon of salt water and let it set in the garage for a month.That's what left in your waterpump impeller and passages.
I took a lowerunit off of a Force 88/85 hp.It didn't get flushed. The pump was so clogged with salt chunks.It wouldn't turn by hand.
I always flush.Just so the salt won't builsd up in the head and pump.
The salt builds up and eventually will eat into the head gasket and will eat holes in your aluminum head.
The next thing to worry about is the air.Metal rusts in the water.Expose it to salt water and then drain it like it does in any outboard(selfdraining) The salt corrosion is worse.It will still corrode just not as bad if you flush with water.

I had a customer with a 88/175 Johnson.It looked brand new and had under 200 hrs.It wasn't flushed right and the lower part of the block ate through.
It was ran in brackish water in the Chesapeake back bays.Not very salty.

FLUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! J

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Flushing is good, but not flushing isn't bad.

for me and most of the boating community around here, salt water and its effects are just part of boating and the aging process--same as the sun, rain, sand scuff marks. Sure, flushing is good, just like it is better to keep a car in a garage, day and night. But it's not always a practical option.
Flushing is a relatively new practice; 20 years ago you didn't see people flushing on muffs or in buckets, and motors didn't have hose hook-ups.
Motors used in salt water and never flushed will last a long time. So will a car, parked outside. After 20 years, true, the fresh water or daily-flushed motor will look better (inside) and be in better shape. Just like the garage kept car. Mechanics on ther eastern shore can tell in a glance a bay motor and a seaside motor, even though the bay is salt.
I think it's important to flush a motor when it's going to sit unused for a couple of months, so whatever salt water is in there won't sit and feed. Otherwise it's not the end of the world if you don't.
It is, however, to change the impellers/pump and perform related maintenance more frequently for a salt water motor, especially high salt. But our sea side motors seem to have more problems there from sand and silt, as said above.

 

[jacklarge]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I just traded a salt water motor that was a full time salty since new; It is ten years old and the corrosion from lack of rinsing is obvious and can not be good for its longevity and furthering its mechanical efficient operation. The brand new four stroke will be flushed after every use; does any one that has seen the inside of these motors recommend a flushing schedule with water and a vinegar concoction (simple green, etc; besides salt away all the time; it gets expensive) what concoctions and or rinsing liquids (more in the range of under $10/gal would do just the same and not hurt the motor and give somewhat equal benefits) the process just helps me sleep after a water day

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

the best concoction is a blend of 2 parts hydrogen 1 part oxygen

 

[DINGYDAVE]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I"m a Papermaker and we use vinegar to remove saltcake from our vehicles when the scrubbers aren't working(impossible with plain water)..I'm sure this would be good for sea salt as well(alkaline + acid = neutral.
I have a Keywest and this is how I intend on clearing the engine when I return from the coast..the more concentrated the better

I just traded a salt water motor that was a full time salty since new; It is ten years old and the corrosion from lack of rinsing is obvious and can not be good for its longevity and furthering its mechanical efficient operation. The brand new four stroke will be flushed after every use; does any one that has seen the inside of these motors recommend a flushing schedule with water and a vinegar concoction (simple green, etc; besides salt away all the time; it gets expensive) what concoctions and or rinsing liquids (more in the range of under $10/gal would do just the same and not hurt the motor and give somewhat equal benefits) the process just helps me sleep after a water day

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Salt (Sodium Chloride) is infinitely soluable in water. Aluminum chloride (another salt) and other corrosion products (Aluminum Oxide) are not. If you regularly flush the engine with fresh water and do not let salt build-up start corrosion products that will clog the water passages, you will not need any commercially available chemical to flush your engine and wallet. If it makes you feel better to do so, then go ahead.

Even fresh water will eventually start corrosion products (aluminum oxide--Al2O3) in a hot aluminum jacket--it is just a chemical nature and a fact of life.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

"flush your engine and wallet"
that's a good one right there

 

[dingbat]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

I have never been a big pro-flushing guy. If I have the time or remember, I will but if not, oh, well.

My motor has over 2000 hours on it. Spent its entire life in saltwater. Would not know how to act if you put it in fresh. The passages are nice and clean but the erosion in the block and heads is going to kill this motor eventually. No amount of flushing is going to help an erosion problem. It’s inevitable when you run a motor in a fluid with such a high percentage of solids.

Update. Finally bit the bullet and replaced the power head this Spring
It was running well but the cooling passages in the block eroded into the cylinder wall allowing water to get in. We replaced the head gaskets and got another 6 weeks out of it before it started leaking again.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Flushing saltwater from outboard motor

Have discovered after tearing appart my 3 year old/600 metered worked hours horse in excellent mint cosmetic condition and being flushed for 10 minutes after every use, that no matter what you do at the end salt formations, corrosion will occur, if having an engine working on salt water all year round, a yearly head maintenence would be advisable, if boating frequently and flushing engine after use a complete head maintenence would be advisable at least once every 3 years.

That is, a complete all water passages and thermostat clean/change, time for swivel bracket full maintenence, a new base & head gasket, general bolt torque and probaly upper piston and cylinder head decarb if with excesive carbon build up. Engines will last near forever if doing programmed head maintenances once in a while. Some engine have interior round sacrifying anodes, check them for excesive wear to avoid premature internal block corrosion. With regular use, don't expect to find interior mint condition matching same external mint finish condition.

Happy Boating