I know that I am supose to flush out my outboard each time I use it in saltwater to keep the water pasages clear from built up salt deposits. My two questions are how do i do this if I am on a mooring? and the second is what to I do If I do start to get a build up? This problem relates to two different out boards the first is a 2006 Honda 9.9 four stroke and the second is a mariner 5hp 2 stroke. Both motors run fine but I am not getting water out of thetell tale on the 5hp.
I flush out my outboard about twice a year. At the end of the season, I run it in a barrel of water and fog the engine for the winter lay up. In the spring I clean and gap the plugs and fill the lower unit, and start the engine in a barrel again. If water isn't coming out of that little tube, there could be a blockage, or maybe the thermostat is staying closed. The thermostat on my Johnson is easy to get at, so that would be one of the first things that I'd check before I'd pull the lower unit off to check the water pump impeller. Try sticking something in that little hole to see if it's clogged. I think that the most important thing that you can do before you start your outboard is to shake your fuel tank so that the 2 stroke oil is always mixed. If there is any water in the tank, it will be displaced and hopefully run through the engine without any harm to the engine. If you don't have a fuel/water separator for your outboard, shaking your tank might be the next best thing that you can do. I may be wrong about this, but this is what I've been doing. We know that Ethanol not only attracts moisture into the gasoline, but it also breaks down the two stroke lubricants in the gasoline which can really do harm to our engines.
Joe
