McGiver saved my outboard

[MrSkeet]

Well, not him exactly but a friend's suggestion that I use a straightened paper clip to clean out the water cooling exit tube.
My 2002 Mercury 4 hp 2 stroke motor runs for 5 hours (1.5 gallons of premix) a year, two hours down river at season's start, an hour in season and two hours up river at season's end. In spite of running the motor in a bucket of fresh water at season's end, this summer the cooling water's outflow reduced to a trickle then just drops in August when last used. Anticipating October's two hour motor up river, I was sweating it when a friend suggested the paper clip. I had already done some research and was thinking new impeller, or even new outboard when this thirty second solution has my outboard peeing cooling water like a college kid at a kegger.
So, if your outboard's cooling water outflow is weak, do what McGiver does; fix it with a paper clip !
Wooster w/renewed confidence in my Mercury

 

[aviatorjames]

That's a good idea!
I might get some pipe cleaners for the next rinse.

Is there any clear advantage to washing in a bucket vs the garden hose adapter?
...seems to me that it's same-same
...fresh water is fresh water!

 

[MrSkeet]

I'm thinking the garden hose adapter is better for flushing, as it moves larger amounts of water thru system. I've only now, after the piddling problem was noted, got the brass fitting for the garden hose. Prior to the McGiver fix, I'd thought of motoring to the local dock, chancing removing the 13mm bolt (so as to attach the garden hose adapter) and flushing. My hesitation was due to the possibility of dropping/losing the bolt when doing so.
One small benefit of bucket flushing is running the motor dry for winter storage.This October, I plan to do both.
Wooster w/o an outboard worry

 

[Curt]

It seems we have a heavier than usual invasion of spiders this summer and they get everywhere, including the cooling water exhaust. Even the smallest web impedes flow and can cause me troubles. My solution is to have a short length of string trimmer line just hanging around back by the motor. Every time I start the motor I snake the outlet as a matter of principal and the flow is always better.

 

[Slipaway Capri 22]

The water you are seeing is a telltale that is letting you know that the impeller is functioning. Most of the cooling water actually exits down by the prop with the exhaust. Having the telltale working will keep you from assuming that the impeller is shot.so clearing it was a good thing, by doesn't necessarily indicate a cooling problem.

 

[aviatorjames]

Thanks for the input...
I like the trimmer string idea!!

My rinse routine after sailing...

I hang the engine again on the transom mount
Connect the gas tank and pump the carburetor full
...then disconnect the gas
Connect the garden hose and run the fresh water
Start the engine and just let it run out of gas
...I'm always amazed how long this takes!
Shut off the water

...then I can store the engine, clean and empty of gas, in my garage
I made a wall mount that it hangs on

Yes, I live in California, so I capture the water in a plastic tub to water what plants I have left!!!

 

[NewportNewsMike]

The outboard on my trailered tin skiff (a 16-foot Lund) gets flushed every time it gets used and returned to its driveway home. Always have done so and it is a habit. Maybe not necessary but it gets done as part of running the gas out of the carb once the boat is back in the drive way. Its cooling water indicator flow very seldom, if ever, gets clogged.

Not so on the outboard that hangs on the stern of my CP22 and the previous sailboats that preceded it. Here in the lower Chesapeake Bay, the sailing season is long - even year round for some folks. If you have a saltwater wet slip, since we usually do not get enough ice to be a problem, it's only necessary to haul a boat every 12 - 18 (sometimes 24) months to do the bottom. So that outboard never gets flushed - never. I always unhook the gas line and run the carb dry. I have found this really cuts down on carb related problems.

But since the cooling water tattle tell only sees saltwater, and the residual saltwater left in the fitting has a habit of evaporating and plugging the little fitting, you get to clean the fitting out on a regular basis. That little fitting is a choke point in the system and gets clogged very easily with the dried salt that saltwater leaves when it evaporates.

One trick I have learned over the years is to eliminate that fitting and its choke point. Just remove the fitting and replace the line to the tattle tell with a new piece of hose that is a couple of inches longer than the old one. Then run the new line out the now vacant fitting hole so that it sticks out of the motor an inch or so.

When you shut down the motor, saltwater can run out easier. Some saltwater still gets left in the end of the hose (that last little bit that refuses to run out!) and still evaporates and leaves some dried salt but since there is no constriction, the next time the motor is cranked the indicator water will just "blow" that little salt plug right out the open end of the hose.

On the rare occasion that the hose end does plug, it is easier to clean out than the old fitting because you can use a larger tool on it - like a small Phillips screwdriver or the like.

 

[shnool]

Yes, I live in California, so I capture the water in a plastic tub to water what plants I have left!!!

This is almost sad to read. So CA requires personal water reclamation then? When do they mandate that ALL boats must have sails, you know a green "water" initiative or something? You left coasters are funny!