Was I always doing it wrong?

[Father's Day]

Happy 4th everyone, while I was flushing my outboard today, one of my dock mates said "why are you flushing your motor with it up"? Wait what. So I googled it, and Suzuki does indeed say to flush your motor in the down position or at least when your done flushing put your motor down to drain all the water out. I am in a slip and always would leave it down when I stay later in the season trying to get that last striper, so the fresh water would not freeze. It seems to me if I put the motor down after flushing I am introducing salt water back into the motor, any thoughts?

 

[Hookup1]

Saltwater will only get into the lower unit and water pump. It won't get up into the cylinder block.

Interesting find but I'll still flush mine in the up position though.

 

[seasick]

I flush up and leave it up. I too would think that putting it down would allow not only salt water to enter the lower unit but also marine growth, including barnacles, worms etc.

In potential freezing situations, I leave the LU down to reduce the chance of water freezing in the LU.

 

[Father's Day]

Saltwater will only get into the lower unit and water pump. It won't get up into the cylinder block.

Interesting find but I'll still flush mine in the up position though.

I agree

 

[Father's Day]

I flush up and leave it up. I too would think that putting it down would allow not only salt water to enter the lower unit but also marine growth, including barnacles, works etc.

In potential freezing situations, I leave the LU down to reduce the chance of water freezing in the LU.

Yes in December I leave it down till they throw me out of the slip

 

[Hookup1]

Galvanic action too. Big advantage of outboards with motors up and out of the water.

For freezing winter fishing I would leave it down too. Other problem is no fresh water in the marina. Fortunately I don't have to deal with this anymore - I head South.

 

[SkunkBoat]

When I got my new zukes I read that and started flushing when down. It makes sense since a normal operation the pump pumps, the water to the top of the head and gravity makes it drain down through all of the channels. And when you’re running, the motor is up. So by flushing with the motor up, the water is filling up to the top of the head and gravity is taking it down through all the channels and the normal fashion. It’s not collecting in any spot that wouldn’t normally collect water. It’s not missing channels because the of the angle . It also makes it a lot easier because you just connect to the front of the motors, flush them and then disconnect from the front of the motors. It’s a lot easier than when they’re up tilted up. The lower unit will have salt in it, but that is a very big exhaust channel. It’s not the skinny little channels in the head.
Like the rest of you I normally leave them up in the slip except in November when the nights become freezing I leave the lower unit down because the water is 50°

 

[DennisG01]

Flushing in a vertical postion, as noted above, gets more the engine internals "flushed".

Workaround when the temp's aren't freezing: do a good flush in the vertical position... then keep the flush going while you tilt up.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Flushing in a vertical postion, as noted above, gets more the engine internals "flushed".

Workaround when the temp's aren't freezing: do a good flush in the vertical position... then keep the flush going while you tilt up.

I did that for a while but I snapped off the plastic quick connect(s) from the tension of the hose bending.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

I flush up and leave it up. I too would think that putting it down would allow not only salt water to enter the lower unit but also marine growth, including barnacles, works etc.

In potential freezing situations, I leave the LU down to reduce the chance of water freezing in the LU.

Absolutely correct!
Leaving the outboard down in the water is a very bad habit and will create damage to the submerged parts.
I broke a trim on one of my boats in Costa Rica and in the few weeks the spare part arrived i had my lower unit full of small barnacles and this kind of tube worms.
Also if you have problems with stray currents in the marina the submerged parts will feed them in the ouboard and boats electrical system. Not good either.

The only acceptable reason to do leave the engines down is if the slip is too short and the raised lower unit stick too much out of the slip and pose a risk or can be hit by others, but that happen mostly in very tight marinas with a lot of stiff wind.

Outboards have to be tilted all up and posed on the safety latch to rest, to avoid growth on the submerged parts and take pressure from the trim system, particularly the oil seals of the rams.

The correct position and engine on or off for using the flush port is written in the user manual and should be followed.

However, everybody is free to do what we want and believe it's correct.

Chris

 

[SkunkBoat]

Absolutely correct!
Leaving the outboard down in the water is a very bad habit and will create damage to the submerged parts.
I broke a trim on one of my boats in Costa Rica and in the few weeks the spare part arrived i had my lower unit full of small barnacles and this kind of tube worms.
Also if you have problems with stray currents in the marina the submerged parts will feed them in the ouboard and boats electrical system. Not good either.

The only acceptable reason to do leave the engines down is if the slip is too short and the raised lower unit stick too much out of the slip and pose a risk or can be hit by others, but that happen mostly in very tight marinas with a lot of stiff wind.

Outboards have to be tilted all up and posed on the safety latch to rest, to avoid growth on the submerged parts and take pressure from the trim system, particularly the oil seals of the rams.

The correct position and engine on or off for using the flush port is written in the user manual and should be followed.

However, everybody is free to do what we want and believe it's correct.

Chris

Nobody is suggesting leaving the motor down in the water all the time. They are talking about for a few minutes when using the flush port after running the boat.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

I am in a slip and always would leave it down when I stay later in the season trying to get that last striper, so the fresh would not freeze. I

Then i and others understood this sentence wrong.
If the problem is fresh water what freezes earlier than salt water then i would prefer to not flush than having the engines in the water.

If boat is in a area where freezing could be a issue then this is maybe necessary, fortunately i have no personal experience with that but i remember that on Lake Zurich the boats in winter where freezing is normal have the engines tilted up.

Chris

 

[seasick]

salt or brackish water freezes at a lower temperature and adds some leeway to when the water in the LU will freeze. More importantly a motor tilted up can hold rain water. That will freeze earlier and at warmer temps than salt or brackish. An even more critical concern is that some model outboards do not completely drain down when tilted up. That can result in freezing damage to the upper parts and powerhead.
Finally, as mentioned, buildup of growth as well as electrolytic activity can be extensive.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Then i and others understood this sentence wrong.
If the problem is fresh water what freezes earlier than salt water then i would prefer to not flush than having the engines in the water.

If boat is in a area where freezing could be a issue then this is maybe necessary, fortunately i have no personal experience with that but i remember that on Lake Zurich the boats in winter where freezing is normal have the engines tilted up.

Chris

The reference to “ the last striper” means something if you’re in the northeast US. Striper fishing begins in late fall and extends into December. The night air temperatures in November often go below freezing but the water is near 50 F So leaving the motor down in th water for a few weeks is better than up. There is very slow growth if any in November and December. Most marinas shut off freshwater November 1st to avoid freezing pipes. So there is no flushing at that point anyway.

 

[seasick]

The original post discussed flushing in general and not specifically to cold/freezing weather. I was surprised that Suzuki recommended that the motor be drained down. I can't beleive that reference was for boats kept in the water.
Whatever, I'm an UP guy for regular seasonal use and a DOWN guy if I leave the boat in the water during freezing periods.

 

[Sardinia306Canyon]

Also here in this forum and i wrote it above.

The correct position and engine on or off for using the flush port is written in the user manual and should be followed.
However, everybody is free to do what we want and believe it's correct.

The reference to “ the last striper” means something if you’re in the northeast US. Striper fishing begins in late fall and extends into December. The night air temperatures in November often go below freezing but the water is near 50 F So leaving the motor down in the water for a few weeks is better than up. There is very slow growth if any in November and December. Most marinas shut off freshwater November 1st to avoid freezing pipes. So there is no flushing at that point anyway.

Now i understand

I did that for a while but I snapped off the plastic quick connect(s) from the tension of the hose bending.

I agree that flushing with the tilted up outboard on a slip or moored is less practical to complicated and depend on splashwell size and outboard model.


Chris

 

[rpnserv]

Had a guy stop at my slip while i was flushing with motor up Yamaha 4 strokes. He owned a fairly new contender and had cracked a head. He was told by repair shop this happened from flushing cold water through a hot motor.. Told me to flush with motor down so theres still some warm water in motor. I flush with motors down then tilt and flush a few more minutes.

 

[Fishtales]

I start down and after a few minutes raise the motors while flushing. Clean the boat and the stop flushing.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Idk. In the spring, fall, and. winter, the water pump pumps 49° water right up into my hot motor.