Engine flushing for a newbie

[mwalsh]

Just got a 2004 2200 SSE open bow. I have never flushed my engine but a I bought a quick silver muff and plan to do soon. Please review my steps below and advise what I messed up.

1). Put muff on by putting the metal bar through the water intake slots and tighten it up and make sure it’s over all the intake slits.


2). Turn on water (Motor should be trimmed down?)

3). Turn on boat and let idle 5-10 minutes (questions where should the water be coming out and do I put the boat in gear forward and reverse....if yes how long?)


4). When done tune off engine 1st.


What did I miss. I boat in the dirty Chesapeake so how often should I flush?

Thx for the advice!

[mmwjr]

Your steps are fine. No need to put it in gear. Run it till the engine reaches normal operating temperature to ensue the thermostat has opened. Are you trailering the boat, lift, other? The salt in the Bay is you bigger concern than dirty water. It’s up to you some flush after every outing others once a month. If you’re trailering it it’s easy to do it once a week.

[mwalsh]

Thx for quick reply just wanted to double check since it’s the 1st time I’ve done it. I keep it in a boatel so they can put it on a rack and have a hose available for me to use.

[mmwjr]

That will work. What part of the Bay are you boating on? I’m on the upper Bay coming out of Middle River.

[mwalsh]

All over near Annapolis. Keep it by sandy point.

[shrew]

When saltwater evaporates, it leaves behind salt crystals. Those are the real killers. I would flush every time the boat is pulled, or at least as much as possible. I wouldn't go nuts if I missed it every once in a great while.

[Acsantiago89]

Also got a question for this topic, is there anyway to flush the motor out while the boat is in the water? Keeping mine in the marina in the water and don't wanna pull it out every other time to flush the motor to get the salt out?

[mmwjr]

Originally Posted by Acsantiago89

Also got a question for this topic, is there anyway to flush the motor out while the boat is in the water? Keeping mine in the marina in the water and don't wanna pull it out every other time to flush the motor to get the salt out?

I’m not aware of a good way to do this for an Alpha drive which has the raw water pump in it instead of an engine mounted one like the Bravos.