"Fat Bass" wrote in message
...
A friend has an older mercruiser outboard fitted with a jet drive. He
eventually gets weeds stuck in the intake causing bad performance,
bogging... yadda yadda... I've heard of weed rakes.. but cant find any
such
animal online.... any help is appreciated!

This doesn't make sense - the mercruiser is an inboard/outboard engine with
a marinized automotive engine and an outdrive. It is not an outboard.
Also, to the best of my knowledge, Mercruiser does not make jet engines.
There are many companies that make marinized automotive inboard jets which
are somewhat similar to what Mercruiser does for it's I/O's, but they are
not Mercruiser.

I gotta think you are talking about a Mercury Sport Jet? This is an
outboard powerhead adapted as an inboard jet, but it is not an outboard.
The reason I say this is that there are indeed outboard jets, but they are a
different animal than an inboard jet. OMC Tubo Jet was a similar product in
the past.

Regardless, assuming you're talking about some sort of inboard jet (Mercury
Sport Jet or automotive-based inboard), having to clear the grate is a
common activity. Where I live, every dealer that sells inboard jet boats
also sells some sort of grate rake. I've also seen some very nice custom
fabricated ones. If you can't find them on line, I'd suggest looking for a
jet boat dealer either locally or on line and give them a call to see what
you can find.

Better yet, I strongly recommend you check out retro-fitting the intake with
a "stomp grate". This is a modified intake grate with a cleaning mechanism.
If I were to own another inboard, I would definitely have it outfitted with
a stomp grate. To fit a stomp grate, the type of powerplant is not
important - it is the brand of pump that's attached to it that is. Stomp
grates are made for most of the big names in pumps, including the Mercury
Sport Jet, Hamilton, Kodiak, etc. Having been an inboard jet owner in the
past, I would NEVER own another one without this feature. It is simply a
necessity, in my opinion.

Another thought I have is that you are confusing a Mercury outboard with a
Mercruiser? There are also many outboards outfitted with a jet lower unit
which replaces the prop lower unit. Although all jet lower units are made
by the same company (Outboard Jets), they are adapted to all major brands of
outboards. They are often fitted at the factory and are painted to match
the OEM color. They are also often retro-fitted and may or may not match
the color of the outboard. Commonly, the aftermarket retro-fitted jet units
are red in color.

If this is what your friend has, the issues are the same - debris in the jet
intake is a common issue that needs to be dealt with. With an outboard jet,
it is usually much easier to clear the grate because the engine can be
tilted up making access to the grate much easier. It is common to simply
clear the grate with something like a screwdriver or small hand held garden
cultivator (large fork like thing).

Hope this helps - I would be interested in finding out what kind of engine
it is, and would be glad to give more advice if the above is off track.