I was just wondering what should be done when a small outboard 2 stroke
engine is submerged in fresh water for less than 5 minutes?

This happened on the weekend and the first thing we did was to remove
the spark plug, cycle the engine maybe 50 times with the pull start
until no water was coming out of the spark plug hole. Very little water
came out anyway. After about 2 hours the engine managed to start, but we
were told that you shouldn't start the engine and that it should be
serviced immediately. I would have thought that if the engine could be
started as soon as possible that it would heat up and dry out any
remaining water.

I would think that all service manuals would say to take it in for a
service straight away as that means extra money for the engine maker,
but, is a service really required for an engine if it spent so little
time submerged and actually started shortly afterwards? Surely outboard
engines would have some design factor built it to minimise water damage
since submersion must happen a little bit?

"Rili" wrote in message
...
I was just wondering what should be done when a small outboard 2 stroke
engine is submerged in fresh water for less than 5 minutes?

This happened on the weekend and the first thing we did was to remove the
spark plug, cycle the engine maybe 50 times with the pull start until no
water was coming out of the spark plug hole. Very little water came out
anyway. After about 2 hours the engine managed to start, but we were told
that you shouldn't start the engine and that it should be serviced
immediately. I would have thought that if the engine could be started as
soon as possible that it would heat up and dry out any remaining water.

I would think that all service manuals would say to take it in for a
service straight away as that means extra money for the engine maker, but,
is a service really required for an engine if it spent so little time
submerged and actually started shortly afterwards? Surely outboard engines
would have some design factor built it to minimise water damage since
submersion must happen a little bit?


This happens often in racing. I would double up on the oil mix and run it as
much as possible as soon as you can. An hour of running should do it. Don't
let it sit with water in it.
Dixon

You did the right thing getting it running right away. I would have flushed a
bit of 50:1 mix through it to be sure everything was lubed before I started it
but basically the quicker you get it up to operating temp and boil all the
remaining water out the better.
The "service" when they go into salt water is bascally to flush it with fresh
water and get it running.

On 24 Jan 2005 16:24:50 GMT, (Greg) wrote:

The "service" when they go into salt water is bascally to flush it with fresh
water and get it running.

=========================

Yes, it will be fine. I'd run it for at least an hour or so to bake
out any residual moisture.

"Greg" wrote in message
...

[snip]

The "service" when they go into salt water is bascally to flush it with
fresh
water and get it running.

You have one hour MAXIMUM after your pull your engine from the salt chuck.
Then you dump the powerhead in a tank of diesel. And if you cannot get it in
for service right away, it's best to leave it in the water for just a short
time. Or even in a tank of fresh water in the shop for a short time, if you
have no diesel available. If you leave it exposed in the air, your bearings
will begin to rust. And that will cost you a lot of cash.

Any engine that has been in the salt water must be dismantled and cleaned to
remove all the salt. You cannot just flush them and get them running, that
is "back yard mechanic" nonsense. Any salt left in the area of the bearings
could shorten the life of, or ruin, the powerhead. And while you have that
engine apart, you put in a fresh powerhead gasket set (of course), rebuild
the carbs and clean out the rest of the fuel system and electrical system.
If you don't do the above, you are in for "****" next time you hit the
water.

Basically, any complete salt water emersion calls for a rebuild.

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 03:32:33 -0800, "none" wrote:

"Greg" wrote in message
...

[snip]

The "service" when they go into salt water is bascally to flush it with
fresh
water and get it running.

You have one hour MAXIMUM after your pull your engine from the salt chuck.
Then you dump the powerhead in a tank of diesel. And if you cannot get it in
for service right away, it's best to leave it in the water for just a short
time. Or even in a tank of fresh water in the shop for a short time, if you
have no diesel available. If you leave it exposed in the air, your bearings
will begin to rust. And that will cost you a lot of cash.

Any engine that has been in the salt water must be dismantled and cleaned to
remove all the salt. You cannot just flush them and get them running, that
is "back yard mechanic" nonsense. Any salt left in the area of the bearings
could shorten the life of, or ruin, the powerhead. And while you have that
engine apart, you put in a fresh powerhead gasket set (of course), rebuild
the carbs and clean out the rest of the fuel system and electrical system.
If you don't do the above, you are in for "****" next time you hit the
water.

Basically, any complete salt water emersion calls for a rebuild.

Nope. Just rinse it out with fresh water, and crank it untill it runs
on its own.

Some (23) years ago I went down in shallow sal****er, engine running as the
powerhead went under. It was a small jonboat, overloaded in a short chop,
and skipper had had a few.

One of the passengers swam thrashing ashore, the other took my advice to
"stand up". To the amusement of a dozen or so friends on shore.

I walked the boat ashore, got into dry clothes, pulled the plug and poured
some gas thru, drained the carb, blotted the plug dry and re-inserted it.
Took a couple dozen pulls to get it going. (Then the real fun started -
diving for the case of vodka that was strewn across the bottom ;-)

Motor ran fine for years, but I couldn't get it started last year. Maybe I
should have rebuilt it at the time.

By the way, it's a British Seagull Forty Plus.

Sal's Dad



The "service" when they go into salt water is basically to flush it with
fresh
water and get it running.

You have one hour MAXIMUM after your pull your engine from the salt chuck.
Then you dump the powerhead in a tank of diesel. And if you cannot get it
in
for service right away, it's best to leave it in the water for just a
short
time. Or even in a tank of fresh water in the shop for a short time, if
you
have no diesel available. If you leave it exposed in the air, your
bearings
will begin to rust. And that will cost you a lot of cash.

Any engine that has been in the salt water must be dismantled and cleaned
to
remove all the salt. You cannot just flush them and get them running, that
is "back yard mechanic" nonsense. Any salt left in the area of the
bearings
could shorten the life of, or ruin, the powerhead. And while you have that
engine apart, you put in a fresh powerhead gasket set (of course), rebuild
the carbs and clean out the rest of the fuel system and electrical system.
If you don't do the above, you are in for "****" next time you hit the
water.

Basically, any complete salt water emersion calls for a rebuild.

Nope. Just rinse it out with fresh water, and crank it untill it runs
on its own.

"Sal's Dad" wrote in message
news:kdGdnbuoBcSoKZjfRVn-
Motor ran fine for years, but I couldn't get it started last year. Maybe
I
should have rebuilt it at the time.

By the way, it's a British Seagull Forty Plus.

yeah...but you can't compare a British Seagull to the run of the mill
outboards from the USA & Japan!