Flushing a 3.5hp Aux

[Ribtecer]

Yesterday I tried my new (to me but very nearly new) Tohatsu 3.5 out behind my little Avon, its a lovely little engine that will be the Aux on my Solent 5.4.

My question is how best to flush after use, a bucket/bin of fresh water is better than nothing but I'm flushing the engine in its own mess so to speak.

It has water intakes on both sides of the leg so I bent my flushing muffs in a bit but it would not suck up enough water, why is this?

What do others do, I like to run my engines in fresh water for a while, my 9.8 mercury (which is years old but runs like a dream) has a little gadget I bought in the States that clips on to the cavitation plate and directs the water straight up the intake. http://www.seasense.com/products/48/...e/details/2746

What can I do for my little 3.5.

Cheers

[MOS]

Bucket of fresh water is the best way hands down...

Gearbox and impeller is designed to be submerged in water.

[hadd]

Originally Posted by Ribtecer

Yesterday I tried my new (to me but very nearly new) Tohatsu 3.5 out behind my little Avon, its a lovely little engine that will be the Aux on my Solent 5.4.

My question is how best to flush after use, a bucket/bin of fresh water is better than nothing but I'm flushing the engine in its own mess so to speak.

It has water intakes on both sides of the leg so I bent my flushing muffs in a bit but it would not suck up enough water, why is this?

What do others do, I like to run my engines in fresh water for a while, my 9.8 mercury (which is years old but runs like a dream) has a little gadget I bought in the States that clips on to the cavitation plate and directs the water straight up the intake. http://www.seasense.com/products/48/...e/details/2746

What can I do for my little 3.5.

Cheers

Hi ,i do mine in a bin ,put plenty of fresh water in it & leave it running for 5 to 10 mins

[BogMonster]

Don't know about a Twatsoo but the Merc and the Johnson I used to have both have flushing ports to plug in a hose so that's what I use.

[9D280]

The volume of salt that will come out is negligible compared to the volume of your bin.

Also if it's a 2- stroke, any oil that may be "in the mix" will put a nice corrosion preventative coating on all the passages.....

[Ribtecer]

Also if it's a 2- stroke, any oil that may be "in the mix" will put a nice corrosion preventative coating on all the passages..... [/QUOTE]

So is a bucket/bin better than muffs for any engine?

[9D280]

You could argue that toss, but realistically, where are you going to regularly find a bin big enough? - It's not like you can just drop your etec over the side of a wheelie bin!

The one good thing with a bin is you know it's getting water the way it was designed. The big difference between a 3 and a 300 Hp is the size of bucket you need to fit the bottom of the engine!

A good freshwater flush will be enough, all I'm saying is that a bit of recycled oil in the passages isn't going to do any harm.

[lightning]

So you need to flush the engine after each use in salt water?

I'm assuming you mean the cooling water pump etc, are these parts not designed to cope with salt water?

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm surprised it needs to be done.

What about engines left in the water, on boats in the Marina for instance.