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To Flush.. or Not to Flush.. Thats the million dollar question!

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StarGazerI

New member
I just was wondering from you all! I’ve read here not one person has mentioned flushing your I/O or inboards, and outboards motors with any salt cutting chemicals. I for years run my motor in a drum of fresh water for a while and that’s typically it.
Next I turn carburetor gas/valve OFF and let the engine die. But, Lately though I have noticed less water coming out my motors “pee” hole. I do change-out my impeller every year even if it looks good.. to me its worth it.
So here’s the 10 million dollar question! There’s a chemical treatment call SX50 for flushing out motors from salt usage.. Does anyone have any experiences with this product or can anyone suggest one that will clean out the engine channels from years of corrosion build-up??
Best Regards, StarGazerI
 
Years of corrosion built up will require manual scraping and cleaning by removal of covers, head, whatever in each situation to expose water passage as much as possible. Flushing with garden hose after each use is sufficient (to me) whether it's salt, lake or delta water use.
If any chemical can wipe out the years of corrosion, that chemical is not environmental friendly and safe to use on a motor with those brittle gaskets to hold water in/out of specific areas....
Just a thought!
 
Salt-away claims to work. I have also cleared corrosion using a mild acid (such as vinegar) in some cases. If you know that you will be inviting corrosion (consider the water you run in, the run times, and how frequently the motor is out of the water -- available to flush), the best policy is maintenance... by flushing with fresh water. We even get corrosion in the Great Lakes, especially in motors that "live" in the water all season, and aren't tilted out at the end of every day. My particular setup is one of those offenders, because the motor cannot be tilted up when installed in the boat. I even get a buildup on the ss driveshaft... enough that I must clean the buildup off in order to change the impeller. In severe cases, harsh chemistry -- harsh enough to attack severe corrosion -- may deplete enough metal to render a motor a pile of junk. In that case, disassembly and manual scraping is likely the only option. YMMV.
 
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