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Submerged 5 years ago, what do I do without hurting it?

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Beagleman

Regular Contributor
Hey guys, I just acquired is a 1 cylinder 30 hp Mariner. Serial number 30ML 689 L 331200. 5 years ago I was on the ocean, this motor rattled off the transom, and she ended up submerging. While submerged I grabbed it, and hit the kill switch. At the time I had no kicker, so I reattached it, pulled it once, then steamed back to my warf.

After that, or maybe after running it an additional trip or do, I stored it since now (i.e. 5 years).

So, my questions are;

-should I have done anything with it at the time?
-did I do any permanent damage?
-what do I need to do with it now (before I try using it again) to get it running?

Spare no details, grill me if I deserve it.

I'm just hoping to salvage this motor, and wandering is it possible?

Appreciate any help/advice.

All the best.

Robby


 
nope, the motor turns over with the plugs still in it. She's not seized (thank God).

So, what do I do to restore it?

Robby
 
i would run it...you ran it after it went in the drink which was good...see what you got when you try to run it..
 
Ideally what you should have done was once you got back to shore flush everything - ignition, carb, inside the cylinders etc with "fresh" water to get all the salt out. Then dry it out and fired it up with gas mixed at 25:1 as soon as you could.

The biggest issue with saltwater submersion is corrosion due to the salt not being completely removed.

Since you got it running right away you may have dried it out with heat from the motor but it may have left salt deposits which may have eaten wiring etc. The ignition will be the potential issue (I suspect). If you get a spark out of her you have probably been pretty lucky.

Since it's not locked up, I would mix up some 25:1 and see if she will go. Yes, that's oil heavy but she is probably pretty "dry" in there not having been run for so long - it will smoke if she goes, but it will get some oil through it in a hurry...

If she does go I would pull the flywheel and look for corrosion - replace anything that looks funky (unless you plan on dumping the motor) in which case sell it as a running motor to someone far far away :)
 
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