I have a 2018 4 stroke 9.9 merc kicker on my boat. I use it to troll for fishing, primarily in the salt. I flush it out with fresh water for 15-30 mins religiously after each use in the salt.
it has not been run yet this year, and last week I went to do an oil change on it before taking it out fishing. When I drained the oil, much to my horror, it came out light in color like coffee with a lot of cream in it. I’m baffled and terrified at the thought of salt water having been in there for the past year. I read a short forum on Facebook where this happened to someone that accidentally left their kicker down when they were going full speed with the main engine. I have a vague memory of doing that last year for a moment or two but it’s foggy.
Regardless, I am looking for suggestions on where to start on tackling this in terms of assessing the damage, what needs to be fixed, potential ways that water can get into the oil, etc. Any and all advice is appreciated. I am novice at best with mechanical knowledge of these motors, but reasonably mechanically inclined in terms of learning how to do repairs myself when plausible.
I tried to upload a photo of the oil but it says it’s too large to upload. The best description is coffee with 2 creams in it.
Thank you in advance for anyone who takes the time to read this and offer their thoughts.
it has not been run yet this year, and last week I went to do an oil change on it before taking it out fishing. When I drained the oil, much to my horror, it came out light in color like coffee with a lot of cream in it. I’m baffled and terrified at the thought of salt water having been in there for the past year. I read a short forum on Facebook where this happened to someone that accidentally left their kicker down when they were going full speed with the main engine. I have a vague memory of doing that last year for a moment or two but it’s foggy.
Regardless, I am looking for suggestions on where to start on tackling this in terms of assessing the damage, what needs to be fixed, potential ways that water can get into the oil, etc. Any and all advice is appreciated. I am novice at best with mechanical knowledge of these motors, but reasonably mechanically inclined in terms of learning how to do repairs myself when plausible.
I tried to upload a photo of the oil but it says it’s too large to upload. The best description is coffee with 2 creams in it.
Thank you in advance for anyone who takes the time to read this and offer their thoughts.