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triton274 · 19-09-2012, 13:13

So last night a storm flipped over our dingy with a 4hp 2 stroke outboard attached. The engine was taken off the dingy and immediately put into a tank of fresh water this morning (as recommended by the folks at the boatyard). My question is now what should I do to get the engine going again?

**GordMay** · 19-09-2012, 13:50

Strip it, wash parts /w kerosene (or the like), dry it, reassemble it, lube the cylinder (squirt of WD-40, or likewise), and start it.

triton274 · 19-09-2012, 14:05

how far down does it need to be stripped?

belizesailor · 19-09-2012, 14:09

Good move on the fresh water rinse.

I've had a couple of motors immersed that have ran fine for years after a good clean up.

Something that many people don't do when repairing immersed outboards is clean all electrical contacts with a contact cleaner spray (WD 40 works) including the magneto -- this requires you to pull the fly wheel. Often when this is not done the motor will run fine for a few months and then develop problems because of corrosion in areas underneath the fly wheel. However, if you clean and lubricate all electrical and mechanical components well then there is no reason this engine won't continue to run for years.

Generally:

- Clean all electrical connections and magneto surfaces with contact cleaner.

- Remove and clean carb and all fuel lines

- Remove & clean spark plugs and give the engine a slow easy pull -- this will push any water out of the cylinders. If you got lucky there may not be much. DO NOT try starting or turning over the engine before removing the plugs.

- Squirt some oil into each cylinder and give the engine a few more slow turns

- Reassemble and fire it up. Only let it run for about 30 minutes then shut it down and let the heat help dry it out more.

You should be good to go after that.

Immersed engine cleaning recommendations from Marine Engine Digest here:

Outboard Overboard: What to do with a submerged outboard motor

belizesailor · 19-09-2012, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by triton274

how far down does it need to be stripped?

Not much at all typically -- remove plugs, carb, flywheel. Typically no need to pull the head etc.

westwinds · 19-09-2012, 14:13

Get it started as quickly as possible. First thing is getting any water out of cylinders and fuel system. Remove the spark plug, place motor with spark plug hole down and turn it over a lot. Drain carb and fuel line. Also, drain fuel tank. Make sure the spark plug is dry, put the spark plug back in. Take an air hose and blow water off the engine, especially around electrical components. If no air hose, use a hair dryer or electric heater with fan in it. Place the motor on back of a boat or in a barrel and start it and run for at least half an hour. If the carb is really hard to drain, skip it since starting the engine as soon as possible is important

triton274 · 19-09-2012, 14:32

And what specifically should i be doing to the carb? I have never cleaned a carb so if you wouldn't mind explaining this to a carb newbie.....

triton274 · 19-09-2012, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by westwinds

skip it since starting the engine as soon as possible is important

How long is too long to leave it submerged in the barrel of fresh water (like it is now)?

courageous cat · 19-09-2012, 14:53

Yes, Take it out now. The fresh water is just to rinse the salt out of it.
Then do as listed above.

Acushla · 19-09-2012, 14:56

When carrying out the functions above it is worth orienting the engine so that the cylinder head is vertically down so that any water trapped in the crank case can also be purged out with repeated turning of the engine via the pull cord and plug removed.
These engines are easily restarted and it is important to run them for some time at temperature to get water out of the main and big end bearings. The fuel mix will eventually do this if run long enough.
As these bearings are rolling element bearings any water droplets that are left in them after the run will rust and cause pitting and the eventual breakdown of the bearings. This could be a year or more from this time but is still something you don't need and can eliminate.

Acushla

Ram · 19-09-2012, 15:00

I have a 2.5 hp yamaha thats flipped about every other year- and as said Belezesalor is how its done- I just rince it with a house then spray wd 40 on the Ele parts , pull the carb and rebuild it and Pull the plug turn it over - thats it simple and easy - less than an hour to do

Therapy · 19-09-2012, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by triton274

And what specifically should i be doing to the carb? I have never cleaned a carb so if you wouldn't mind explaining this to a carb newbie.....

Take it off.

Take the bottom off of it.

Spray it out well with carb spray. (I would not take any adjustment screws out or even move them. You want it to run right away. Not time for adjustments)

Put it back on.

jrod321 · 19-09-2012, 15:26

I prefer CLP(gun oil) from wal-mart over wd-40, PB-Blaster works ok. The CLP foams up and can penetrate great. My old Suzuki dt2 went swimming many times I was always able to revive it.