Whiteknuckle

I have always been a fresh water boater so flushing after each use as never been an issue. My brother lives on the east coast of North Carolina, and is looking for his first boat. He is being told to stay with outboards because of the salt water issue on raw water cooled sterndrives. How much of an issue is it really? Don't you need to flush an outboard too? He is looking for a 22'-26' open bow with mid cabin for a head.
How long does it take to flush if required?

mjb

Flushing is VERY important with salt water use, especially with I/O applications. It should be flushed after every use to prolong the life of the engine. I think outboards are a little more forgiving but they should still be flushed. Depending on your flush setup, it takes about 5 or 10 minutes. The engine should be hot so the T.stat is open.

ratman

i flush my engines and wash salt off the boat, trailer, drives etc, be thorough salt will reap havic on your equipment

vandeano

I live here on the West Coast and boat on the Pacific Ocean. Never had a problem with salt because Im anal when it comes to flushing it out after every outing. I use a product called Salt Away. But who is to say the person selling the boat isn't as anal. Then there could be problems

GOODT

I have seen major problems from salt water in both i/o and outboards both should always be flushed the biggest differance is that outboards are self draining for the most part so water doesnt sit in it

Vinny P

In my opinion, closed cooling is the way to go when running salt water. I have used it for years with no issues at all.

ghittner

I've done it without Salt Away on an engine and with Salt Away on the next engine. BIG DIFFERENCE! I will continue to use it as I took down both engines and saw the difference. YOU MUST wash your engine out immediately and the longer your neighbors can stand the noise the better. Don't wait till the next day, do it immediately. If you'll look at your engine block and exhaust manifold it is likely you will see two drain cocks on the bottom of each exhaust manifold and one on each side of the block. They are usually for winterizing and draining all fluid so that it will not freeze in the block and heads causing freeze plugs to burst or parts to crack. I use them to drain my engine after each outing. It not only helps to prolong the life of the parts but if you have a leaky riser gasket it will save your engines life by not letting water drain back down into and filling the cylinders causing and hydraulic lock bending rods/valves etc. I've seen this happen.
Rinse and drain!

Whiteknuckle

Thanks Guys, This is all good infomation. On a closed cooling system sterndrive you still have to flush the outdrive and the raw side of the heat exchanger don't you? And, of course an outboard will still have to be flushed also, am I correct?

Vinny P

Yes, you still need to flush the raw water side out. The advantage is not getting any salt in the engine at all.

BY U BOY

I Flush After Every Use With Salt Terminator For At Least 20 Min. I Also Spry The Motor Down With Fresh Water In Case I Have Salt Water On Any Parts From The Bilge.