What to do when outboard engine is dropped in salt water

[nramos5]

I have a 6 hp outboard engine which was dropped in salt water. I was able to recover it, but would like some advice of what to do to start the engine again.

[Jim H]

Here's a link to brief article about how to proceed:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/YourHurri....htm#Submerged

How long was the motor submerged? It also sounds like you need to act as soon as possible.

Good luck!

Jim H

[haffiman37]

If 2-stroke: Hose it down with fresh water to get the salt off, drain the carb for water, unscrew the sparkplug(s), spray conservation oil into the air intake, pull the starting rope several times until the engine is empty of water, clean and install the pluggs and start the engine. Let it run for at least one hour on double oil-mix!

If 4-stoke: In addition change oil and filter before restart and check/change oil after restart. (If oil is "milky" change).

Whatever you do, do NOT let the engine dry before restart! Let it stay in water salt or fresh until you can take care of it!

[gc1111]

I had an outboard (2 HP) running on an inflatable when it flipped (that is another story).
It was a couple of hours before I could get it to a place to work on it. I rinsed it off with fresh, pulled the sparkplug, and sprayed WD-40 into the carb while cranking it. I did that A LOT. Then I sprayed WD-40 into the plug hole and replaced the plug. I emptied the fuel tank and replaced with new (on a 2Hp the tank is part of the engine), started it in a barrel of water to supply cooling water, and let it run.
Last I heard (almost 20 yrs later) it was still running.

[nramos5]

Thank you for all the replies. It sounds like I might be out of luck. This happened a few months ago and I took it out of the water and let it dry.

One last question....

Do you think is even worth it trying the solutions given here considering that I let the engine dry?

Thanks again,

Nathan

[jnanjorl]

my answer to you may seem a little ? but what have you got to lose?

[Jim H]

I agree with jnanjorl-- take it apart and tell us what you find. At the very least, you'll learn about disassembly...

Jim H