Davey1
09-06-2008, 10:11 PM
Draining the cooling system
We have a 3 litre Mercury inboard, Alpha stern drive, 5 months old. I was just wondering whether anyone with a similar setup uses the hoses beside the engine to drain the cooling water out of the block & exhaust manifold after each use? The boat is operated in salt water so I flush the motor every time with fresh water as advised in the manual but do not drain the cooling water.
Trouble is when we got home & parked the boat in the garage after our last outing I noticed the exhaust outlet down near the leg has dry rust marks around it like it has been blowing out rusty water & the thermostat appeared to be stuck open, engine was not heating up while we were out on the water. Sounds like the cooling system has rust in it & the thermostat might have seized. The Mercury manual says to only drain the system for extended storage or if freezing temps are expected. It was only about 4 weeks between outings.
Going to book it in to get checked out but just wondering what you guys normally do?
We have a 3 litre Mercury inboard, Alpha stern drive, 5 months old. I was just wondering whether anyone with a similar setup uses the hoses beside the engine to drain the cooling water out of the block & exhaust manifold after each use? The boat is operated in salt water so I flush the motor every time with fresh water as advised in the manual but do not drain the cooling water.
Trouble is when we got home & parked the boat in the garage after our last outing I noticed the exhaust outlet down near the leg has dry rust marks around it like it has been blowing out rusty water & the thermostat appeared to be stuck open, engine was not heating up while we were out on the water. Sounds like the cooling system has rust in it & the thermostat might have seized. The Mercury manual says to only drain the system for extended storage or if freezing temps are expected. It was only about 4 weeks between outings.
Going to book it in to get checked out but just wondering what you guys normally do?