Engine flush additive

[spears]

I remember seeing (years ago) a device that would fit into your muffs and while flushing the engine using water it would suck in a flushing agent out of a bottle to help clean out the inners of the outboard.
I’m talking like 10 years ago..
Is that still available if so how much,whats it called, and how well does it work..

[Roughasguts]

Yeah I think saltex or something like that.

Waste of time if you ask me it would only be in the motor for 2 seconds then washed down the drain, no time for it to do anything.

Only thing that removes salt is hot water, and maybe some detergent.

[Malcolm W]

I use a flush called Macs. You flush as per normal for several mins then unscrew the bottle, put approx 30-40 mils and flush until the bottles contents are empty. The product is similar to the oil used as lubricant for lathes. It leaves a film on all working parts. I have used this for a few years and do all my own services. The internals of the cooling system are always very clean. I could be wasting my money as a motor flushed with fresh water may give the same result (nothing to compare with )but I will continue to use it. Cost is approx $80 for 5lit.

[spears]

thanks Roughasguts & MW.... found it:

http://www.anchoragencies.com.au/products/macs.html

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/MACSSK1.htm

[Roughasguts]

Malcolm thats interesting so you think it's soluable oil basically.

If so Might chuck some in me flush tank next time I use the motor. But then again maybe the unburn't two stroke oil will do the same thing as it gats sucked back up through the motor. I know it does seem to coat the internals looks nice and clean too, just a bit smeary.

[spears]

I have used hydrochloric acid for cleaning mag wheels and the cooling fins on motor bike engines.Just spray on and watch it bubble for a few minutes and wash off with hose.
And presto>>>clean.. like new

Last time when fitting a new impellor I noticed the intake was partially blocked just below the impellor housing ,I poured the acid into the hole and it cleaned it self out within seconds..once again looked like new.
May work in a quick engine flush on a 20 year old motor.
One way might be to get an old rubbish bin ,put water and acid and run motor then flush with muffs..
Should be perfectly clean inside then..

[mally]

mate acid is also used to clean the salt build up in pool chlorinators ,so it might work.

[Quaker]

I don't think I'd use acid, it's fine for a short time, but if you leave it there too long or it gets trapped in a spot where there's a restriction or partial blockage, it'll eat away the alloy in no time.

[ozscott]

I have started to use SaltX. I mixed some with water and chucked in rock salt crystals and it dissolved then quickly (which water alone does not do). I recently had my head covers off to clean out some salt build up (14 year old motor and only just started using salt X). I found that some of the salt had turned to light jelly that would flush out easily and my bet is that this is the result of the recent saltx use - which bodes well for using it all the time.

To keep it in the engine to form a film the instructions say to turn the motor and then water off as soon as the last of it is sucked up...you also dont use a lot so its pretty economical. I reckon that its better than straight water and it does dissolve salt in a glass (big crystals that take ages to break down in cooking with hot stuff) so it must work in the motor. Now that my galleries are clean around the heads I will use this stuff after every trip now.

Cheers

[ozscott]

These holes are what block up and they dont take a lot of build up to restrict flow. If you cant flush salt dissolver through then I reckon you are ahead. This is one side of my 94 V4 Yammy - after a clean up...they were blocked with sand and salt. Note the non-stick coating on the heads (ahead of their time compared to the yanks who from memory didnt start non-stick until later, but I stand to be corrected by anyone who has pulled down a 94 era Merc, OMC).

Cheers

[BM]

Ozscott,

The salting up problem doesn't commonly happen to Mercs or OMC engines as their water galleries are not as fine as a Yammy. All Yam with a bit of age on them will suffer.

Thats only the water jacket side of your heads shown. Did you pull the heads off and clean the galleries on the reverse side? This is where the salt really builds up as a hard brown/white crusty substance.

cheers

[black runner]

A mate of mine has an earlier 4st suziki that he was having difficulty with getting a good telltale stream. He had the pump changed thermostat amongst other things including hoses and fittings. $600 later he ran some "Salt Away" through it as it was getting close to his annual camping fishing trip. All clear and has been good for 12 months. Some say it's snake oil but it seems to have worked on this occasion.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Hi BM - my brother in law's Rude 130 had the same problems in the same area that I show in the photo except his occurred in the plate covers themselves. I didnt go further because I found the holes blocked and it was only overheating at 5000rpm plus. I have taken her back out and there is no overheat even at 5500rpm for 10 mins, so shes ok at the moment. At some stage if it overheats again I will rip off the heads and also the exhaust manifold and do a full clean up, but for now she seems ok...I will leave the cover plates on if and when I do it though because that area is clean and has new gaskets.

Cheers matey

[BM]

Hi Ozscott,

I did say "not commonly" in relation to OMC and Merc but yep it does still happen.

I would still take off the heads (its a small job) and clean the underside of them and that way the job is done fully.

Removing the valley cover will see a few broken bolts and buildup there is not like it is in the heads.

Also at the base of the powerhead they salt up also (where the water enters the block). Powerhead comes off in about 8-10 bolts so thats worth cleaning out too.

Good to see it has cleared the problem thus far.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Thanks BM - I havent got a Block and tackle and wouldnt mind avoiding the power head removal if possible - which is the worst usually the heads or where the water enters the power head?

Cheers

[BM]

The heads mate normally.

[mikeyh]

I used a product made by Volvo called neutrasalt when I had a sterndrive powered flybridge boat. Probably similar to SaltX.....
This neutrasalt injection system was fitted to the boat (she was in the water) and the procedure was (at the end of the day before you shut down) to depress a switch for 45 seconds....and allow neutrasalt to be injected into the raw water side of the engine so it coated all the areas exposed to SW..ie heat exchanger, risers and manifolds. Seemed to work pretty well...when I pulled risers off they were in pretty good condition and instead of having exposed rust the insides of the risers appeared to be as though they had been varnished. Check it out online. From memory it was about $100 for 4.5L. Would be an easy job to make a T piece ito your muffs and a small tap to turn on after you have done main flush.

cheers, Mike

[spears]

One thing that has been suggested was to flush out cooling system with car radiator cleaner.

By putting the leg into a container like a plastic rubbish bin.
Using a 4 litre bucket and count how many liters gets poured in to the bin to cover the water intake of the outboard then work out how many bottles of motor flushing agent gets poured into rubbish bin at the correct ratio.
Run outboard and it clears out the muck..

What do you guys think of that idea..??

[FNQCairns]

I think the 'salt' most speak about is the same stuff internally that we see sometimes on the lower leg paintwork as a result of the exhaust gallery being nearby inside.

Geology says rocks and minerals are formed under pressure and heat, sometimes largely pressure only and sometimes just heat mainly.

The white substance we see formed internally and externally is due to heat, if an outboard ran at 20deg C then at worst we would only ever see corrosion once exposed for long enough.

My uneducated take is a 'salt' (a mineral, not sodium chloride) it forms due to heat only, this 'salt' because it was formed by heat cannot be passively removed, only by mechanical abrasion or chemical attack like with acid which by the way is one of the scientific keyed steps toward identifying this particular mineral if positive a id is unknown.

I also think that this mineral when it has been formed by heat and has coated most internal surfaces that it promotes cation exchange between it's self and the cast aluminium it coats, effectively corroding the aluinium insitu underneath.

This I have seen many times trying to save a part, I can dissolve/abraid the mineral layer away only to have the underlying aluminium flake and crumble.

The above is why I think the salt products do not work in any way inside an outboard, for sure they would work on any surface not exposed to generated heat.

Sodium chloride dissolves almost instantly with water, salt in its dried natural form has a crystalline structure with gross surface area, it will just wash away in quick time with fresh water as if it was never there, if it is not there it cannot promote corrosion, salt products cannot protect a surface from what is not there and I believe it cannot protect that surface from this mineral formed under heat either.

The would need to come clean and tell the mechanism they use to make it work, as it is outside of natural laws to believe it would work, there is not much new out there except the packaging these days.

my 2c worth

cheers fnq

[cobiaman]

mate acid is also used to clean the salt build up in pool chlorinators ,so it might work.

mate, that is calcium build up not salt, but acid will eat salt as well

[lunchcutter]

hay the best stuff i have heard is macs