Proper way to dry out transom

[bwest0615]

Hey guys I want to make sure I dry out my transom the correct way. I have a 1990 184 and I believe the transom is still good. There is no flex, it passed the hammer test, when I put on the jackplate there wasnt any brown water coming from the motor bolts. I want to dry out the transom and reseal it. I know I have to remove all the thru-hull fittings, remove motor and jackplate, heat transom for 2-3 weeks with heat lamps about 12-14 inches from transom. What I am not sure on is: do you heat from the outside, inside, or both? What heat lamps do you use?(can you use a metal shop light with a heat bulb?), do you heat from the middle and work your way out? When removing the motor(1990 175 mariner) do I need to remove all the wires, fuel line, throttle cables, and steering cables or can you just move them out of the way(similar to when installing the jackplate). Thanks guys for all the help, I really appreciate it!

[ChampioNman]

You use the red spotlight style heat lamps like they use to keep food hot, shoot it from the outside, swing everything out of the way leave them on the motor. Take the splash well trim strip off and the two aluminum caps off each corner. You should be good to go.

[pmgoffjr]

Two weeks under the lamps gets it done.

[geich22]

When I dried mine out last year I hung the motor on a motor stand with everything hooked up, removed all fittings and the aluminum strip off the top of the transom. I also removed the fuel tank. I used 3 lamps inside and 2 outside. The white bulbs actually put out more heat than the red ones but both worked fine. It may have been overkill but I didn't want to leave any moisture in there.