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  1. #1
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    Flushing motor while on the lake

    This weekend we were idling way back in a creek and hit a couple shallow spots. Apparently enough mud was sucked in that the overheat alarm went off. We shut it down and got on the trolling motor. I could blow air into the tell tale. I pulled the engine flush connection (2008 Yamaha) and tried flushing water through using a water bottle, but what ever I could get in just ran back out. After trolling for a long while, we turned the key and the alarm didn't go off. We floored it, and suddenly water stared coming out of the tell tale and water pressure jumped up to 20 psi. What would you do if this happened and you couldn't clean it out? Would a hand held pump like this work to flush it out?
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  2. HYDRA SPORT LS205 225HO JER-1 BIG BASS's Avatar
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    #2
    I’ve had it happen up presque isle back in the lighthouse area, dam weeds , I just trolled pretty good while and it finally cleared.

  3. Member
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    #3
    If you ran it hard afterwards and it didn’t overheat,it’s probably not going to. It wouldn’t hurt to check the water pump and thermostats just to be safe. Running too cool is almost as bad as running too hot,if the t- stats are stuck open.

  4. Member
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    #4
    If I run up on mud, as soon as I can I get in clear water and run it hard.

  5. Member
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    #5
    Probably fine, unless you have a Merc ProXS. That plastic water strainer that feeds the compressor is the devil. Lost two compressors, fuel rails, etc. Better have platinum.

  6. Member mattfish11's Avatar
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    Mar 2010
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    Somerset Co, NJ
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Bahala View Post
    This weekend we were idling way back in a creek and hit a couple shallow spots. Apparently enough mud was sucked in that the overheat alarm went off. We shut it down and got on the trolling motor. I could blow air into the tell tale. I pulled the engine flush connection (2008 Yamaha) and tried flushing water through using a water bottle, but what ever I could get in just ran back out. After trolling for a long while, we turned the key and the alarm didn't go off. We floored it, and suddenly water stared coming out of the tell tale and water pressure jumped up to 20 psi. What would you do if this happened and you couldn't clean it out? Would a hand held pump like this work to flush it out?
    I've tried to pump water through my Merc with the exact pump you have a picture of. It didn't work at all. Not sure it has enough power to push fluid through the cooling system...
    2014 Ranger RT188
    Mercury Fourstroke



  7. Member
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    #7
    Thanks. I'm going to make sure all the debris is out of the engine before going back to the lake this weekend.

  8. Member
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    #8
    From my experience with mud, if it didn't overheat after you got it running, there should be no issues. If it's peeing and not running hot, I would not be worried.

  9. Member
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    #9
    Its been my experience that it is more of the debris that covers the intake screens on LU and not so much anything actually in the engine. I troll to clear water, start engine and put in reverse to flush everything away from screens.

  10. Member Skeeterbait's Avatar
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    Oct 2011
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    LA... Lower Alabama
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    #10
    Don't think your likely to be able to deploy anything on the lake that is going to have the 40+ psi of a garden hose. So not going to get a lot of flushing force. My livewell water input port is male hose pipe threaded with a Venturi nozzle attached to that. I can screw it off and screw on a coiled wash down hose and use the aerator pump to supply water from the lake to the hose. But it is not nearly the force of house water pressure and the pump will not hold static pressure for long if the water cannot flow. So even this would not be very capable to force debris out.
    Last edited by Skeeterbait; 03-26-2019 at 11:48 AM.


  11. Member
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    #11
    I usually lose water pressure a few times a day from fishing shallow. Put the engine in reverse and give it some gas. It will clear everything out.