Flushing engine after use..

I take delivery of my new 05' centurion enzo on tuesday and i want to get the boat all setup for the season as soon as pos!

I will be using the boat in salt water so going to be greasing every bolt and nut and spraying all electrical connections, in the effort to minimize the old corrosion bug!

I was just wondering whats the best way to flush the engine through with fresh water after use, i've read some where people putting in a 'T' piece in with a hose lock so the can just connect a hose pipe, wheres the best place to fit this?

cheers for any help
Jon

Either get a fake a lake connection which goes over the raw water intake on the bottom of the boat or tee into the raw water hose in a position that allows the water to flow into the engine rather than out through the intake.

Jon, I have an 04 Cyclone and bought a Flush Pro kit. You can buy one from boatfix.com. Then search for Flush Pro. You will want the 1-1/4" KIT. IT gives you all the fittings and and clamps to install the flush pro and a remote fill connection which you can tie up in the engine compart or you can drill a hole and install it on the back of the transom. Let me know if you need any more info. I stayed away from any flusher that involved crawling under the boat. It also makes for very easy winterizing. Enjoy you new ride. }}}

Jon, I have an 04 Cyclone and bought a Flush Pro kit. You can buy one from boatfix.com. Then search for Flush Pro. the part number is PER456}}}DP7. You will want the 1-1/4" KIT. IT gives you all the fittings and and clamps to install the flush pro and a remote fill connection which you can tie up in the engine compart or you can drill a hole and install it on the back of the transom. Let me know if you need any more info. I stayed away from any flusher that involved crawling under the boat. It also makes for very easy winterizing. Enjoy you new ride. }}}

Best way to go is Flush Pro

Have the Flush Pro installed before dropping into salt water. You should also spray the inside with corrosion protection spray, found it at West Marine. You should also flush the engine with Salt Away after each use. I usually flush with Salt away until it is clear, then let is keep going with fresh water, then refill with Salt away and coat the whole inside of the engine and manifolds and turn the engine off, about 15 minutes. Also be prepared to change your risers and exhaust manifolds a couple of years down the line due to the salt corrosion. I flush religiously and will be changing out my risers and manifolds this weekend. Happy days ahead...

Wilson are you changing them for preventive maintenance or did they finally corrode through? Ive got over 600 salt water hours and am planning on pulling manifolds/risers for inspection soon.

I have about 450 hours in salt. There was a leak on the riser gaskets that spit salt water onto my manifold. I had to replace anyways and thought I would have to replace both riser and manifold. Took off the riser and luckily it wasn't bad. Cleared out the water jackets and scraped off the rust and blew and vacuumed out the rust. Used some RTV red hot silicone, gasket and silicone again and replaced the risers. Make sure you use some WD-40 on the riser to get it back into the baffle. I was told to replace and inspect every 2 years when running in salt. I think the Salt Away definitely helped slow the rust down. I will be firing the engine up when I get home, had to let the silcone dry, to see if I did ok. If you are taking off the manifolds, my mechanic said to get some help, they are heavy. Pull the spark plugs out just in case you drop the manifold so they don't crack a plug and get stuck. Let me know if you need more info.

Jon:

I had the same questions earlier. Got some great info. Here's the thread I started. Bottom line: ski boats are not built for salt and salt is very, very hard on them unless the boat is specifically set up for salt.

Boats and Boat Accessories: Outfitting a Boat for Salt Water
Posts on this Page: 14
Last Activity: 12-Apr-2005 12:08, Relative Score 100%

A friend of mine who rides exclusively in salt got 900 hrs from his risers and manifolds by flushing efter every use and periodically using salt-a-way.

Got 1,200 hours out of our old boat's risers and manifolds, many in salt. Flushed every time.

Sold the boat at that point so they (and the rest of the engine) may have lasted longer.