2005 mercury 6hp partially sunk in salt water (was not running when it sank)

[c.parry95]

A friend gave me his 6hp 4 stroke outboard mercury and told me that while they were away from there house in Maine there was a big storm that overtook there dingy and caused the outboard to be almost fully submerged in salt water for about an hour before his neighbor realized and pulled it out. Once it got to me a few days later I pulled the dipstick and you can tell water made its way in it is pretty milky. I pulled the carburetor apart and it is completely full of junk and gelled gasoline. I drained the oil and added fresh oil and some marvel mystery just so I could turn it over and check for spark. There is spark. I have never dealt with a submerged 4 stroke engine before and have also never dealt with a motor submerged in salt water. My question is what do I need to do to be sure I got all of the moisture out of the block. I'd prefer not to disassemble motor but if that's really the only choice I will. Thanks in advance for any help given.

 

[racerone]

It is most importanf to get these motors running ASAP.----If you are unsure what to do next make an appointment with a shop , give to details .---A good shop would help you while you had a coffee.

 

[c.parry95]

I know how to work on outboard motors. I have just never worked on one that had sank in salt. Carb is all cleaned and back together. Drained oil again and added fresh oil. Changed gear fluid just because I was already doing everything else. So everything is ready to go. Just hesitant about starting it without knowing for sure all moisture is gone

 

[enginepower]

Sitting that long with water, rust has probably started to kick in. I would remove plugs and squirt something like wd40 in there and spin it over. Do this several times to get the remaining water out the cylinder and hopefully rust isn't too bad. Running the engine is going to be the best way to dry it out. I would also change the oil a 2nd time after running it about 15-20 minutes of light operation.

 

[tpenfield]

My brother had his outboard fall into the drink (salt water) several times, back in the 2-cycle days . . . The resolution principle is basically the same with any engine. As soon as you can, get the water out, fresh oil in and get it running again. The fact that you have waited a couple of days may be a problem.