Mercruiser 250hp Stern Drive Bravo 3 leg dirty sea Strainer

[Kooya]

last weekend one of my two engines was over heating and Power was reduced. My legs did have heaps of weed growth on them so I assumed weed has got into water intake and Sea Strainer is potentially blocked.
any guidence on a DIY fix or should boat be lifted out of water and taken to Mercury service centre ?
thanks
Marko

 

[Scott06]

last weekend one of my two engines was over heating and Power was reduced. My legs did have heaps of weed growth on them so I assumed weed has got into water intake and Sea Strainer is potentially blocked.
any guidence on a DIY fix or should boat be lifted out of water and taken to Mercury service centre ?
thanks
Marko

Id start by getting the weed growth off the outdrives or do u have through hull water pick ups? If you have a strainer and yiu can close them off in the water open them and see what’s in there. Also could be an issue with the raw water pump impellers. If flow is restricted they may have been running dry.

all of this can be done diy if you have some basic mechanical skills.

when was the last time it was hauled out cleaned and Impellers changed

 

[Kooya]

at the time of over heating I cleaned the water intakes on the Bravo 3 legs however didnt look to be much Algea growth around them, although the leg overall had quite a bit . Good point re raw water pump impellers...Boat has been in water last 4 months and serviced before launch... I was thinking the sea strainer might be the first thing to check ? couldnt see any online tutorials on how to access etc.

 

[tpenfield]

I'd locate the sea water strainers and clean them out. Seems like a fairly straight forward task unless you are not mechanically inclined. Post some pictures of the engines from various angles. The sea water strainer should be visible.

 

[Scott06]

As above sea water strainer will be between the raw water pump and the drive or through hull pick up.

Once you open it water can come in so make sure it is valved off ... top of strainer should come off