How to Flush a Boat Engine

Every time you pull a boat out of the water, you need to flush the engine as part of regular boat maintenance. This is especially important if you boat regularly in salt water because over time, salt water is very corrosive. It's also important to flush a boat engine in freshwater as well as to clean off dirt and debris.

Things You'll Need

• Motor flusher
• Garden hose

Instructions

1. Buy a motor flusher. Some people call these "rabbit ear cuffs" or "ear muffs." See Additional Resources for where to buy a motor flusher if you don't already have one.

2. Put the motor flusher device over the air intake on the outdrive motor. Be sure to cover both air intakes on the right and left sides of the outdrive motor.

3. Attach a garden hose to the motor flusher device. The attachment for a garden hose is located on the cuff part of the motor flusher device.

4. Run fresh water through the engine. Turn on the water to the garden hose to begin flushing the engine. The water comes out the air vent holes just as it does when you are out boating.

5. Turn on the engine. You have to do this so the water can circulate through the motor.

6. Check the temperature of the water. As the engine flushes, the water coming out of the air intakes begins to cool. Turn off the engine and the hose when the water feels cool to the touch.

Tips & Warnings

• Always flush your engine after every boating trip. This helps your boat engine last longer and helps to avoid costly repairs due to saltwater damage and corrosion.

• Never continue flushing your engine if the water output through the air vents is low. Stop the engine, turn off the water and check if something is stuck in the outflow tube. If you don't stop your engine, you risk damaging it through overheating.

Resources

• Get some boat maintenance guidelines
• Buy boat engine flushers