outboard

[davey g]

should the water that comes out the pee hole on my outboard be hot even on tick over had it out a few times and had no probs but id rather be sure thanks dave

[Charlton]

davey, how hot is hot, the water should be warm, as the water is taking the heat away from the engine, if it is boiling hot then there is either not enough flow, do you have a good jet of water coming out the "pee hole" to take the engine heat away or the engine is getting too hot, most engines however will should shut off before you blow anything, unless your engine is really old, or give a waring buzz if the engine is getting hot, thats if it is fitted with a warning buzzer.

[davey g]

davey, how hot is hot, the water should be warm, as the water is taking the heat away from the engine, if it is boiling hot then there is either not enough flow, do you have a good jet of water coming out the "pee hole" to take the engine heat away or the engine is getting too hot, most engines however will should shut off before you blow anything, unless your engine is really old, or give a waring buzz if the engine is getting hot, thats if it is fitted with a warning buzzer.

merc blueband mate has no alarm yes it has a steady flow of water you can hold your hand under the water but just,would this have a thermostat or not

[Charlton]

sounds as if the engine is slightly running too hot, water coming out of mine never got that hot, it should have a thermostat which should shut the engine off if it overheats, it could need replacing. As I said before never had much to do with Mercs, warned off them, could be that they run at quite a high temp as well. You should have a really good jet of water coming out the discharge, take the lid off and unclip the hose and see what the jet is like then, sometimes you get a bit of a restriction where the hose joins the "pee hole" as you call it, it may need cleaning. Marc seems to of had a bit of experience with Mercs, he might be able to tell you how hot they run.

[Charlton]

Davy, two tips for you
when you have been using your outboard always flush the cooling system through with fresh water, get an attachment that goes over your inlets, or run it in a tank. If you dont the salt can gather and block or corrode the cooling system.
Also dont just shut your engine down, disconnect the fuel pipe and let the engine run until it cuts out. If you are not using it for a while the petrol evaporates and leaves the oil as sludge in the pipes which causes a fuel blockage. It may take a bit longer to pump fuel through, but it is worth it in the long run.