*new* Merc Optimax question

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shaneburris74

Member
I got a buddy that just bought a Nitro Bass Boat from up at the Savannah Bass Pro Shops. Its powered by a 115hp Mercury Optimax He ran up on a sandbar this weekend. After getting off the sandbar his temp alarm went off and he realized he sucked some sand up in it while getting the boat free. He got it home, flushed it for short periods on his driveway until the sand popped out. He saw sand come out of the return. Now, when taking the motor over 2000rpm he gets the alarm within about 30sec of getting on plane. Any ideas or suggestions? I'm thinking there is still sand blocking it up there somewhere...possible? and how to get it out?...or should he even jerk with it. It is under warranty but Savannah is a 2 hour drive from here and apparently he has to take it there..(seems odd to me.) on a side note..for all those guys who steer clear of used outboards cause they're so troublesome....this just goes to show- there is no troublefree boat motor. sh!t happens.
 
Chances are the poppit valve assembly still has sand in it and isn't opening properly and re-directing the water flow to cool it under power.
 
The last time I had one get that bad I ended up dropping the lower unit and hooking a hose straight to the water tube, pulled the stats out and the bypass and turned the hose on full blast. Then put the bypass in and repeated this, then put the stats in and let the water run for about 10 minutes. This worked for me in the past. The thing is you need pressure and volume to flush it out. On a hose you will be lucky to get 7 pounds of pressure through the block whereas a hose can get about 20 when hooked up directly. The flushing hoses just are not big enough to flush out an engine and many manufacturers have admitted this.
 
i also think if he runs to bass pro, they will not cover it under warranty. sand in the system is not a defect in materials & workmanship.
 
Alright, I'll pass this info along. PD- I was worried myself about them not covering it..seems crappy if they don't. I've already told him If I was him I wouldn't touch it. I'd get it done under warranty if possible...I would definetly find out for sure before jumping into it. Thanks guys.
 
Not too sure of that motor, but have you ruled out that possibly the sand chewed up the impeller to the point that it will push water at low rpm's but as soon as it's under load, there is not enough impeller surface to keep up with engine temps?
 
He flushed it more yesterday. ....he failed to give me the correct chronology of facts. He hasn't had the motor back in the water since flushing it on the driveway..(good piece of info to have..maybe I just don't listen well) so...I may go out with him tomorrow to test it out. It may be a non-issue at this point. I know you guys are probably right about the warranty...still think it sucks though. I may be thinking like a liberal right now though...lol. I guess its the same as a car right? If you hit a pot hole and screw up your suspension its not covered...the more I think about it the more sense it makes. I gotta stop thinking though, its making my head hurt.
 
shaneburris74 said:
He flushed it more yesterday. ....he failed to give me the correct chronology of facts. He hasn't had the motor back in the water since flushing it on the driveway..(good piece of info to have..maybe I just don't listen well) so...I may go out with him tomorrow to test it out. It may be a non-issue at this point. I know you guys are probably right about the warranty...still think it sucks though. I may be thinking like a liberal right now though...lol. I guess its the same as a car right? If you hit a pot hole and screw up your suspension its not covered...the more I think about it the more sense it makes. I gotta stop thinking though, its making my head hurt.
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think of it like tires on a car you get a nail in your tire toyota's not going to pay for a new tire or to fix it
 
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