Running hose in outdrive question

[FuzzDaddy]

Hi everyone,

Im getting ready to winterize my 5.0 MPI 240 Sundeck. I found all 5 blue drain plugs. I used a coat hanger to unclog them. Since I had all 5 plugs out I hooked up the muffs on the outdrive and started the engine for a few minutes. I was hoping water would drain out the plug ports to flush everything out while the engine was running. The water was not running through the engine. No water was coming out the exhaust above the bilge plug. Funny thing is, water really wasn't coming out of any of the drain plugs ports either. Is this because I had all the drain plugs out?
Thank you for your time
Corey

 

[Pirate Lady]

Lazy Days can answer best but my guess. You said a few mins. Maybe not long enough to open thermostat for circulation.

 

[Thornton69]

Do you have a Bravo with the engine mounted raw water pump? Sounds like weak muffs. They have to be able to hold enough pressure to get the water up to the pump.

 

[Espos4]

You need to put the plugs back into the pump!

 

[FuzzDaddy]

Yes it's a bravo unit. I'll put all the plugs back in and see if that works. I don't want to run the engine long without water circulating through the block.
I have a strange question... on the lower front port side there is the water distribution housing. On top of it there is a cap. What is the cap for? It looks solid inside

 

[Bt Doctur]

The ball is hollow inside , plastic and cracks easily. It has a blue drain plug in it to drain the hoses.
With the proper muffs water will exit the exaust within 2 minutes of a fully drained block with the plugs installed. Water exits the motor no matter what position the thermostat is in. It needed to cool the rubber components

 

[Espos4]

Yes it's a bravo unit. I'll put all the plugs back in and see if that works. I don't want to run the engine long without water circulating through the block.
I have a strange question... on the lower front port side there is the water distribution housing. On top of it there is a cap. What is the cap for? It looks solid inside

That cap is a dummy. Some housings are made with a rod that opens and closes the drain on the bottom of the ball. The rod travels through that portion of the housing.
Also, don’t worry about running the engine with the block drained, as long as you do have the hose supplying water to the out drive. The block will begin filling once you start the motor. It won’t overheat in the short amount of time that it takes.

Id be more concerned with damaging the impeller if you were running the motor without the blue plugs installed in the pump.

 

[FuzzDaddy]

Excellent. Thank you for all the information and your time!
Have a good night