Hi, I'm Neil & new to the forum.

Neil Mc

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2024
Messages
9
Visit site
Hi, My old Mercury 2.2hp 2 stroke has water coming out the tell tale but only for a few minutes then steam, then stops & hot ??
 

William_H

Well-known member
Joined
28 Jul 2003
Messages
13,989
Location
West Australia
Visit site
The cooling system for a small outboard seems to give more trouble than anything else. I have now bought a Honda air cooled for that reason.
Anyway as said don't give up it does sound like blockages in channels or bad impeller. Just rip it apart. ol'will
 

john_morris_uk

Well-known member
Joined
3 Jul 2002
Messages
27,864
Location
At sea somewhere.
yachtserendipity.wordpress.com
The problem is that ripping apart is easier said than done on some older outboards. The stainless bolts seize in the alloy mouldings…. Heat, penetrating oil and patience and resorting to drilling and helicoils in extremis.

Hopefully it’ll all come apart easily though.

Two main areas to look at. Firstly the impeller at the bottom of the leg. Secondly the water cooling channels in the head. Sometimes the latter can be flushed out with a suitable acid solution. Sometimes they need to be scraped out as well. Others may advise.

PS. Welcome to the forums.
 

Neil Mc

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2024
Messages
9
Visit site
The cooling system for a small outboard seems to give more trouble than anything else. I have now bought a Honda air cooled for that reason.
Anyway as said don't give up it does sound like blockages in channels or bad impeller. Just rip it apart. ol'will
Sounds like good advice so I'll give it a go, thank you.
 

Neil Mc

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2024
Messages
9
Visit site
The problem is that ripping apart is easier said than done on some older outboards. The stainless bolts seize in the alloy mouldings…. Heat, penetrating oil and patience and resorting to drilling and helicoils in extremis.

Hopefully it’ll all come apart easily though.

Two main areas to look at. Firstly the impeller at the bottom of the leg. Secondly the water cooling channels in the head. Sometimes the latter can be flushed out with a suitable acid solution. Sometimes they need to be scraped out as well. Others may advise.

PS. Welcome to the forums.
Sounds very much like this is the problem, many thanks for your advice and what to look out for - fingers crossed there's no drilling required 😱....
 

neil_s

Well-known member
Joined
28 Oct 2002
Messages
1,614
Location
Chichester
Visit site
I have a Merc 2.5 now and that doesn't seem to be giving cooling water problems. The 2.2 I had previously did, though - I had to take off the cylinder head and rake out the white corrosion in the cooling water channels. Also, the little stainless steel cup that the water pump impeller revolves in got displaced by white corrosion and stopped the pump working properly. That also needed dismantling and cleaning out. I did end up with another Merc so they can't be all bad! Welcome from another Neil!
 

Neil Mc

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2024
Messages
9
Visit site
I have a Merc 2.5 now and that doesn't seem to be giving cooling water problems. The 2.2 I had previously did, though - I had to take off the cylinder head and rake out the white corrosion in the cooling water channels. Also, the little stainless steel cup that the water pump impeller revolves in got displaced by white corrosion and stopped the pump working properly. That also needed dismantling and cleaning out. I did end up with another Merc so they can't be all bad! Welcome from another Neil!
Hi Neil, many thanks for your advice, I will certainly go about taking the head off next. Power to the Mercs & Neil's 😂
 

coveman

Active member
Joined
10 Apr 2016
Messages
565
Visit site
The impellor may need changing if this hasn't been done for a while - very simple on your engine as its just behind the prop.(See the article in the latest PBO magazine) If its not that, then the head needs to be dismantled and the water channels cleaned out.
I have a similar engine (Mercury 2.5hp) and although I was a bit timid about taking it apart, it proved pretty easy. Once cleaned it worked well.
 
Last edited:

Chiara’s slave

Well-known member
Joined
14 Apr 2022
Messages
7,612
Location
Western Solent
Visit site
The University of YouTube is very likely to have a choice of 'how to' videos
There’s an ol’ redneck from South Carolina who seems to crop up when I need a Mercury guru. His videos are for other rednecks, and easy to understand. And it’s all not for profit, he’s just a nice guy. What did we all do before youtube?
 

Neil Mc

New member
Joined
11 Jul 2024
Messages
9
Visit site
The impellor may need changing if this hasn't been done for a while - very simple on your engine as its just behind the prop.(See the article in the latest PBO magazine) If its not that, then the head needs to be dismantled and the water channels cleaned out.
I have a similar engine (Mercury 2.5hp) and although I was a bit timid about taking it apart, it proved pretty easy. Once cleaned it worked well.
 
Top