Have i destoryed my outboard motor?

Question

Last weekend was a balmy one for april , plus 23 c or around 80ish f. . I test ran my 30 merc outboard , with the old garbage can trick. It ran well. Not using my brain, I cleaned up the garbage can, watched the water drain out of the leg, and left the motor in the down posistion.

This weekend it went down to minus 18c . I am worried sick i have broken the motor open will what ever water that was left over in this motor, or broke the water pump or whatever is in there for water cooling.

Not knowing much about outboards, and not been able to fire it back up and see if any damage has been done, is it possible that any water that was left over from this wasn't enough to do engine damage?

anyone else that has done this to a 30hp merc?

Answer 1

I would think the water drained from the motor too since it was in the down position.

Answer 2

If it is an outboard, you should be ok. as long as the motor was not sitting in water, it should have all drained out especially if the motor was down. That is one reason why I went from an I/O to an outboard. The water drains out. I have had outboards for twenty plus years and the water has always drained out.

Answer 3

All the water should have drained from the engine, and you should be fine. Good thinking to remove the can, and leave the engine down.

Answer 4

If you let the motor drain in the verticle position, you should be OK.   You should be able to get it going so long as gas and spark are OK.  Never run it without a water intake source, and when you get it running, make sure water is streaming out of the "pisser".  If your motor hasn't had a new water pump for more than about six years, I'd replace it just to be sure the cooling system is in order.