Threw my motor in the lake

Wasn't on purpose but it sank like a rock in the 5 ft water. I jumped in and yanked it out but now what do I do?
I removed the 2 plugs and pulled the start rope about 10 times then put them back in. I have it standing up in the boat house.

9.9 mercury 2 stroke.
Freshwater.

I would drain the carb and get her running asap.

What he said....
Get it running as soon as you can.
How long has it sat?
You might want to put some oil in the cylinder(in the plus hole).

It was saturday and I plan on going up this saturday. so it will be 7 days.

I had a snowmobile that ended up underwater once , i drained every fluid in it took plugs out pulled untill nothing came out refilled everything and it took right off again with no problems.

Thats my recommendation anyway

Its trashed. Send it to me and I'll save you from having the embarassment of why you have an outboard out by the road.

Like said above get it running asap.The longer you wait the worst it could be.It don't take long for rust to form.Run a heavy gas oil mixture.

Always knew Mercurys made good anchors!.............all kidding aside, you will be very lucky if the engine lives a normal service life after sitting in the air for 7 days after submersion. It takes almost nothing for rust to appear on the crank and rod journals and shorten the life of the rotating parts. As has been said, run a heavy mix (probably from now on) and hope for the best. You will need to run the engine for 30 minutes or so at a bare minimum to dry out the bottom crank bearing and I would run it easy and on double oil for at least a tank and heavier than normal from now on since you have zero idea if minor crank pitting has occurred. Cylinders and piston rings will put up with much more than the crank will.

Actually the top bearing is the worst.When I used to race I flipped once & within an hour we had it up & running with no ill effects,infact won a race the following weekend with that motor.(25hp Merc)

As everyone else has said...time is of the essence. I have done this twice. Pull the plugs and dump either diesel or a fuel ATF mixture in and pull the rope a few times to work the water from the cylinder. Put it back together and go for a lengthy boat ride...catch a fish...have a beer. Then for safe measure cross your fingers. It smokes like seafoam when you start it back up but it will be ok.....fingers crossed.

you guys have convinced me . I will go up tonite and try to get it running.

Thanks for the help.
I will let you know.

crazymanme2 said:

Actually the top bearing is the worst.When I used to race I flipped once & within an hour we had it up & running with no ill effects,infact won a race the following weekend with that motor.(25hp Merc)

Click to expand...

Thats very true and is usually the reason the top bearing is a larger bearing. It has to put up with the least amount of lubrication so the bearing is larger to reduce the overall load on it. But the fact is that water will head to and stay in the bottom bearing and it just takes longer to run it out. Can see you've been there and done that!

From the Mercury service manual that covers 9.9s:

Fresh Water Submersion (Special Instructions)
1. Recover engine as quickly as possible.
2. Remove cowling.
3. Flush exterior of outboardwith freshwater to removemud,weeds, etc.DONOT attempt
to start engine if sand has entered powerhead, as powerheadwill be severely damaged.
Disassemble powerhead if necessary to clean components.
4. Remove spark plugs and get as much water as possible out of powerhead. Most water
can be eliminated by placing engine in a horizontal position (with spark plug holes down)
and rotating flywheel.
5. Pour alcohol into carburetor throats (alcoholwill absorbedwater). Again rotate flywheel.
6. Turn engine over and pour alcohol into spark plug openings and rotate flywheel.
7. Turn engine over (place spark plug openings down) and pour engine oil into throat of
carburetors while rotating flywheel to distribute oil throughout crankcase.
8. Again turn engine over and pour approximately one teaspoon of engine oil into each
spark plug opening. Again rotate flywheel to distribute oil in cylinders.
9. Remove and clean carburetors and fuel pump assembly.
10. Dry all wiring and electrical components using compressed air.
11. Disassemble the engine starter motor and dry the brush contacts, armature and other
corrodible parts.
12. Reinstall spark plugs, carburetors and fuel pump.
13. Attempt to start engine, using a fresh fuel source. If engine starts, it should be run for
at least one hour to eliminate any water in engine.
14. If engine fails to start, determine cause (fuel, electrical or mechanical). Engine should
be run within 2 hours after recovery of outboard from water, or serious internal damage
may occur. If unable to start engine in this period, disassemble engine and clean all
parts. Apply oil as soon as possible.

ya what everyone else said, But the real question is, How did it get in the lake?

It worked! cleaned it and poured mixed fuel into the cylinders, drained, and then put it back together and first pull. I ran it for about an hour and it worked perfectly.
Thanks guys. Is there a better motor than these mercs? I am running gas that is from last summer (stabilized) and it starts on first pull the once a month I use it.

About how it got in the lake: I was lifting it onto the dock from the boat and hit the side of the dock (the water is down so the dock is higher than I am used to). Newton's law of physics got me and the "opposite and equal reaction" pushed the boat away from the dock and I had 2 choices, pull the motor back into my chest and fall back into the boat or let the motor drop. I let it drop.

I am now in the market for a "boom" to hoist the motor in and out of the boat!