Bolts for water pump are rusting

[DuKn]

2000 Bayliner Capri 1850 Mercruiser 4.3l alpha one Gen 2
Replace my water pump a few months ago and while changing the oil I noticed the bolts for the water pump seems rusty, is this a common issue and what should I do? Replace bolts with Stainless steel one?

 

[DuKn]

 

[racerone]

salt water use?

 

[DuKn]

salt water use?

none

 

[Scott06]

Wire brush them and paint them with black rustoleum. likely the paint on them got nicked off when you changed it. What you are seeing is typical of many areas on my engine that is also fresh water use. My boat is a 2004 but I did a repower in 2016 so everything was painted fresh then. a number of areas on intake and other parts rusted a bit, nothing bad. and where I had an exhaust elbow off there was a bunch of rust where it was taken apart and on the fasteners

 

[DuKn]

Glad that’s all it is, thanks for the reply!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Get a can of boeshield T9 or fluidfilm and simply spray the engine. its part of boat maintenance.

 

[DuKn]

Just ordered a can of T9, more expensive ,hopefully it’ll be worth it. Gonna respray it with rust oleum first then hit it with the T9, Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Lou C]

I've been spraying mine with either Boeshield, Corrosion X or Fluid Film for 22 years, in all salt water, the tin oil pan and timing chain cover are still in good shape!
Also, very important, make sure there are no small water leaks from hoses, or drain plugs, that can cause a lot of rust that will be un-noticed till it gets bad.

 

[Chris1956]

You may have a small leak. You might observe it when running.
Now on my 4.3LX that I kept in salt water, each spring the bilge would have some bits of rusty metal, which were unidentifiable

 

[Lou C]

Years back when I still had the OMC V6 batwing exhaust manifolds, the drain plug was strategically located guess where? Right over the starter. So when I used to drain them I put a plastic bag over the starter to keep it from getting drenched. My later model 2 piece OMC/Volvo units have the drain way at the back, so no issue with that.