pencil zinks

[bago]

Hi everyone there.That forum is heaven sent!I have a question-During winterization of a merc 170 I noticed that the drainplug`s zincs at the heat exchanger and engine are gone.They are not carried by the local shops but can be made for me by a friend of mine.What I want to know is how important they are,since the boat is no longer cruising the Potomac but the salt water of the Black Sea and what are roughly the dims of the protruding pencil zinc.Would that present any danger if the piece of zinc got carried away by the cooling liquid?

 

[QC]

Re: pencil zinks

Yes you definitely want them. If they break off they could get lodged downstream, but if you have good water flow out and the exhaust manifolds are reasonably cool then you should be OK.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: pencil zinks

Boaters World here (just Google it) carries all sizes..they screw into the plug..you should be able to get them shipped over there I would think.. they are cheap too. I use one up yearly in my aluminum intake manifold running in salt​