Starting on Muffs

[sub2010ss]

With all of the work I have been doing lately, I have been starting my boat on the muffs a lot. Is it safe to start and run like this? I have read that placing the drive in gear is not good for it when out of the water, is that correct?

 

[Bt Doctur]

perfectly safe to do . shifting to check operation is ok, leaving it in gear on land can be dangerous

 

[JASinIL2006]

Here is a Mercruiser service bulletin with their recommendations for running in ear muffs.

Jim

View attachment flushing procedure 99_09.pdf

 

[thumpar]

Putting it in gear won't hurt the drive but can be dangerous if the prop is still on. I do it but am very careful about my surroundings.

 

[sub2010ss]

Good info! "Throttle chops"? I have no idea that that is unless they mean blipping the throttle to hear it roar.

 

[Scott Danforth]

when running on muffs, turn the water up all the way - you can never have too much water. do not run more than 1500-2000 rpm.

never had an issue of muffs sealing on a mercruiser, however the VP drive and muffs suck. I keep a roll of tape with my muffs and tape the muffs to the outdrive.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... You can run 'em on muffs til it runs outa gas if ya want,.... or outa water,...

Shiftin' into gear don't hurt it,... ya gotta go slower from forward to reverse or vice versa, as the prop comtinues spinnin' abit without the resistance from water,.....

Obviously, Wot for any duration is outa the question,.....

 

[airdvr1227]

Only thing I can add to this is make sure the drive is down. I've seen videos of the drive being up, on muffs, and the idiots have it in gear and throttled up.

 

[sub2010ss]

Right! That was my first thought as I was yanking the outdrive off is those joints should be straight when I'm running it!

 

[achris]

Turning the drive or trimming it up while the engine is idling can be an excellent diagnosis for dodgy unis or a gimbal. But not as a general rule and definitely not at elevated engine speeds...