Off The Water Maintenance/Repairs : To flush the motor, there is a 3/8" stainless bolt head on the LH side just below the juncture of the motor's midsection & where it bolts to the jet lower unit. This is a flushing fitting hole. Mercury sells a flushing adapter that uses a 3/8" National Course bolt thread on one end & a female garden hose end on the other. Mercury's Quick-Silver part number is #24789A 1 & the actual name is Flushing Device. Also OMC Johnson/Evinrude uses the same adapter to back-flush their 9.9/15hp 2 stroke outboard motors (and maybe more models) made from 1993 to 2007. These adapters fit about all of the Japanese outboards that use a back-flush system.
You can remove the 3/8" plug bolt, screw the garden hose into the adapter & then into the motor, then turn on the water. It does not need to be full force of the standard house water pressure, but about 1/2 force. Start the motor up & let it run for long enough to get the motor warm enough to open the thermostat allowing water to flush thru the power-head. Shut off the motor, then the water & replace the plug bolt.
Mercury Outboard Flush Device #24789A 1