Water pump theory question

[fleetwin]

Well, your garden hose provides more pressure than the cooling system was designed to handle, so excess pressure could actually cause a gasket to leak I suppose…Just turn the faucet on a little bit at a time, you can surely increase the pressure a bit, just don’t overdo it.
Keep in mind that if there is an actual internal cooling leak, you will be spraying water inside the engine with the garden hose rig! So, be sure to run the engine afterwards, even with the gearcase off and no hose attached to expel any water that may have leaked inside the powerhead.
OK, so you DID back the boat into the water and try it with no success, correct? The engine would not pump even before you replaced the impeller, and still didn’t pump after replacement.
Again, I just can’t help feeling we are missing something simple here. The engine is a fresh water, low hour engine, that shows no signs of overheating….Do you know any history on the engine, did the previous owner report any problems or repairs? Any chance someone was in there before you? Did it look like someone had messed with the gearcase before you got it? It just seems very unlikely that the previous owner put this thing away cooling fine, and some major problem developed between the time he last used the engine and when you got it, unless someone was messing with it before you got it….
Please post some pictures, or email them to me if you can’t upload them here…
Don
dkellogg56@gmail.com

[wetwillie]

Thanks for answering my question. Now that I feel rather dumb, I’ll answer yours. You are correct that I DID back the boat into the water and try it with no success. I used water muffs the 1st time I ran it (before replacing the impeller) and no water came out the indicator. Having seen this before on other motors, I figured it was the result of mud dobbers plugging the indicator outlet. I turned it off, pulled the hose at the elbow on the exhaust cover and blew through it. No obstruction there or at the intake. I ass-umed the impeller was bad and pulled that to inspect it. Vanes were distorted but, otherwise, very pliable. I put a new impeller in anyway.
The only history I know is what the seller told me. That is, his late father bought it new and they used it to go fishing in Canada. The ol boy passed away a yr or so ago and the son found the motor in the back of his garage. No boat or controls. Just the motor and wiring harness. Cosmetically, the motor was in surprising condition. The only wear or damage that I found were scratches on the cowling and brittle insulation on a lot of the wiring. IF the lower unit had ever been off, it was done w/o the slightest indication any where. I had difficulty removing the linkage access cover because it was so stuck. There wasn’t the slightest mark from a screwdriver in the slots and I’m confident that I was the 1st to break the gasket seal.
I share your feeling that we are/I am missing something simple here and will be extremely reluctant to report what that simple something is should I discover it. However, I promise to PM you what that something is should that be the case. LOL
I plan to try the water hose test today and will report back.

[melugin]

My motors are fresh water units and put out a good stream thru the tell tale when running. I am running them in a factory test tank. Normal wear and tear. Top of each block shows some paint chipping, but no discoloration. Top of block gets up to 160+ in about 20 seconds running, too hot to touch.

[wetwillie]

Hey Melugin, out of curiosity, how long does it take, after starting, for the stream to begin?
Also, for any one else monitoring this thread, this morning I discovered signs that the exhaust cover had been removed at some time. I’m looking forward to taking a look underneath it. I’m hoping that the answers to this mystery are there.

[melugin]

Tell-tale stream begins almost immediately after starting.

[fleetwin]

quote WetWillie:

Hey Melugin, out of curiosity, how long does it take, after starting, for the stream to begin?
Also, for any one else monitoring this thread, this morning I discovered signs that the exhaust cover had been removed at some time. I’m looking forward to taking a look underneath it. I’m hoping that the answers to this mystery are there.

OK, well this is good information….Why the heck would someone have removed that exhaust cover on a fresh water, low hours engine? So, I am guessing the gaskets look changed, and the paint is disturbed on those exhaust cover bolts, correct? Again, don’t be afraid to post some pictures. I just looked at the parts breakdown, both inner/outer gaskets are the same, thought perhaps someone mixed them up….Maybe someone used gaskets from a later model…
In any event, hold off on pulling that cover until you have performed some of the simple tests we discussed previously…
Don’t be afraid to report finding something simple, happens to all of us….Trust me, I am guilty of "overlooking the simple" at least a hundred times.

[Author]

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