1989 Force 50 hp Water Pump Gasket and Bushing Question

[tmhxt6]

In the process of changing impellor. Upon disassembly find there are no gaskets on either side of the wearplate? Is this normal?? Also, when I dropped the lower unit, what appears to be a brass bushing remained attached to the drive shaft, just below the shaft splines. It slides off OK, but where does it belong?

[tater76]

Hello tmhxt6! Welcome to iboats! So, was there any rtv along the bottom edge of the wear plate? Some folks omit a gasket for a tiny bead of rtv. I am not for sure if your model and year actually had a gasket, but I will look at my book and get back to you. I personally either make a gasket, or use a tiny bead of rtv on the sealing surfaces. As for the brass bushing on the driveshaft, this is a retainer that normally holds a rubber boot that resides on the top of the driveshaft. It is there to hold grease on the splines, but alot of folks leave them off, and just grease up the splines really well.

[tmhxt6]

Thanks for the quick reply. No evidence of RTV. Your mention of the rubber piece is interesting as there was a broken piece of rubber found when I dropped the lower unit. Had no clue where it came from. I guess you're saying that I could leave both the brass bushing and rubber piece off and just grease the splines.