15 hp evinrude water pump replacement

[garland gaston]

I replaced the water pump (kit) on my 15 hp kicker outboard motor. Seemed fine after replacement. Water coming out witness hole. Operated good for total of about 4 hours, over several uses. Then I noticed a different sound, and no water was coming out witness hole. I shut engine down. After pulling water pump, I found the impeller badly damaged, like it had been running without water, sort of burned. The assembly seemed correct. What is your best guess on what happened? I'm afraid I now have bits of impeller rubber in the power head. Is there an easy way to check this without major dis-assembly?

 

[bspeth]

Did you run it briefly out of water? Does it sit low enough on the transom to cover the pump housing with water?

 

[garland gaston]

No, it was never run out of the water, and the water intake is actually sitting lower than my main engine, probably deeper than it should be. I'll be inspecting it carefully for intake blockage today, but it was operated in very clear, clean lake water.

 

[jakedaawg]

I would suggest back flushing with water in through the t-stat housing while you have the lower off. This will help flush out any little bits of old impellar.

 

[garland gaston]

Thanks. I'll do that.

 

[boobie]

Possible you got a plastic bag over the water pick up when running it and didn't notice it.