1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

[nickh]

I have a 1968 650 thunderbolt that came with a boat recently purchased. We've had it out on the water, but noticed it wasn't peeing. I purchased an impeller kit, put in on today, and while idling I now have water dripping out of the #1 spark plug hole!

Is this a water jacket issue? What should I start with?

Any help would be so appreciated!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

It's the jacket gasket. Be very careful pulling all those small bolts but it is a common problem.

Welcome to iboats!!!

 

[nickh]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Thanks for the quick reply!! I have been browsing Iboats for a long time, but finally have something I couldn't find by searching...

The old impeller wasn't destroyed, but it had a few missing pieces.. Maybe one of these clogged a port in the water jacket? I'm trying to figure out why it won't pee

Is that gasket readily available?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Have you tried to snake out the pee tube with a piece of weed trimmer line? It could be clogged.

 

[nickh]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Yes, I did that and got some nasty gunk out... but still no pee.

As for getting to the water jacket - is it behind the cylinder block cover? I have read I should do the exhaust cover gaskets as well.. Just hoping I don't have to pull the powerhead to do this?

 

[Aqualift]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Yea, you have to pull the powerhead. I have two Merc 500's and on my 68, it had a clogged telltale (pee hole). It turned out that the passageways between the exhaust cover and baffle plate that led to the pee hole were severly clogged with sediment and corrosion. Removing the powerhead wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. But, be careful with the cover bolts. They usually are corroded and snap off easily. Use PB blaster and maybe a little heat to help in their removal. I snapped a few off and had to drill them out and retap. I still was able to do this in one day.

 

[nickh]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

So I got the water jacket cover off, can I just use a high quality rtv sealant to make a new gasket? I don't have one avail locally anywhere.

 

[nickh]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Update - I used rtv, and it worked beautifully I have no leaks, and I have good pee again! thanks for the help guys!

 

[nickh]

Re: 1968 650 No pee, Water out of #1!

Wow, I found this thread while searching for the correct spark plugs for this motor... Just a quick update for anyone with the same issue - this fixed the problem long term. The RTV for the water jacket works great, and after a year of lots of fishing and river running, it still doesn't leak a drop.

I am still shocked how a 40+ year old outboard can perform so well...