1964 Mercury 850 water circulation

[PrecisionVision]

I believe I posted this topic in the wrong forum. I'm so sorry! Please forgive my ignorance and I hope no one minds if i repost in the right forum (crossing fingers).

Greetings. I'm new to this forum so bear with me. I bought a Mercury 850 inline 6 that I don't believe is puming water. I've removed the lower unit and inspected the impeller and there were no cracks, dings, and it seemed to be in perfect shape so I did not replace it. I don't know how long the motor had been sitting before ran last, but it does run fine (after some negotiation). And to be honest, I don't see a pee-hole anywhere (unless it's a big rectangular cut-out on the rear of the shaft). It seemed like i was getting water out of the prop. Is that a good thing? How can i assure it's pumping water correctly? After running the motor for a minute or so and engaging the prop at about 1/2 rpm's (heck - i had to make sure i put the lower unit back together correctly!) i shut it off to find a little smoke coming out of that same rectangular cut-out i thought might be the pee-hole. Any thoughts?


Thanks for the help!
The amateur with a passion

 

[Outboarder]

Re: 1964 Mercury 850 water circulation (Tell-Tale on Port side)

Re: 1964 Mercury 850 water circulation (Tell-Tale on Port side)

Yes, there is a Tell-Tale hole on your 1964 Mercury 850. I wondered the same thing myself about mine (exact same engine and year), and with some helpful info from another older-Merc owner, she's working now.

If the outboard is mounted on the boat and you're standing behind it, it will be on the left hand side of the motor, at the spot where the tower meets the lower cowl/pan. It's an 1/8" hole going diagonally upwards into the motor, and all other nearby drain or vent holes go straight one way or the other.

You probably will not get any water coming from here with garden hose pressure to water muffs, the engine would have to be running too. Try poking into the passegeway with a wire, or blowing it out with compressed air.

Similar info here: http://pfs-ware.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2550
Not to steal you away from this forum, as this is where I first joined too, but someone here directed me to the "John's Old Merc Forum" http://pfs-ware.com/phpBB3/ and I've found them to be VERY VERY helpful and knowledgeable about the older Merc outboards. Feel free to contact me if you need more info about your engine, I picked up a copy of the service manual on eBay awhile back and it's been very helpful.

God bless.

 

[usskydvr]

Re: 1964 Mercury 850 water circulation

Also in addition to being hard to find if you don't look CAREFULLY, mud dauber wasps love to build their nests in them and sometimes you have to remove the water supply hose (to the pee fitting) and run a wire from that side.