Poppet valve shooting water

jclint08

Cadet
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
16
Just installed brand new water pump kit, 2 new thermostats & new water line hoses due to high temp alarm I had last week, but now water is coming out of poppet valve weep hole, after installing these new cooling system parts.

I did take the poppet valve apart after I installed new water pump & thermostats, just to check for any obvious signs of obstructions. All of the poppet valve parts (plate, diaphragm, metal washer, spring, poppet, grommet, etc) all looked OK to me so I put back in exactly the way it came out (took pics with phone). There were some calcium like deposits on plates which I cleaned to the best of my ability.

Should poppet be tightened down on spring all the way to where screw will not turn anymore or should spring have some slack in it?Perhaps the screw was not tight enough. I have taken poppet valve apart several times & reinstalled but still have water coming out of weep hole. New poppet valve parts are ordered though.

All these test conditions were done at idle, with outboard dropped in a tank full of water. I no longer trust muffs.
 
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Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Re: Poppet valve shooting water

If water is coming out of the weep hole you either assembled it wrong or the valve is bad. Why not just replace the thermostat and the poppet. These are not major expenses and you know they are now new.
 

jclint08

Cadet
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
16
Re: Poppet valve shooting water

Thanks Silvertip. Put back in exactly the way it came out, presumably, EXCEPT I can not remember how tight the spring was on the actual poppet valve. I printed out diagram to help show me proper order of reinstall, but spring tightness is not detailed.

I do have all new parts ordered, was just hoping it was a small human error so the family & I could enjoy the lake this weekend. Hopefully, new poppet valve parts will come with very clear installation instructions.
 

jclint08

Cadet
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
16
Re: Poppet valve shooting water

Added some RTV gasket sealant around the diaphragm (on outward pointing side) and made sure it didn't interfere with operation of poppet, spring, diaphragm & metal washer. Let sealant set up for 1 hour. Cranked up & so far, water has stopped coming out of poppet valve weep hole. Hopefully it was just diaphragm getting weak around edges. Not sure.

But now my water pressure gauge bounces all over the place if I go above 2000 RPMs. Outboard is in water tank, not on muffs, not sure if that makes a difference or not.
 
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