I have the lower off, and I connected the muffs to it to see if water was leaking out of it. I covered the oil hole. I have a little water leaking from the base of the housing in a few areas. not alot of water but some nontheless. The majority leaks from the rear where the screw is. You told me before that the area where the shift shaft is, is a wet cavity. So I'm wondering if that is normal?
It wasn't designed to leak from around the housing. If your pump housing is good and you have a new gasket with no gouges in either face and most importantly the screws are uniformally tightened you should have no leaks from the pressure of the water pump. Now if you put 40lbs of water pressure on the muffs (ok some of it probably blows out the side but you may still have a good amount of pressure and it might leak) Why were you running this test to begin with? Overheating? Sorry but the only way you could duplicate conditions would be to put lower unit in water attach a remote power source ( maybe a 1/2" drill with a special coupling to drive shaft) put a hose on the exhaust tube of pump. Then you could restrict water flow out and check for leaks and this would be only be a guesstimate based on amount of restriction in cooling system of motor.
It wasn't designed to leak from around the housing. If your pump housing is good and you have a new gasket with no gouges in either face and most importantly the screws are uniformally tightened you should have no leaks from the pressure of the water pump. Now if you put 40lbs of water pressure on the muffs (ok some of it probably blows out the side but you may still have a good amount of pressure and it might leak) Why were you running this test to begin with? Overheating? Sorry but the only way you could duplicate conditions would be to put lower unit in water attach a remote power source ( maybe a 1/2" drill with a special coupling to drive shaft) put a hose on the exhaust tube of pump. Then you could restrict water flow out and check for leaks and this would be only be a guesstimate based on amount of restriction in cooling system of motor.
The housing looks good, I'm wondering if the gaskets are bad. i was testing because I was having water seep out between the upper and lower near the front
I don't have an Aplha, but I assume it's similar setup.
I've seen the base section warp if you run it dry and ruin the impeller and water pump housing. Most kits don't come with the lower, but they are available. If you are really concerned, replace the lower section as well...it's cheap in the long run while you have it apart.
A rousing amen on gene 8084's post. And if the pump is over a year and a half going on two I would replace it all at the same time. Hey it's summer you should be on the water playing, not working on the boat.
