1979 evinrude 115hp overheating problems

[Isaacm1986]

I have a 1979 evinrude 115hp. Last night i changed the water pump, and this morning it was pumping water very nicely on the hose. So i hooked up the boat and headed for the lake. We launched and made it 100 yards (not even out of the no wake zone) and the over heating alarm goes off. I look behind me and there is NO WATER being pumped at all. I hooked up the electric motor and went back to the dock. Got the boat home and put it back on the hose. It still is not pumping any water.

Does anyone has any idea's as to what has gone wrong. Below is a video i took this morning before the lake of the motor running and pumping water.

(click on the picture to watch the video.)

[ezeke]

On muffs, the water pump would not really need to be working properly to get results.

You might want to recheck to be sure that the key is in the impeller and that the air bleed hole at the top of the impeller housing is clear so that the water pump can prime.

It looks like you either don't have any thermostats or that they are stuck open if you do.

[Daviet]

The tell-tale is first in line from the water pump. If you have no water from the tell-tale, remove the lower unit and recheck the pump. Was there any parts of the old impeller missing?

[ezeke]

I can see the water coming from the tell-tale in the video. On these motors the tell tale outlet is from the exhaust cover and the core of the engine would have to fill first before water comes out of the tell tale - usually takes a little time.

On muffs, you are getting your pressure from the water supply, not the water pump, so there is no way that you can be sure that the pump is working.

[Isaacm1986]

The tell-tale is first in line from the water pump. If you have no water from the tell-tale, remove the lower unit and recheck the pump. Was there any parts of the old impeller missing?

I will definitely be removing the lower unit to recheck everything. The only thing missing from the old pump was the impeller key. We replaced it with a new key and everything was working (as far as i can tell.) If you look closely in the video you can see a nice steady stream from the tell-tale.

I will definitely be replacing the Tstats as well. But will it hurt the motor if it is run pumping that much water?

any other thoughts as to what might be going on?

[Isaacm1986]

I can see the water coming from the tell-tale in the video. On these motors the tell tale outlet is from the exhaust cover and the core of the engine would have to fill first before water comes out of the tell tale - usually takes a little time.

On muffs, you are getting your pressure from the water supply, not the water pump, so there is no way that you can be sure that the pump is working.

ok, good to know. I will go through it all again and let you know what i find out.

[emdsapmgr]

When running, did you pull the cyl head hoses off where they enter the thermostat housing to see of there was water there? You can have a good water pump, solid telltale, but if the stats are stuck shut or filled with debris, you will get an overheat on one or both heads.

[Isaacm1986]

I replaced everything in the thermostat housing yesterday. New thermostats, new relief plugs, new springs, new gaskets and rubber grommets. I went to start up the motor and to test everything out, when the starter quit working. All i hear now is a click when i turn the key. I am thinking my solenoid is bad, but i wanted to ask before going out a buying a new one. Any thoughts?

[modernrocketry]

I don't have anywhere near the experience of most guys on this forum, but I had a similar problem recently.
I replaced the battery, starter and the solenoid. But the problem continued.
Turned out water got into cylinder #3.
I found this out by pulling the plugs, removing the kill lanyard and cranking the engine -- water mixed with fuel came shooting out of cylinder 3.

BTW: all this started after a very brief overheat when a sea strainer cracked.

[Isaacm1986]

I don't have anywhere near the experience of most guys on this forum, but I had a similar problem recently.
I replaced the battery, starter and the solenoid. But the problem continued.
Turned out water got into cylinder #3.
I found this out by pulling the plugs, removing the kill lanyard and cranking the engine -- water mixed with fuel came shooting out of cylinder 3.

BTW: all this started after a very brief overheat when a sea strainer cracked.

I will check that out, thanks.

I dont know if this makes any difference, but right when the started quit cranking there was a spark at the battery. Just though i would throw that out there.

[oxbeast1210]

Hello i don't know if you went out and got a new starter yet but if you haven't recheck all the connections at the battery starter solenoid and starter make sure they are not loose and clean and check the negative wire to i had a similar issue with my starter took it to a shop and they wanted me to buy a new one i told them id think about it check all the connections and cleaned them up and the starter is still working like a champ! never went back to them by the way!

[Isaacm1986]

Hello i don't know if you went out and got a new starter yet but if you haven't recheck all the connections at the battery starter solenoid and starter make sure they are not loose and clean and check the negative wire to i had a similar issue with my starter took it to a shop and they wanted me to buy a new one i told them id think about it check all the connections and cleaned them up and the starter is still working like a champ! never went back to them by the way!

I have checked all the connections. Cleaned everything and all of them are nice a tight.

[mrcj001]

Thats alot of water coming from the exhaust releif ports and hard to tell from the video, didnt see much coming from the exhaust prop hub.

Something is amiss with the water pump.

[Isaacm1986]

Thats alot of water coming from the exhaust releif ports and hard to tell from the video, didnt see much coming from the exhaust prop hub.

Something is amiss with the water pump.

Yea, since that video was taken I have tripple checked the water pump and I KNOW everything in there is right. I have also replaced everything in the thermostat housing. I am now trying to diagnose why the starter wont work anymore.

[oxbeast1210]

If the solenoid is clicking its should be good to go
before u do this pull your kill switch to make sure you don't accidentally start your motor

if you have one of those car jumper kits (i don't know the exact therm but pretty much its a battery that has jumper cables . ) connect the ground wire to a good ground on the motor and the red one where the red cable that comes from the solenoid connects to the starter and turn it on if nothing happens your starter will likely have to be rebuilt or replaced . they are pretty easy to fry if you don't allow them to cool for around two minutes after extensive cranking
let me know if you have any more questions im not an expert but
i do most the work on my outboard now
thanks and let me know

[Isaacm1986]

If the solenoid is clicking its should be good to go
before u do this pull your kill switch to make sure you don't accidentally start your motor

if you have one of those car jumper kits (i don't know the exact therm but pretty much its a battery that has jumper cables . ) connect the ground wire to a good ground on the motor and the red one where the red cable that comes from the solenoid connects to the starter and turn it on if nothing happens your starter will likely have to be rebuilt or replaced . they are pretty easy to fry if you don't allow them to cool for around two minutes after extensive cranking
let me know if you have any more questions im not an expert but
i do most the work on my outboard now
thanks and let me know

Ok so i just did this and the starter is cranking just fine. But i have another problem.

The starter was cranking really slow, so I pulled out all the spark plugs and disconnected the fuel and the starter turns the motor over very nicely and easily. This does not really make any sense to me. thoughts?

[modernrocketry]

Did it spit anything out of the cylinders?

What happens if you put the plugs back in again and retry?

[Isaacm1986]

Did it spit anything out of the cylinders?

What happens if you put the plugs back in again and retry?

It is spitting a mist out of the cylinders. So i cranked it over for about 20 seconds and then put all the plugs back in. Same thing, very slow cranking.

[Isaacm1986]

Should i keep cranking it until there is no mist coming out of the cylinders? I just did not want to hurt the motor.

[Daviet]

Is the mist fuel or water?

[Isaacm1986]

Is the mist fuel or water?

It is a mix i think. It smelled like fuel, but i tasted a touch of it and it did not taste very much like fuel at all.

[oxbeast1210]

Sounds like your starter is on the way out and might might need new brushes or a complete replacement is your jumper completely charged insufficient power will also cause the starter to spin slow or not at all ? I know you probably already checked but is your battery fully charged ?
the reason it spins it fine with the spark plugs out is because there is no compression . are you able to turn the fly wheel at all when the spark plugs are in?

[Isaacm1986]

Sounds like your starter is on the way out and might might need new brushes or a complete replacement is your jumper completely charged insufficient power will also cause the starter to spin slow or not at all ? I know you probably already checked but is your battery fully charged ?
the reason it spins it fine with the spark plugs out is because there is no compression . are you able to turn the fly wheel at all when the spark plugs are in?

Yes the battery is fresh of a overnight charge.

I can also turn the flywheel by hand with all the plugs in.

I guess i will be buying a new starter.

Thanks for the reply.

[oxbeast1210]

let me know the best price you can find and ill try to help you find a cheaper one the last one i replaced for was only 75 bucks brand new not oem it but its going on 4 years now also im concerned that the starter doesn't do anything from the switch when you turn the key even if it is going out it should still do the same thing it does when you hook up the jumper do you have a manual ? also were you able to turn the flywheel with your hands with the spark plugs in?

[oxbeast1210]

If you have a multimeter let me know and i will walk you through troubleshooting the solenoid to rule it out before you buy anything