135hp Black Max water pump assy question

Bought this 1991 motor used on a boat and found lots of things done wrong so looking for anyone familiar with this motor to tell me if the assy is correct.<br /><br />Bought replacement upper water pump kit from Merc. Everything went well until I went to put the LU back on. After some investigation, found rubber grommet from old housing was still on the end of the water tube along with the nylon extension. Removed both parts from water tube and installed the new nylon extension in the pump housing prior to reinstalling. I assume this nylon extension is only a guide for the tube to mate with the pump housing during the assy process right? It's loose on the water tube and not sealed to it in any way. The water tube appears long enough to mate with the rubber insert in the top of the housing but I wanted some reassurance from someone who's been there before. The Seloc manual is a bit vague in this area...<br /><br />I still have no tell tale until the thermostats open. I suspect the bypass might be plugged. The old pump impeller looked good but who knows what might have happened prior to this one. What's the easiest place to access the bypass and check for obstruction? Or am I wrong in this assumption?<br /><br />BTW- thanks to whoever posted the info about using dish soap to lube the impeller housing prior to install. Went in like a charm. Can't imagine trying to do that job dry. All in all it took about an hour to do the whole job.

Re: 135hp Black Max water pump assy question

On your motor you will not get a strong tell-tale until the tstats open.<br /><br />However, you should get a dribble to a very weak tell-tale while they are still closed.<br /><br />If you are unsure of the motors history, you should replace the tstats and poppet valve assembly while you are it.

Re: 135hp Black Max water pump assy question

andy,<br /><br />Just thought I'd follow up on the tstats. I bought new ones when I bought the pump kit and just got around to installing them. Big difference! It runs much cooler now and the tell-tale starts pretty strong before the gauge even hits the lower mark. The old stats looked pretty rough- no doubt they were shot.