water pump problem

I have a 1968 6hp motor that has a water pump problem. no water comes out the pee hole at all. Do i need to replace just the impeller or the whole water pump. Or how do i tell if its just clogged. Is it a difficult project to fix this? Thanks for any input.

Re: water pump problem

depends how long since its been changed, should be done ever 2nd year minnimum. you could probably get by with just the impeller, but a kit will give you all new gaskets and a wear plate. if its been a long time, may have trouble getting upper cover off pump and may need a new one once you pry it off. once you have it apart, put the water tube up into the power head and hook a hose to it. see if water flows out properly and through pee hole. if not, run weed eater line or compressed air through hole and unplug line. if your old impeller is non existant, if may take some flushing and probing etc to get the pieces out. i just changed the impeller on my old 66 merc, the first time, pee was still weak, a kit gave better flow as pump parts were worn. if you have no water in lower unit oil issues, then leave pump base alone. its not a hard job to do, a helper comes in handy for reassembly

Re: water pump problem

Ream the pee hole out with a small wire or 100 monofilament to be sure that it is not clogged. My 9.8 Mercury was constantly clogged - often by dirt daubers.

Re: water pump problem

If running in place, some motors can ingest enough exhaust bubbles to appear as not pumping, while in fact pumping bubbles.

Briefly squirt the garden hose squirter up it's pee hole while running to clear that.