Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

I have a Gamefisher 1997 15 HP # OE 268195 / 225581508 outboard which is having a water pump problem. I am learning repair as I go and worked with my Dad to try to diagnose this issue.

We disassembled the lower unit and didn't find anything glaringly wrong with the water pump or impeller but it still won't autoprime. We removed the thermostat and I put an open flame under it and it did open but not as quickly as I thought it should. While we had the thermostat cover off, it was pumping no water so I hit the exhaust port with the jet fitting of a garden hose nozzle and after a few seconds, it started flowing a good steady stream and cooled the block to lukewarm in a few seconds. Repeated restarting had the same problem and same solution.

What might be my issue? Water pump, impeller, thermostat or a combination? I think that this is a Merc made model but I'm not sure. Any help that I can get would be greatly appreciated. My local motor repair guy won't touch any Gamefisher because he can't get parts.

Thanks,

SF

Re: Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

So your impeller worked when you fed water into the motor? That sounds kinda odd. To my knowledge impellers don't have to be "primed" in order for them to work. They pump water continuously. I'm not sure what triggered it into working but you might want to buy a new impeller and housing if its available.

I had a Sea King that was pumping water one day and nothing the next.
I inspected the impeller and it looked good so I fiddled with it some more and still couldn't get any water flow. I installed a new impeller and it started pumping water again. I was suprised and relieved at the same time.

Re: Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

That Force-made (not Mercury) outboard has a pin that goes through the driveshaft that drives the impeller. Was it there? Without the pin, the impeller will not turn, and will not pump water.

You can see it at the www.searspartsdirect.com site. Just enter your model number, 225581508, in the approprate box. The site will show exploded views of all subassemblies of your outboard. Most parts are available for your engine from that site, since it's so new.

Other possibilities are a broken thermostat that is remaining closed or a plugged water pipe.

Re: Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

Yep, that's a Force outboard rebadged as a GameFisher. Mercury bought out Force so you can get parts from your local Mercury dealer. I have an 7.5HP Gamefisher of that vintage and have purchased several parts from the local Mercury dealer.

Your mechanic is probably scared of the "Gamefisher" name and it being associated with the old Eska Gamefisher outboards which are hard to source parts for. I bet if you call him saying you have a 98 Force outboard he would be more willing to work on it.

I'll second the impeller change if it has not been replaced yet, or maybe the complete waterpump assembly if it looks worn. On testing the thermostat, heat up a pan of water on the stove and dunk the thermostat. You should see it open up as it soaks up heat from the water. If you have a candy thermometer you can heat the water to the correct temp (160 or whatever) and see if the stat is staying closed when it's supposed to be opening.

Are you running the outboard off muffs or dunking the lower unit in a bucket of water?

Re: Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

fishrdan said:

Yep, that's a Force outboard rebadged as a GameFisher. Mercury bought out Force so you can get parts from your local Mercury dealer. I have an 7.5HP Gamefisher of that vintage and have purchased several parts from the local Mercury dealer.

Your mechanic is probably scared of the "Gamefisher" name and it being associated with the old Eska Gamefisher outboards which are hard to source parts for. I bet if you call him saying you have a 98 Force outboard he would be more willing to work on it.

I'll second the impeller change if it has not been replaced yet, or maybe the complete waterpump assembly if it looks worn. On testing the thermostat, heat up a pan of water on the stove and dunk the thermostat. You should see it open up as it soaks up heat from the water. If you have a candy thermometer you can heat the water to the correct temp (160 or whatever) and see if the stat is staying closed when it's supposed to be opening.

Are you running the outboard off muffs or dunking the lower unit in a bucket of water?

Click to expand...

I ran it by dunking the lower unit in a tank of water which is my Pop's SOP. I do have a thermometer which should cover the proper temperature range so I'll give it a try. Thanks for the info!!!

SF

Re: Gamefisher 15 HP Cooling Problem

CATransplant said:

That Force-made (not Mercury) outboard has a pin that goes through the driveshaft that drives the impeller. Was it there? Without the pin, the impeller will not turn, and will not pump water.

You can see it at the www.searspartsdirect.com site. Just enter your model number, 225581508, in the approprate box. The site will show exploded views of all subassemblies of your outboard. Most parts are available for your engine from that site, since it's so new.

Other possibilities are a broken thermostat that is remaining closed or a plugged water pipe.

Click to expand...

We did dislodge a hefty plug of shmutz from the water pipe which allowed flow but didn't allow the flow to start up until it was negative primed with the garden hose. After seeing the info all of you have shared, I'm going to try the impeller first. I think I may have done enough damage to at least warp it enough to make it look decent but not function properly.

Very grateful for your help,

SF