1978 15 HP johnson water pump question

I just bought a mint condition 1978 15 hp Johnson from a guy on Craigslist. I bought the motor for $50 because it had not been run in over 25 years and the guy thought it was a "parts motor" because of its age. After I cleaned up the dust the thing is in mint condition with at most 2 or 3 tanks of gas run through it. It looks like it just came out of the box brand new with hardly a scratch on it.

I rebuilt the carb, replaced the filter and water pump. It took it our today and it runs like a dream. Starts perfect and idles down real nice. The top end speed is almost 25MPH on my 14' boat.

My question is I noticed just a few drops of water coming out of the "pea hole" or tel tale. The rest of it is coming directly behind the motor but there is alot coming from there. The motor does not appear to be overheating or anything but shouldn't more water be coming from the pea hole instead of right behind the motor on the shaft?

Could something be plugged? Will it clear itself out? What is the fix or should I not worry? Again, it was not overheating and ran great all afternoon. The pump water was warm but not hot.

I can post a picture of the motor if anybody wants to see it.

Thanks, and hope to hear back from the experts.

Re: 1978 15 HP johnson water pump question

With the motor running run a piece of weed wackier line up the pee hole to clean it out. The impeller should definitely be replace too as rubber dry rots from sitting for long periods of time.

Re: 1978 15 HP johnson water pump question

Thanks for the "weed wacker" tip as I will try it next Spring when I take it it again. By the way, I did replace the impeller so that is new. The old one was real brittle.

Re: 1978 15 HP johnson water pump question

Well for fifty bucks you think the guy would have done all the routine maintenance for you. LOL Sounds like you got yourself a good one. Always glad to hear these motors getting back into the right hands. You should have a very steady stream above idle and a good stream at slowest speed but at slowest speed it you can see the pulses from the impeller. I hope you put new gear oil in it and some new plugs as well. Best of luck with your new ride. Rick.

Re: 1978 15 HP johnson water pump question

How much water coming out of the tell-tale/pee-hole depends on the following:
Nipple in exhaust cover/lower cover blocked or open.
(Have some steel paperclips or similar 'hanging' ready under engine cover to clear. Do NOT drill up the holes!!!))
Pump capacity/blocked water pipe grommets.
(If not running hot at full throttle, probably not a problem, but the upper grommet is often forgotten. PH must be removed to change)
Thermostat.
(Thermostat open or 'leaking' will give next to no 'pee' at lower rpm, might increase with rpm. Engine might run too cold. If you do not want to remove the head for check/change, rear cover latch must be removed.)