Do I need to put my motor in water to start it....just working on it and want to see if it will run....can I run it on land for any amount of time...if so, how long...will it hurt it?
For a motor of this size, it is pretty easy to drop it in a trash barrel full of water. When testing any motor, one of the tests is to see if it is pumping water. If you run it dry, you might hear it run but you migh also damage the impellor and then find out after you have mounted it on the transom and heading out that it won't pump.
okay, got it in water. fired it up...runs..seemed a bit rough...did some adjustment on dials...seemed to run better....it does pump water....water is more of a spray out the back than a stream...by that I mean...it sprays out in several sprays of mist...like its comming around something...does that make sense? should it be more of a stream than a spray?
after I shut it off, water continued to run out for a bit....
the motor smoked a bit while it was running....that normal for old motor?
Was the motor submerged at least 3 inches above where the lower unit drops from the motor. If not the motor will have a hard time maintaining prime. As for the smoke. They all smoke especially when idling in a barrel.
Regarding the seemed blockage in the discharge, take a small metal probe and simply clear the outlets and make sure they are not blocked. Bugs like to build nests in there and you might find the openings blocked. I have had this on both my 200hp Yamaha's and my 225 Johnson when they have sat for a period of time.
This is an older motor. As a 2 cycle motor, you of course have mixed the correct ratio of 2 cycle oil in the gas...
It may also be smoking becuase it was winterized or put away with a shot of fogging oil in the carb which coated the inside of the carb and cylinders with oil for protection.
Well its tough to say if it was pumping right without seeing it. Right on the line means that the impeller was most likely just above the water and not submerged in it, the way it was designed. It probably pulled up a little water and once it starts pumping will continue to pull up water but may struggle from time to time.
I would be hesitant in running it in water that way, just in case.
