1976 Evinrude - No Water!

I've got a 1976 Evinrude 15. It does not have a pee hose out the back so the indication the impeller is working is water spitting out a port near the top of the lower unit. Recently it seemed to be taking too long for the water to come out as the other engines I have start peeing within a few seconds of starting. Yesterday I filled a plastic garbage can with water well above the exhaust to run some sta-bil through the fuel system for storage. It ran for a minute and no water so I shut it down. I pulled the lower unit and the impeller (almost new) looks fine as well as key installed properly. I ran water up into the impeller housing area with some water muffs and all looks clear. I noticed a chunk of what might be gasket meterial in the bottom of the exhaust of the lower unit but not sure what material it was. I put a fuel hose on the copper tube that goes up to the power head and blew on it and there seems to be no obstruction. Does it sound like I have a blown powerhead gasket? Is there tests to perform before I pull stuff apart? Is there any other gaskets on the heads that can cause similar issues that I need to look at also?

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

When you run it again next, put your hand on the cylinder head. You should be able to hold it there for a few seconds or more if it's properly cooling. It should not feel hot or burn your hand or the paint. If you have a infared thermometer or a contact thermometer, you can measure the temperature on the block and cylinder head. I believe it should never exceed 165?. Do that first before you start tearing things apart. You might not have much of an issue at all.

You can alway add a water tell tale to the engine. I'm refitting my old 72 6 HP Johnson with one. There is a link in the Top Secret File further up in this forum.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

My '76 9.9 has a telltale. Are yo sure you have the right year?

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

I thought 77 was the year they added those?

EDIT: I just checked the diagrams at Evinrude.com, 76 did not originally come with the water indicator. 77 did though.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

Thanks for the replies. Pretty sure on year but not 100% - I'm going off memory when I ordered parts a while back. I'll have to reference # again. Here's the new story: I restarted motor, still no water. Let it run longer and it's definately getting too hot. I don't have a temp. gun but you can't place your hand on the heads for long at all before I shut it down. I compared it to another good running motor I have and it's much, much hotter. Additionally, the plastic, protective wraps around the plug wires started to flatten some in areas and became very soft and pliable (showing signs of melting in some spots!) which tells me it's reaching temps. not seen before. It smells hot, too like oil buildup from over the years is starting to cook. Any advice on troubleshooting from here? Thanks-

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

OK, I cannot comment on your temperature since I cannot touch your motor. Just so you know. A 1976 9.9 or 15Hp motor does not have a tell tale. The indication is a spray of water out the exhaust relief hole. When you start it up it will not immediately spray out. If you hold your hand under the relief hole you may feel a little dampness, but this motor requires the T-stat to open before water really starts to flow. It usually happens in about 15 seconds and at that time you should get a very visable spray. If you are not and your impeller seems fine and you cannot detect an obstruction, it may very well be your thermostat. You should check to see if it is OK. Once you remove it you can test it by putting it in some water in a pot on your stove. Heat up the water and at around 140 F it should start to open and at around 150 F is should be fully open. Now all that being said. If I went to the trouble to inspect a 35 year old T-stat. A new T-stat would be going in mine whether the old one was good or not.

I doubt you have a head gasket problem. The rubber material in your exhaust port is most likely your motor mounts breaking down. They do that after 35 years or so. I find the stuff in mine all the time. If your problem is not the T-stat it may be the upper water tube grommet folding over. To fix that you would need to remove the powerhead and at that time you can inspect and change the motor mounts.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

i just bought a 1977 115 evinrude about a month ago and the first time i tried running it there was no water coming out, i had the impellor replaced and that still didnt do it, it ended up being the thermostat...dont know if that helps

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

Thanks for the great help. I'll look at thermostat first. Thanks, OptsyEagle for the explanation about why it takes 15 seconds - I always thought there might be something wrong with it even before it quit the visible spray.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

Sorry mine is a Johnson not evirude. Thought they would have changed the design in the same year. bought it new in '77 as a closeout on the '76s. I still remember I paid 650.00 for it. first engine I ever bought. Don't use it anymore but still love it. Agree on the tstat. new one is in order.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

another idea is while you have the foot off hook a water hose to the water tube an run it ,this will eliminate the water pump. if all is good you may need a impeller , also you can change the upper water tube grommet with out pulling the power head, it takes time an patients with a long stiff wire. upper water tube grommet should be the same as the lower water tube grommet.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

outlaw241 said:

another idea is while you have the foot off hook a water hose to the water tube an run it ,this will eliminate the water pump. if all is good you may need a impeller , also you can change the upper water tube grommet with out pulling the power head, it takes time an patients with a long stiff wire. upper water tube grommet should be the same as the lower water tube grommet.

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If you manage to pull out the water tube and change the grommet without pulling the power head, either you ruin the cone on the water tube, or the exhaust housing is corroded!! Not to recommend!!

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

Haffiman said:

If you manage to pull out the water tube and change the grommet without pulling the power head, either you ruin the cone on the water tube, or the exhaust housing is corroded!! Not to recommend!!

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water tube is just a copper tube with rubber grommets on both ends holding it in place. i don't see how you can ruin any thing buy pulling out , most the time when you pull the foot it the water tube slides out the upper grommet .

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

The collar of the water tube is originally bigger than the hole in the exhaust housing, and the grommet itself is squeezed out when tightening the exhaust housing screws. If you pull it out from the upper housing, either the housing is corroded or tube damaged. In order to make a proper seal, the collar should go into a groove in the upper grommet, but it boils down how correct you want to get it. There are a lot of 'fixes' to be done around, but personally I prefer to recommend the factory way on the board. I might drop a short cut hint from time to time, but then normally with a 'warning'. I have 'fixed' quite some of those grommets using a spiral spring on a power drill in my time, but nothing I would recommend as a general rule as rubber pieces might end up blocking where they should not be.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

Do not replace the upper water tube grommet from the bottom. You will definitely ruin the intent of the design and run the risk of doing the job twice or worse. Pull the power head from the exhaust housing. It isn't hard, just takes time. Use a digital camera to capture ignition and fuel line routing and clamps before you tear it down.
And, the upper water tube grommet and lower water tube grommets are not the same. The ends of the water tube are not the same. The top end is flared and the lower end is smooth. The upper grommet has split to wrap around the water tube flare. The upper water tube is held in place by the exhaust pipe and its four bolts. The lower grommet has twin tabs to lock it in place in the water pump housing. The lower water tube can slide in and out of the water pump grommet for lower unit service. If you install the same grommet on both ends, again, you ruin the intent of the design and eventually something will fail in a big way.
If you split the lower unit from the top and the water tube comes out with the lower unit, you have a problem at the exhaust pipe attachment to engine block. The water tube should stay with the top end when the lower unit dropped. The drive shaft will drop with the lower unit, not the water tube.
The risk in doing the job right is breaking off a bolt,twisting and shearing off. If the bolts are sticking, use an impact socket.
I definitely would not recommend replacing the upper grommet from the bottom.
Sorry.

Re: 1976 Evinrude - No Water!

I am with Haffiman and JDuza. Don't attempt to remove the copper tube by pulling it out fromt he bottom. The copper tube is enlarged in size at the top to ensure that it doesn't "accidently" get pulled through like that and therefore you would need to damage it to do so and I doubt the seal would work well after one did that. If you suspect the upper water grommet, you will need to remove the powerhead.