1990 evinrude 88spl water pump and rough idle questions

i bought a pontoon with 1990 evinrude 88spl on it and took i directly to a repair shop for rough idle an dhard start. they pulled t-stats replaced with washers, and put in new water pump. i know they didnt fix my problem and the pump needed to be replaced so whatever. i still have rough idle almost stumbles untill it warms up then it will start and run fine. after eight times out the overheat alarm started going off and i had no water whatsoever coming out. how long does a pump last?? how hard are they to replace yourself?? im a diesel mechanic so tools and general know how are not a issue. just my first outboard ive messed with

Re: 1990 evinrude 88spl water pump and rough idle questions

how hard is the water pump to replace?

Re: 1990 evinrude 88spl water pump and rough idle questions

really shouldnt replace Tstats with anything other than good working Tstats. The engine is designed to operate at a specific tempature. This can contribute to idle issues itself.

The impeller is easy to do. 5 bolts to dop the lower unit, after releasing the shift rod up top. then it is under a cover/housing...Pretty easy to do. Who knows whey they did, maybe it tore up or they didnt put the key in that holds it to the shaft.

Rough idle...going to have to get to basics... Ignition, and Fuel. You just go it, so you dont know the maint history. Most people do no maint at all. Might as well rebuild the carbs, clean up all connections, and check out that impeller and the water passages.

Re: 1990 evinrude 88spl water pump and rough idle questions

tried and tried how do you release the shift rod???