Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

Hey guys,

Im hopeful this issue can be resolved with some simple fixes. So here we go:

I have been running my 15hp Evinrude 1983 motor for 3 years strong. I have taken the lower housing off and examined the water pump every 3-5 months to makes sure the impeller and everything still looked good in working condition.
Everything looks good, but my recent outing on my lake an issue arised.

I was going on plane when i decided to stop really fast to slow down. I guess you can call this braking on the water haha.
Anyways, after i did that, My water stream stopped peeing....

So went home took the water pump off, examined it, everything looked good.

Also:
I stuck a hose w/ a rubber tube, connected it to the copper pipe, and shot water up the copper pipe in the motor (while it was shut off of course), and water came out the pisser just fine.. so no blockage.

(long story short)
I put the water pump back on, screwed the lower housing back on, turn motor on (pull start) one pull turns on, and the water stream is weak... then it STOPS, so I I gave it more gas, put into forward gear, and the water started peeing again but still weak, then I Put motor back to neutral/idle, and the water stopped coming out of the pissor.... WEIRD?

TODAY, present time, I replaced the whole water pump. New impeller and all. I scraped all corrosion off, and made sure there werent any clogs in the copper tube again w/ the hose.. So good to go..

Connected the water pump, Turned engine on, with two pulls and ignites and SAME ISSUE... weak stream.. then stops...

Well here we go, theres my issue.

my thoughts.. thermostat? I put one in there three years ago... maybe thats preventing the water now?

anyways any other thoughts would be amazing!

Thankyou for taking the time to help,

~Andy

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

Have you tried to poke some heavy nylon line or wire up inside the overboard water indicator hole to see if there is a blockage there? This is very common. If this is the case, you may not get a good indcation of water spraying out, but the water is still inside cooling the motor.

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

By water braking, do you mean you hit reverse to brake?

Did you check the water intake area to ensure it is free of debris?

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

the machinist said:

Have you tried to poke some heavy nylon line or wire up inside the overboard water indicator hole to see if there is a blockage there? This is very common. If this is the case, you may not get a good indcation of water spraying out, but the water is still inside cooling the motor.

Click to expand...

Yes, I also took the pisser cap off and let the rubber tube hang down out of pisser hole, seemed to be no issue of clogging up to that point.

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

HighTrim said:

By water braking, do you mean you hit reverse to brake?

Did you check the water intake area to ensure it is free of debris?

Click to expand...

Yes, there wasnt anything blockage or debri in the water cage down there in the intake. When I said Water braking, I meant I dropped the speed from 18 to 0 mph by letting off the throttle/gas... I did not touch the shift handle.

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

If your motor is indeed overheating and not just a clogged indicator, a likely culprit is the upper water tube grommet just under powerhead. Requires powerhead removal to replace. Just did one last week. The upper grommet was swelled-up, and hardly any water could get through the top of the watertube into the powerhead. It was enough to keep 'peeing' normally, but would overheat at anything over idle.

Good luck!

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

kbait said:

If your motor is indeed overheating and not just a clogged indicator, a likely culprit is the upper water tube grommet just under powerhead. Requires powerhead removal to replace. Just did one last week. The upper grommet was swelled-up, and hardly any water could get through the top of the watertube into the powerhead. It was enough to keep 'peeing' normally, but would overheat at anything over idle.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

So i already know that a few of my powerhead screws are stuck, and one has broke off at the powerhead and chassis.. so I guess the time has come for me to drill it out and replace.. are there any good methods or materials that i need to get to drill these stuck/broken screws out.. im sure ill have more than one :/// ((

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

(kelmer1988 and Panfishangler same person) Looks like i found my old screen name, lol Okay, anyways so Im guessing the we will have to take the head off and inspect the grommet connect to the copper/head... okay... So my next question is:

What do you do if the screws are seized? or broken off???
(that connect the head to the shell?)

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

you are speaking of the powerhead to exhaust housing screws?..if these are hopeless, I'd suggest you cut the heads off and make studs out of what remains. It's gonna take some effort to get the powerhead off even with the heads cut off of the fasteners, but at least you have a fighting chance of getting the studs out of the powerhead base with heat and vice grips. Also,you can position the powerhead in a way that will allow you to drill out any fasteners that break off flush with, or beneath, the p/h base.

By all means, take your time and don't be afraid of using heat. Be aware that heat travels swiftly through that aluminum and plastics, rubber, etc. need to be removed or cooled in some form to prevent damaging them.

Re: Just replaced Water pump on 1983 15hp Evinrude. weak stream

Removing twisted off bolts

This might be helpful. Best of luck. Rick.