Is it Ready to Go or Not?

Over the winter I cleaned out the carbs and put in a new impeller. Every thing went without a hitch. Fired it up on muffs afterward and was very pleased with the results. All systems go.

Yesterday I pulled it out to get it fired up as the weather is warming and we are getting some rain here which is moving the lake closer to the ramp. Yes!!!!!

So on the muffs, start her up without too much trouble considering how long it has been sitting and my otherwise robust pee stream is just a slobber.

Remembering that I ran it after doing the work and all was fine, and the fact that it went back together without a hitch, and just sitting in the garage the water pump wouldn't just go to !@#$, I headed for the pee tube. But first I took some temp readings around the block and noticed that I had water coming out the lower unit in the right places, all of which said the pump was pumping and that stat was "stating" (my pee is plumbed off the exhaust manifold directly anyway...some plumbed off the stat output).

Pulled the hose off the hose barb at the manifold and couldn't blow through it....great. Smoking gun. Ran a wire through it and played with the little adapter at the end until I got it unclogged. Never saw what it was.

Reinstalled the hose and wala. Robust pee.

Since it was winter the insects haven't been about so all I can surmise is that in redoing the pump, I dislodged something that wound up in the tube, but everything was clean when I opened her up to do the impeller. Got me.

So, you just never know if it's ready to go or not.

Mark

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

It may of had a chuk of something in the block break lose. I was the same way about 6 weeks ago when I dropped mine in, after a full water pump replacement and a carb swap out you all ways have a concern till you run it a but. I did a 9.9 to 15 hp conversion on a merc and even though the weather wasn't all that good I couldn't stand it any longer. The conversion is fine I have one of the rare 15 hp motors detuned to a 9.9.

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

Great. So was that just a carb swap out or what?

I had a neighbor that had a 100 rude with an 85 cowl. Fastest Skeeter BB around in the early '70's, back when they were log and thin and simple. Shhhhhhh.

Mark

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

I have had the same trouble as you, and found that the inside of the exhaust plate was pluged up with mud silt that was setup as hard as rock. After chipping it all away and running a drill in the elbow to clean it out, it worked fine. I replaced the impeller and the old one didnot show any sign of being bad. When the owner picked it up I ask him where he had been boating. He said that he and some friends went camping and his buddy got the boat stuck on a mud flat, and had to end up pushing it off, and after that the pump did not work because the telltail was not running water. Knock on wood that they did not plug up any other passages with that stuff.
Sometimes its not bugs nor the parts of a busted impeller that are the trouble.
Oldman570

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

Yes all I had to do was a carb swap out. I ordered a brand new 15 hp carb. Before I did any thing I sat down and went over the power head part number by part number and compared each one, the only difference was the main jet. Being as the carb has the built in fuel pump I went ahead and got a new carb and later learned the 15 hp carb has several differences and that just the main jet part number is mis leading. Haven't had much use yet about 3 hours but it is very smooth and runs fine and their was a small amount of improved performance, it picked up about 200 to 300 RPM and about 1 mph but considering I am pushing a 20 foot pontoon that's not bad. Also I did a full LU over hall just because I thought the increase in hp may stress it, all new seals, water pump housing and impeller and a pressure/vacuum test when I was done.

Yes I know it isn't really much of a gain for the expense but I am on a limited HP lake and when I have 5 or 6 adults on board it really slows down and I am hoping it will help with that. After I run it awhile I will be swapping out to a 4 blade prop to.

From what little I understand Johnson and Evenrude often built one motor and de tuned it for several applications while merc built hp specific motors so running across a merc is very rare. It may be more common in the lower hp motors I just don't know.

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

So, just curious Mark. What lake do you haunt?

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

mercurymang said:

So, just curious Mark. What lake do you haunt?

Click to expand...

"Beins" I'm a senior citizen, I like the city of Bonham lake. It has all the amenities that most Texas lakes around my area don't, like a double ramp with the right angle to it, a floating dock adjacent to the launch used for launchers only, a clean rest room near by, and it get policed by the city officers. Additionally, it is only 1000 acres which is enough for some serious romping around in the main part but small enough that the "always present" Texas winds don't beat you to death. My little boat is alum and fairly flat bottomed which makes it like a cork in rough water.

Currently TPWD says that the lake level is 1.5' blow normal pool which means that the dock is floating and we're a going!!!!! Monday it is, as the weather will be in the high 70's and we're rearing to go. Not going to fish, just sport around in our "motorcycle" if you will. Since the boat is a BB with a bench seat, she sits next to me and when I goose it I get an immediate positive reaction. Grin.

Over the years, Tawakoni (Ta-wok-can-knee) was my first love, back in '69 just as the BB craze was lighting up...and things were still quiet and undisturbed. I had a little 9.9 McCullough and would rent a boat in Rabbit Cove. Caught some serious fish out of that cove and the biggest BBass ever there at 7 lbs. one spring on a Green and White H&H spinner. I know there are double that size bass out there, but it was my biggest. Had super populations of White Bass which liked Heileger Jig Rigs (2 little jigs with one trailing the other by a foot, one yellow the other white) just cast and retrieved, or Little Georges fished up and down off the bottom. The smaller fish would school at the surface and tempt you, but the bigger lazy ones would follow along near the bottom to pick up cripples. The George fished in sea saw fashion was just the trick.

Fished Texoma for Stripers in the winter for a long time. They would get back in the coves and you could get them casting or trolling shallow. Biggest was in Soldier's Creek on the Okie side at 15 lbs. Took a half oz. Chartruse Swimming Minnow (lead head soft plastic body with a flipping back and forth tail). Fished Ray Hubbard when I lived in town as it was close and being a new lake at the time had some good upper end activity and not much boat traffic.

Mark

P.S. I deliberately put the "candy" in here for those of a mind who may read this. Grin

Re: Is it Ready to Go or Not?

Ok, I saw N. Texas in your sig and wondered. I'm up in the Eagle M. Lake Worth neck of the woods and our levels are fairly low. Worth is supposed to be constant level but it's down a few feet. My inlaws live on Granbury and the last few times I've been over there, there have been no boats on the lake it's so low. Glad to see you have a nice little spot you can "relax" on.