74 Merc 500 50hp, pee hole question...

[Grumpy Bear]

When water leaves the water pump and up the copper pipe into the powerhead, here's my question: is some of it designed to flow back out down around the exhaust tube (down through the lower unit) and some eventually through the pee hole? I was testing the flow of water going through the motor by removing the lower unit, connecting a rubber hose to the copper pipe and pumping water up into the cooling system around the powerhead. It seemed that after filling the areas around the powerhead, the vast majority of the water started coming back out and down beside the exhaust pipe toward the lower unit and barely any out of the pee hole. Same thing happens if I push water through the pee hole back through the other way -- after working its way through the motor, most all of it ends up coming down around the exhaust tube area and not back through the copper pipe. Normal?

The reason I did this was that I wasn't seeing any water out of the pee hole with muffs on at idle, so thought I would check it out.

 

[GA_Boater]

Normal. The tell tale is only an indicator of water in the motor. It has nothing to do with cooling. The cooling water exits through the exhaust, some to the relief ports, the majority out the prop.

Does the motor pee on the water or if the lower unit is deep in a barrel?

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Does the motor pee on the water or if the lower unit is deep in a barrel?

Last I had her on the water, yes (a little at idle eventually). When I put her in a barrel today, I didn't see it, but then the motor wasn't started for more than a minute or so.