1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

[55Crestliner]

Just replace the impeller, and still no water coming out of the leg.
Motor is getting hot to touch, so I've shut it down each time.

When the lower unit was off, (second time) I shot water up each copper water tube (this motor has 2 - not sure why) and water came out the other side. The lower units water intakes are not blocked. This motor, being a Lark, has a rear leg cover that comes off. Behind that is a rubber tube at the top of the leg. I took that off to see if any water is trickling down when running, and there is not.

Any ideas as to what's going on? Does this motor have a thermostat? That could be blocked or stuck?

My other 1950's motors never had this issue.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

Ok, when I made the first post, I had no idea that this motor had a thermostat- and with a bit of searching, figured out that it does. I took the thermostat out, and it was in pieces-the top section was broken off, and blocking a passage. SO, now I took it out, and put the cover back on, and still not puting out water. If I take a garden hose, and run it with the cover off, while squirting water down it, water comes out the tell-tale.

What's going on here?

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

I now have water coming out, but still have concerns.

I left the thermostat housing cap off, and water will (after about a 30 second pause) shoot out of there. So, I put the cap on while running, and water finally comes out the tell tail.

But when that cover is on, and motor off, and then I start it, it will not pump water until I rev it up. This has not been the case on any of the other 3 motors I've worked with, and have been running for several years. (all 1950's Johnsons.)

Why should I have to rev it up to get cooling, and is this an issue? Once flowing, it will idle down nice, and keep flowing.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

You shouldn't have to rev it to get it to flow. Something is off. Why did you change the impeller originally? Did it not work, did you just get the engine or was it a regular maintenance thing. As in, did it work normally before you worked on it or is it new to you?

 

[rolmops]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

If you did it in a barrel you should have the lower unit completely submerged so the water would be in the impeller housing to begin with.If it is not deep enough submerged it will not pump the water up.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

Very good point. Was it deep enough? They have to be pretty deep to pump properly. That's why I hate testing the larger engines in a barrel.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

You mean you don't like getting that slimy, cruddy barrel water on your shoes??? I've got a couple pair that smell like...well, don't ask.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

Ha! Barrel feet! Sure 'nuf!

Yep, this motor is new to me. I threw it in the barrel to test, and no water came out, so I bought a new impeller, put that in. But then still no water. (but that was because of the blocked passage from the broken thermostat.)

Excellent point about the water in the barrel needing to be high enough - I don't recal ever having that issue in the past with my 25, 18, or 10. I did NOT have the water high enough at first, but then when I put it well past the pump, is when it finally worked.

So, now that I have the water all the way past the pump, it's still somewhat slow to start pumping - but is is working. So I'm sure it's fine, just something to be aware of at the lake.

 

[cmulchi]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

I have a 1961 Evinrude Lark 40HP and had some similar issues that you are describing. Just a couple of additional points to consider other than those in the earlier posts:

1) When you changed the impeller, what was the condition of the impeller - any tines broken off? Small pieces can go up the water tubes and lodge around the cylinder water jackets and create a blockage.

2) Where was the engine originally used (clean or salt water?) In my case, my motor was used periodically in salt water so I had to remove the piston cover and clean out the water jackets due to salt water deposits which also constricted the coolant flow.

Once I performed these two checks and cleaned out the water jackets, the flow was much improved

3) For tuneups in the driveway, always use a garden hose flush adapter to deliver water to the impeller. This is neater and better simulates water pressure at depths similar to actual operation.

Hope this helps,
Charles

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

The impeller was worn, but no pieces missing. The housing where the rubber spins against is pitted though. I'm guessing this motor saw some salt water at some point. A slight evidence of salt seems to be there. But not bad. Taking that head cover off is probably a good idea.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

make sure u get both water tubes in the water pump housing. look up the exhuast to see and check

 

[fishfindin]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

yes, i would say thats a problem. try to clear the water hose out with a paper clip, it could be that it is blocked up. thats what happened to mine!

 

[willconsiderit]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

I know this sounds weird, but I actually had this same problem several years ago. After attending to all the usual fixes, that have already been mentioned above, without resolving the problem, in sheer desperation I pulled the head off to see if the passages were blocked. What I found was a small leak in the head gasket between a combustion chamber and a water passage. Replacing the head gasket fixed the cooling problem. I think what was happening was the exhaust gasses were being injected into the cooling system with enough pressure to overcome the pressure generated by the water pump - which can't be a lot.

It's been running great ever since. Wonderful old motor IMHO.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

Good thoughts there on the head gasket.
I'll give the motor a go, and see how it does on the boat. Boat's rated for a 50 horse, (1956 Crestliner Viking), so I'm not sure I want to invest too much in this motor yet. I'll most likely be looking for more power.

But you never know - if it pushes it the same as my other boat with a 25hp, (25-30mph), then I might just keep this 35hp for a while.

Even with all those thoughts, I'll likely change the gasket anyway, out of curiosity.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

When you had the pump apart, was the body scored (you said it was pitted, which isn't great, especially at low rpm's), was the wear plate scored? Either condition will effect the pump, especially at low rpm's when it operates as a positive displacement pump. At high rpm's, the impeller blades bend and physically don't contact the pump body and the pump operates as a centrigual pump. Also, if the pump base seal/gasket moves out of the groove during assembly, the pump with suck air and not work well. I use hardening Permatex (very small amounts) to glue the seal in the groove for assembly ... I let it harden for ~ 15 minutes, so it holds well enough, but is still somewhat flexible.

Good luck.

 

[55Crestliner]

Re: 1958/9 Evinrude Lark 35 no water coming out.

Didn't really have any scoring, or grooves. Just the typical "brushed" look on the stainless steel plate that the impeller brushes on.

Interesting about the blades not touching when in high RPM - you'd think that they would be pushed out due to rotational force, but it must be the water pressure's force that overcomes that.