80s 40hp Mariner - Water pump won’t pump

[aburch4384]

At the end of last season while winterizing I started it up on muffs and noticed nothing coming out of the telltale and immediately shut it down. After some minor troubleshooting I gave up and put it off till spring.

Now that it’s prep time, I fired it up again for a moment with the same result. Inspected the water pump and impeller and all appeared okay but replaced impeller anyway. I then put just the foot in water and turned the shaft with a drill and I cannot see anything bubbling up out of the pump.

I’m tempted to get a kit and replace all gaskets but they all appeared to be in good condition so I’m wondering if there are any other tests I can try first

 

[racerone]

When testing the water must be 6" ( 15 cm ) above the impeller.

 

[superclarke]

I’ll tell you about mine....same thing ....new impeller and no peeing....took weed eater line and forced it done pee hole and found what appeared to be tons of dead ants and there little nests. Eventually the water came out through the pee hole and all appears good. You might want to make sure your impeller fins are facing the correct direction also. Good luck hope you figure it out