A little help with water pump maintanance

[eavega]

I have a 1960 Johnson Seahorse 10 HP (QD 21) which I am trying to bring back to life. I have read the "Awaken a sleeping outboard" FAQ, as well as several other online references on what to do. One thing all of them mention is replacing the water pump impeller. With my Seloc Maintenance guide in hand (apparently so I had something to kneel on!) I removed the lower unit, opened the water pump housing, and found a fine collection of rubber pieces which with a little imagination might have resembled an impeller once in its life. Now, here is my problem; The Seloc guide says to remove the water pump plate (I would presume for cleaning and such), but I cannot do it. There is a pin in the driveshaft that the impeller key sets on. I can't get the plate around this pin. The Seloc manual warns not to pull the driveshaft out, else risk having to open up the gear case to set things right again. Now, when it gets to re-installing the water pump, the picture that they show of the lower unit clearly has the driveshaft removed! Is removing the driveshaft the only way to get this plate out, and is it really necessary to remove the water pump plate at all (i.e. are there gaskets or seals that need to be replaced when changing out the impeller?) Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I can post pictures if that might be more helpful.

Rgds

-Eric

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

That pin will come out, once you get it out don't lose it because it is a PITA to replace from what I hear. You do need to remove the plate to clean under it, there is no telling what is under there. I personaly have accidently pulled the drive shaft out of my 1959 5.5hp Jonson but from what I have studied after I pushed the shaft back in place it did not hurt anything. Notice I don't recommend removing the shaft due to the fact that it can be hard to put back in.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

If the wear plate is scored, it needs to be replaced. The "pin" is the impeller key and it can be removed.

 

[F_R]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

If the pin is stuck, leave it alone. There is absolutely no reason you can't just pull the shaft out. It will simply slide right back in with no grief. Kneel on the manual while doing it.

 

[eavega]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

Thanks so much for the answers! I suspected that the pin could be removed, but I didn't want to force it in case it was actually part of the crankshaft. It would suck to have to replace the crankshaft because I broke off that pin!

While I am on the same subject (this wouldn't be considered hijacking my own thread now would it? )

So when I removed the pump housing, I found the impeller in pieces. A more accurate description was that the fins looked like they had been torn off the impeller. Is this normal wear and tear on this part? Otherwise, I would suspect that something big got inside the pump housing, and the fins tore off when it hit this something. My worry is that I didn't find this "something" inside the pump housing. Could it have been pushed further up the water passages? I don't have a good schematic of how water moves around this motor. The Seloc manual was not a lot of help in this case.

Thanks again for the help

-E

 

[Xcusme]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

"I found the impeller in pieces..."

This is the number one reason folks are urged to replace the water pump impeller when they get a 'new' motor with no maintenance history. Small bits of the impeller can be washed up into the power head, blocking cooling passages. Sometimes, removal of the thermostat and back flushing the power head can dislodge these bits back down the water tube is a solution. Using a garden hose and short section of rubber hose to force water up the water tube can help to insure good water flow too. Hopefully, the impeller doesn't break apart and replacement is easy, but that comes by replacing it every 2-5 years, it's cheap insurance at any rate. Be sure to grease the drive shaft splines at the top of the shaft upon re-assembly. This helps for 2 reasons. It prevents the drive shaft from rusting into the crank shaft splines (can't easily drop the lower unit in the future) and helps in the torque loading of the shaft. If the parts list calls for a rubber o-ring at the top of the drive shaft, install it...it helps keep exhaust gases and water from getting into the shaft/crank spline junction.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

EDIT...double post..

 

[eavega]

Re: A little help with water pump maintanance

Thanks to all for the original answer (the pin in the drive shaft). Turns out all it took was a little gentle coaxing, and the pin popped right out! Rehab continues on my outboard!

Rgds

Eric