I have a '87 Force 50hp and just replaced the lower unit due to a cracked lower gear housing. Got it to the water and started running right away with just a small amount of water coming out of the pee hole but no worse than what it looked like before I replaced the lower unit. I would say it shoots out about 8 - 10 inches before gravity takes over. As we motored slowly around the lake the water became less and less until it was just exhaust and then nothing. I started smelling burning rubber so I shut it down. I got the engine home and pulled the engine hood off and saw that the engine had gotten hot enough to melt the plastic tube that was used as the pee hole as well as and emblem that was on the engine block. Also noticed it had gotten hot enough to discolor the wiring label on the block. I pulled the lower unit and noticed the water tube came out with the lower unit pretty easy, almost as though it had come disconnected at the top by the engine so I assume that could have been the problem. I checked the compression and the top cylinder was at 140 and the bottom at 135. How do I know if I have done any serious damage to the engine? If the compression is a good sign, then I'm looking to put this back together (with a new impeller, even though the old one looked good) and try to get a good water flow with a big drum of water. How do I get the water tube connected at the top by the engine? Do I just blindly try to push it back up or do I need to take the lower cowl off? Any help would be appreciated as I am tired of messing with this engine and I need to get it working again to keep my sanity.
