Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

[Navigator]

Hi All,<br /><br />I was out last night and got into some murky water (organic bottom debris cloud) and all of a sudden the water pump tell-tail went from clear, to brown, to sputtering, then stopped altogether. ('00 Honda 40hp) I immediately shutdown the engine, and pushed myself back out to clear water. I tilted up the engine, but all the water intakes are clear and everything looks normal. I fired it back up, but still no water from the tell-tale. I get into this type of situation quite often since my lake is very shallow and heavily overgrown with shoreline weeds, not to mention those nasty alligators Normally, just getting back to clean water solves the problem, but this time it didn't.<br /><br />My question...has anyone ever heard of something like this where the intake screens look clean, but the water passage seems blocked? I've checked the tell-tale tubing and it clean. I put a new impellor in a few months ago. Water pressure was strong. I just find it odd. <br /><br />Once I pull the boat from the water, I'm planning of using the the flush fitting on the bottom of the lower unit, to blow clear water through the cooling passages. If that runs clear, and it still wont pump then I'll pull the lower unit and disassemble the waterpump.<br /><br />Oh the joys of southern lakes....<br /><br />Nav

 

[radsrh]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

Did you take a small wire and run it up the tell-tail opening? some times a small bit of junk will get stuck right at the exit. Next I would take off the motor side of the tell-tail tube and use some very low air pressure from the exit hole and see if anything gets blown out.

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

radsrh is correct.<br />This time of year the lakes and rivers are all on the rise. There is a tremendous amount of debris in the water. <br />Once last weekend and once this weekend my telltail quit on my BF50. I had to remove the rubber tube from the brass nipple and stick at wire in it. Since I was on the water it was actually a large shanked fishing hook that I cut the eye from.<br />Both times it took running the motor at idle while I was probeing with the wire for it to spit the piece of bark out completely.<br /><br />Probably the only time your Honda will be on the water with the cowl off. <br /><br />BTW Navigator, I'm a Chamberlain H.S. graduate 1972. Shot wild turkey in our woods on Bearss Ave.

 

[Navigator]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

radsrh & Skinnywater,<br />Thanks for the advice. I tried that, but no use. I took her out of the water yesterday, pulled off the intake screens, (all clean) then blew compressed air in the tell-tale output on the engine block. I could hear it echoing inside the mid section cowling. I threw it on the muffs, but still no water. I guess the next step is to remove the lower unit and take the waterpump apart. I'll let you know what I find.<br /><br />As for being the only time the cover is off, it was even more embarrassing, I had to drive back over to the dock with the Honda tilted out of the water using only an old '79 6hp Johnson I had lying around. Not often you see a honda being pushed by a johnson (BTW, my Johnson is old, but I just cant kill her!!!) <br /><br />BTW, skinnywater, Bearss is now in the center of town, all apartment complexes or aging subdivisions. Interstate 275 is now 6 laned past the Bearss exit. If you want woods, you got to go at least 10 miles north. Developers have destroyed most of the Bay area and are rapidly moving north...and south..and east...and if they could fill in the Gulf and build more houses they would!!! And our Zoning Dept would let them!!! <br /><br />Nav

 

[radsrh]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

When it was on the muffs did you have a flow of water coming out of the center of the prop with the exhaust gas? If you have water at that point I would say that the water pump is ok. When I mean to say is put the air through the tell tail outlet on the outside of the motor (exit as it goes back into the lake) and see if you blow anything out of the rubber hose at the point where it connects to the engine block.

 

[gss036]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

I had my 15hp Honda stop peeing on me today while flushing out the saltwater after I used it all day trolling (no salmon). I ended up taking the cover off of the thremostat and pulling it open while running on the muffs. I ended up with lots of water coming through the thermostat(salt build up evidently) and then put it back together and had good pee stream. Might be worth trying.<br />My Merc 200 was peeing poorly and I the water hose up the tube and cleared it up. I am going to post on the Merc board about that, water flowed all through the engine and out the prop.??

 

[Navigator]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

radsrh, <br />I cleaned the line from the block to the tell-tale exit, it was clean.<br /><br />What I did yesterday, (thanks gss036) as a last attempt before I yanked the lower unit, was to send water through the tell tale and back through the engine in reverse. I got water coming out of the lower unit this time so I put it back on the muffs again. This time when she fired up I had the pressure back. It seems to be working fine.<br />I guess whatever got caught up in there dislodged itself. I ran her 20 minutes on the muffs with no indication of a drop in water pressure. Tonight I'll drop her back in the lake and make sure all is fine.<br /><br />Thanks everyone for the input!!<br /><br />Nav

 

[radsrh]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

Glad to hear it worked out for you, another 2-3 months and the ice should be off of our lakes.

 

[gss036]

Re: Honda 40 Waterpump stopped pumping

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I have to constantly clean out my 15 hp w/all the small junk (jelly fish,kelp and ell grass)in the water here. When the commercial guess are dragging nets, it really stirs things up and with the big winter tide changes every 6 hours it stays churned up.