Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

[njrextreme]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Run it in a tank or garbage can and see if its working. If the alarm sounds off again you will know for sure your not pumping. It beats going to the dock.

 

[MostlyHrmlss]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried the muffs with the rectangular cups? Mine have round cups, and there's plenty of leakage.

 

[hoofbite]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried the muffs with the rectangular cups? Mine have round cups, and there's plenty of leakage.

The rectangular ones leak just as bad. Get a large c-clamp to help snug the muffs to the leg.

 

[mrdibs1]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

I took mine to the lake over the weekend and I've got bigger problems. Tell-tale spits here and there, then steam. From reading various posts here and elsewhere, no water is probably sheered linkage between the crank and the waterpump. Steam could be a blown head gasket, though my compression is good. Someone said you will get no water if the headgasket is breeched also. We should keep this post going because water pressure seems to be a consistent theme with these things. Maybe turn it into a Sticky when some good troubleshooting steps are identified.

 

[mikesdad]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

I saw on UTUBE where a guy was running his outboard in a large Rubbermaid tub rather than using the muffs.
I have read here and there that the Force motors don't take well to the muffs so I thought I would try that instead.
Not knowing exactly where the water pump was located in the lower unit, I filled the tub until the water level was a few inches above the intake vents on the lower unit and ran the engine for maybe 5 minutes and nothing but steam came out of the back factory tell tale holes.
I thought maybe the thermostat had to open first.
I mean, on my 9.9 Johnson on my other boat the water comes out almost immediately but maybe..............thermostat on this one?
WRONG!

And that is how I learned to remove the lower unit and replace the impeller.
Running it without the water level at LEAST as high in the tub or garbage can or whatever, as the water pump is located destroyed the impeller.

After I had repaired the water pump and while the lower unit was still clamped in the vice in the garage, I stuck the muffs on and turned on the water very slowly just to see if the water was getting where it needed to be or if in fact, Force Motors hate muffs.

Spewed out like a fountain with the muffs and when I re-assembled the lower unit and used the muffs and started the engine, it not only comes out the tell tale holes, but also the hole in the trim tab.

Mines a 1989 125 hp

For what it's worth.

 

[mrdibs1]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

I guess I'll take mine apart again. What's a bad impeller look like?

 

[emoney]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

It's usually pretty obvious (or at least mine was). The impellar will have
either distorted or torn 'tabs' (wings, legs, whatever) or there could be a
tear in the key slot where the driveshaft grabs hold and spins it. Also, they
need to be installed the correct way, I've heard and the best way to assure
that is to grab the driveshaft and twist counterclockwise. That will turn the
tabs the right way? Don't know how much it matters but the instructions
from the new water pump kit read that way, anyway.

For what it's worth, on the mid-size engines (my 50hp anyway) the water
pump is on the very top of the lower unit. Basically, if you see the bolts
that are attaching the lower unit, the pump sits right there, so you can
see where not enough water can be an issue. I trimmed two sides of my
round 'ear muffs' so it would rest flat. Just used a pair of shears and cut
it right off. Seems to work better, but for the most part, if water is
entering the intake at a steady rate, that should be enough.

I want to update my earlier contribution, however. Once I changed out the
impeller and cleaned up the water pump, water was spitting out as soon
as I started it, basically. I only had water to just over the cavitation plate.
I'm sure there's a lot of variance, however, in these older motors.

 

[mikesdad]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

After I did what I did, mine had no fins left on it.
They were in pieces.
If I were going to go through the trouble of removing the lower unit to check it, I would change it out.
Here is a post from another board that may answer your question:

"You can't realy see any damage until a blade breaks off, but you can look for some signs of a weak impeller. When you pull the impeller out of the pump housing, does the blades stay slightly bent? If the impeller has the rounded ends, does the outside look flat? An impeller that looks good, and might even pump water at a low RPM, can flex to much at a higher RPM and loose all vacume. I make sure that every year I replace the impeller, sometimes twice if I run the boat a lot."

 

[mikesdad]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Spun my driveshaft clockwise. Greased up the new impeller to help it slide into the water pump housing easier too.

 

[MostlyHrmlss]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Impellers are cheaper than tows. If you have any doubt about its health, replace it.

 

[mikesdad]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Yep, worse than tows are explaining to kids why the day got cut way short.

Here's a link to Sierra Marine.

Cheapest and fastest service imho.

www.teleflexsierra.com

 

[Idaho gt150]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

warped exhaust port plate, be very careful pulling off cover plate screws i broke 10. if you end up breaking off one stop and find someone with a welder, i ended up snapping off a bit in the 10th one. spent the a month fixing my 1970 85hp. thought i was gonna have a complete meltdown.

 

[MostlyHrmlss]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

I dropped the lower unit again and put the nylon adapter from the water pump on the end of my garden hose to ensure a good seal. Once again, lots of water coming out of the exhaust port, a little from the telltale, which tells me the water isn't getting from the pump to the block, so I pulled the powerhead again. Lo and behold, the water tube looks like bamboo that got bent too far. The one from the parts motor was in good shape, so I swapped them out. Now I'm waiting for some help getting the powerhead back on. Can anyone suggest a trick for holding the shift linkage in place and lining it up with the shift rod?

Also, a question about sealant: I assume black RTV is in order. Should I do all the mating surfaces, or just the area around the exhaust stack? Would a ring around the water tube seal be a good idea?

 

[mrdibs1]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Possible to know that tube was bad without removing the powerhead? That sounds like it's worth checking. I use Red RTV on everything, btw. Probably not necessary in a cooling system, but it stays flexible forever and you'll never wonder where you've used it. But it is ugly.

 

[MostlyHrmlss]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

Once I decided that the water wasn't getting to the block, the problem could only have been in one of three places: the tube itself, the seal at the top of the tube, or the bypass valve. I checked out the water path on the parts motor and noticed where the water would go if it were being dumped by the bypass, then I pulled off the rear midleg cover and idle relief snout so I could look inside with a flashlight. When I shot water up the pipe, it came splashing from a direction that couldn't have been from the relief valve (it vents to the far left corner from the hole), so it had to be the tube or the seal.

The black RTV that was put on this block in 1979 is still flexible, and it blends in nicely with the rest of the grease I'm still not sure where to put it, though. Just around the exhaust section, or around the whole plate? How about around the water tube seal?

 

[Idaho gt150]

Re: Just put in telltale, nothing coming out

I thought the same thing, its like I'm reliving it. I replaced the gromet at the top of tube, thinking that it wasn't getting a good seal. Finally I took the exhaust plate off and found a lot of calcium deposits clogging the passages and a warped plate. Had another plate made of thicker st/st worked like a charm. I'll try to post pics.