1989 mercruiser 4.3 alpha
Hi, I'm new to DIY boat maintenance and repair. I have searched and read relevant posts here and found the info extremely helpful and useful but i still have a few questions. I'm in the process of replacing my water pump after my impeller shredded. I have the replacement kit for the upper and the base unit parts.
I have drained the gear lube, put the shifter into forward, removed the lower unit of the outdrive, taken out the upper part and base of the water pump.
Here's what i have found. There is a groove for an O-ring on the drive shaft but no O-ring there. Felt around in the upper unit as much as i could and looked in the lower unit for it but no luck finding it.
There was a copper tube (water tube?) about 4 inches long that stayed in the water pump when i took the lower part of the drive off.
Looking up into the upper unit there's a gasket on the opening just below the drive shaft (intermediate shaft?) there.
I had to turn the drive shaft to get what was left of my impeller off. The prop is still on and that spun a bit to during the process.
Questions:
Any suggestions on where that O-ring might be hiding? If I put it all back together and it's floating around someplace in the upper or lower unit will that cause problems? Is that O-ring included in the replacement kit by any chance?
Can I just put that copper tube back into the water pocket? How far in does it go?
Do i need to replace that gasket on opening in the upper unit?
Did i knock the lower unit out of gear when i turned the drive shaft or the prop? How can i check to see if it's still in forward?
Any suggestions or insights are appreciated. thanks for your time and knowledge.
Hi, I'm new to DIY boat maintenance and repair. I have searched and read relevant posts here and found the info extremely helpful and useful but i still have a few questions. I'm in the process of replacing my water pump after my impeller shredded. I have the replacement kit for the upper and the base unit parts.
I have drained the gear lube, put the shifter into forward, removed the lower unit of the outdrive, taken out the upper part and base of the water pump.
Here's what i have found. There is a groove for an O-ring on the drive shaft but no O-ring there. Felt around in the upper unit as much as i could and looked in the lower unit for it but no luck finding it.
There was a copper tube (water tube?) about 4 inches long that stayed in the water pump when i took the lower part of the drive off.
Looking up into the upper unit there's a gasket on the opening just below the drive shaft (intermediate shaft?) there.
I had to turn the drive shaft to get what was left of my impeller off. The prop is still on and that spun a bit to during the process.
Questions:
Any suggestions on where that O-ring might be hiding? If I put it all back together and it's floating around someplace in the upper or lower unit will that cause problems? Is that O-ring included in the replacement kit by any chance?
Can I just put that copper tube back into the water pocket? How far in does it go?
Do i need to replace that gasket on opening in the upper unit?
Did i knock the lower unit out of gear when i turned the drive shaft or the prop? How can i check to see if it's still in forward?
Any suggestions or insights are appreciated. thanks for your time and knowledge.