Hello all,<br />I hope someone in here is familiar with this problem. Bear with me.... I have an 87' OMC 4.3L in my Celebrity 183VBR and just rebuilt the engine after the boat sat for a couple of years with a cracked block. I tuned the engine in the driveway with muffs installed and everything works as it should-IN THE DRIVEWAY. Once I put her in the water, the problem starts. When I first start her up, I get an initial flow of water to the thermo housing but then it stops after about 1 second. I'm checking this with the hose disconnected to the thermo housing. Well, after replacing the impeller and further troubleshooting, I realized that it is exhaust air that is getting into the water channels and keeping the pump from pumping water. Odd! I know. How do I know its' exhaust? you may ask. Well, if I disconnect the exhaust "accordian" or bellow tube from the outdrive and hold it to the side to ensure its' not getting in the outdrive, the water flows like it should. Also, in case you might ask, the exhaust air does come out of the transom holes at the bottom which are clear of obstructions and it also comes out at the prop like it should. Its got me stumped. Does anyone know why the exhaust air would be getting into that section of the outdrive that supplies water to the impeller?
