Hi. I have some questions about replacing the water pump on my 1987 90 HP Johnson outboard.
First, a glimpse of what I have been able to do so far. To begin with, I had a hell of a time trying to remove the lower unit from the motor. Unfortunately, the repairs manual if very vague about how to do it, and I had to set the gear in neutral (instead of reverse as recommended) to get the shift rod off the bushing. After that, it came out easily.
Then I removed and replaced the water pump, following the instructions as best I as I could, and sometimes improvising. I had some problems getting the impeller into the cup without loosening the big o-ring that goes around the base of the housing, but eventually I fured out a way to put everything together.
Now to my questions. I noticed that after installing the impeller the shaft was very difficult to turn around (clockwise) and I had to apply a lot of force to get it moving (note that I still haven't installed back the lower unit). Is this normal or should I disassemble everything and check for problems?
Next, I am trying to figure out how difficult I'd be to reconnect the shif rod to the shif lever, since I did not do it with the gear in "reverse" as especified by the manual: Will the positioning of the shif rod (in neutral) make it more difficult to reconnect the linkage? Will this screw up shifting gears in the motor?
Any input you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
First, a glimpse of what I have been able to do so far. To begin with, I had a hell of a time trying to remove the lower unit from the motor. Unfortunately, the repairs manual if very vague about how to do it, and I had to set the gear in neutral (instead of reverse as recommended) to get the shift rod off the bushing. After that, it came out easily.
Then I removed and replaced the water pump, following the instructions as best I as I could, and sometimes improvising. I had some problems getting the impeller into the cup without loosening the big o-ring that goes around the base of the housing, but eventually I fured out a way to put everything together.
Now to my questions. I noticed that after installing the impeller the shaft was very difficult to turn around (clockwise) and I had to apply a lot of force to get it moving (note that I still haven't installed back the lower unit). Is this normal or should I disassemble everything and check for problems?
Next, I am trying to figure out how difficult I'd be to reconnect the shif rod to the shif lever, since I did not do it with the gear in "reverse" as especified by the manual: Will the positioning of the shif rod (in neutral) make it more difficult to reconnect the linkage? Will this screw up shifting gears in the motor?
Any input you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
