water pump replacment went awry?

[redfury]

Okay, replaced my water pump with a sierra kit from Iboat a couple of weeks ago...had the lower unit off for the winter in the house.

Had a heck of a time getting the copper tube that connects to the engine connected, but I got it done after a second try.

Here's my problem though...when I connect the muffs, I'm barely getting it to pee at all. I worry that I got the vanes bent the wrong direction or that something went wrong with the tube connection. When I was monkeying with the tube, the fiber washer that was on the upper portion seemed to have gotten pulled off when I removed it for the second attempt and got in a little crooked. As far as I could see, it didn't fall out of the leg, and I couldn't see up there well enough to say whether it was wedged up properly when I probed in with a long piece of stiff wire.

Thing is, I'm getting water out from the seam where the lower unit connects to the leg, so I can assume that something isn't right, but I don't know what exactly.

I'm posting this hoping that someone has run across this and has a simple answer for me. I installed the pump according to the manual, so the process should have been solid...I'm either missing something, or I missed doing something the right way ( twisting the housing over the impeller and turning the vanes the wrong direction )...

Help?

 

[wilde1j]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

Sounds like you may have missed the water pump outlet with the water tube, got the grommet folded over, didn't get the impeller key in right or fell out, stuck thermostat, etc. The vanes will straighten out, no matter which way you put them in, although it's recommended they go in correctly. I assume you did this job w/o an OEM shop manual. If so, good luck.

I usually put some grease on the end of the water tube and the inner grommet surface to make the tube less likely to fold the grommet over and you need to guide the water tube with your fingers until the last moment. It's best done with two people.

 

[redfury]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

I used grease to hold the key in and put the water pump impeller on the shaft and then turned the shaft while holding the vanes to make sure it engaged...that was fine. I think I may have damaged or lost the upper washer, but it felt like I was pushing the tube into a similar rubber grommet on the top end as the water pump housing has on the bottom.

I'll have to pull it all apart and double check my work. I dunno if it would be easier to pull the entire leg...I don't think I'm going to go that far with it.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

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I usually put some grease on the end of the water tube and the inner grommet surface to make the tube less likely to fold the grommet over and you need to guide the water tube with your fingers until the last moment. It's best done with two people.

It is best done with two people providing you are not married to one of them

Actually my 85HP Merc I could do myself in about 45 minutes. My 175HP Johnson is best done with three with the added weight, shift rod and outlet tube to line up, plus a few wiggles on the flywheel to line up the driveshaft splines. I also pull the trailer up on ramps so I can have it vertical when reassembling.

 

[wilde1j]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

I don't think you can "feel" the water tube going into the grommet BC of the mass you're moving, but you can "see" the result pretty quick at first run. I've done this job on V6 motors alone, but it requires some clever rigging to raise the LU while guiding the water tube, then moving the flywheel to get spline engagement.

 

[northwoodslivin]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

Did you replace the O rings on the tube? Sounds like it is for sure "peeing" water out of the tube running up the leg, impeller sounds fine, but I would not run it again until you get that situated.

Also, when running on muffs, never crank your water tap on full blast, just enough to get a strong steady stream!

Good luck

 

[redfury]

Re: water pump replacment went awry?

I replaced every O ring that the kit supplied an o ring for.

Actually, I got some compressed air in the pee hole and put it back on the muffs with full water pressure, and then in my test tank...she's peeing perfectly. I think I had the water pressure too low originally.

I brought it out to the lake and ran it for 10-15 minutes under varying loads and it ran like a Deere