Water pump- i dont know whats up!

[BFSC Kevin]

Soo.. just bought the boat like 3 weeks ago or so..

everything on it is pretty much set.. except adding the extras..

and except checking over the motor again..

well when i bought it, the water was pumping out fine, during the brief 10 seconds that the owner showed me it running..

now when i'm trying to run it right now, its not going!

 

i run it for 20 seconds and no water is pumping out.. i tried to stick a thin mire up it, and it goes up about 10 cm then can't go up anymore..

so either the pee hole is clogged or i need to change the impeller.. or i didn't let it run long enough?

any ideas out there?

 

oh and its a 1989 merc 2 stroke 60hp.

 

thanks!

[irishfield]

Some mercs have a thermostat and it don't pee till it warms up. My old 9.8 is that way.

 

You haven't been running it without water have you...

[BFSC Kevin]

LOL!

i put on the bunny ears...

and i'm in Toronto and it has dropped below zero yet..

so it can't be frozen...

 

yes, Wayne, i was thinking perhaps it hasn't warmed up yet.. but 20 seconds not long enough to warm up?

what should the threshold be then? HOw long should i let it go before i cause real damage because the impeller was actually broken and not because of the thremostat not being warmed up yet...?

[OhioFisherman]

Kevin, I have a 1986 35 merc, there is a slight delay from starting to water coming out the pee hole on mine but not a lot. I have never timed it. I always start mine in a plastic drum when I am not in the water.

[BFSC Kevin]

this motor is a tad too big for me to stick a big garbage can under.. so I was only using the ear muffs..

and then my 5hp honda beside is too small for the ear muffs so then i had to use the garbage can for that!..

[irishfield]

Have you got extra water flooding out of the muffs...and they're in the right intake spot... I'd let it run for awhile...not gonna cook the motor at these temps in a hurry. Take the cowling off..follow the "pee" line. Does it go into a housing before the engine itself..if so that's a thermostat...and like I said my old 9.8 doesn't pee in the fall until it warms up and opens...but then again it could be baffed as well...lol

[Roy]

Please tell me that you have a hose connected to the muffs, Kevin.

[BFSC Kevin]

hmm.. i dont see a thermostat then.. the hose goes straight to the block...

and yes, roy, i have have a hose connected the muffs.. and yes the hose is turned on

[BFSC Kevin]

dag nammit.. i had it run for almost a minute and afterwards, i even take off the cover to feel the temp of the block.. its pretty darn warm.. but not hot... i think i may need to get the impeller changed..

[irishfield]

Did you try pulling the hose off the block to make sure it's not just plugged?

[BFSC Kevin]

you can just pull it off?

thats something new..

gotta go do that now!

[bassfighter]

I have an 85 hp engine, and water muff does not work irregarldess how strong the water pressure is, so I have to take the boat to the nearest water and submerged the engine to test anything.

[moemoe]

I had the asme thing with my yamaha, The yammy has a flush port on the side of it to flush the motor, so the hose connects right to the motor, after a flush, seemed to be all good again, and I just changed the impeller,

[didoban]

you only had it running a brief 10 seconds? Call the previous owner and ask if there are tricks up his sleeve. Do you have enough water pressure to the muffs when you started the motor?

[Sinker]

I've never trusted those muffs for running my engine out of water.

 

I can't get mine to pump with them on......but in the lake or a barrel.......it pumps by the gallon!!

 

Sinker

[BFSC Kevin]

hmm.. i guess i gotta go down to the lake and try a bit then!

[irishfield]

Take a flashlight...

[BFSC Kevin]

errrrrrr.. probably wont be till thursday then i can tow it down.. or tomorrow, but then that'd be like 8 or 9 pm.. a bit late and dark..=/

[wallyboss]

I had an older Merc that did that to me and it was the thermostat that was stuck. When you had it going did you throttle up??? I kept the motor going for a while until I saw some water splashing on the motor and it was sizzling. I called my buddy who knows motors a bit more than me to come over and I soon as I started the motor and the water wasn't peeing he just grabbed the throttle and gave it a shot and the water started peeing and it never happened again after that.

[john vail]

Call the old owner and see if he can shed some light on the issue

[Entropy]

My '91 merc 25 hp had a thermostat and in cool weather would not piss untill I had her up to about 1/3 throtle for a bit. and on cold days would piss then stop and piss again, the thermostat was doing its job.

 

The first time I tried it, it threw me off, thought that I needed a new impeller, took it to the mechanic and he told me about it having a thermostat, felt stupid, but went fishing!

 

Entropy

[pigeonfisher]

I had a 1980 Merc 150 and it the intakes would get clogged all the time. Pull the hose off and blow it out, you can often see any debris that may be blocking and MacGiver it out of the hose.

[Uncle Buck]

I have an 85 hp engine, and water muff does not work irregarldess how strong the water pressure is, so I have to take the boat to the nearest water and submerged the engine to test anything.

 

I can run my 150HP merc off muffs... don't know why you can't run an 85... it doesn't need high pressure... WOT on a motor is not recommended with muffs....

[walleyemen]

I had a similiar problem in the spring with my 04 merc, took it in for a impellar only to find out it was a blockage, changed the impellar anyway's.It does'nt take much to cause a blockage try blowing thru the tube to see if it's restricted, being a older motor it may need to be idled up to pick up the water(impellar shrinkage due to age)

[BFSC Kevin]

oh well.. i'll do the blockage thing and bring it down to the water(lakeshore).. if it still is a no go, then i'll change the impeller now.. but if its good, i'll change the impeller in the spring, so that it wont just be out in the cold for the whole winter...