Force 50 died on me

[jasperpso]

I was out on the mighty mississippi yesterday going at about 80% throttle in a 14' bayliner fish & ski i just bought, when all of a sudden my force 50 lost rpm's, sputtered and died. I then put it in nuetral and tried to start it back up, and after a few seconds it started but i noticed it wasnt spraying any water out so i immediately shut it down. luckily i was only 50-60 yards from a dock. i oared it to shore. So i am guessing the water pump is bad. I ordered a new one, i also ordered a seloc service manual. i was worried that i overheated it and fried the rings or something, so today i did a compression check and got 120-121 lbs on both cylinders. Does anyone know if this is in acceptable range? also, is there anything besides the water pump i should check out? i am just guessing it is the problem since it was sparying water good when i started for the day, but wasnt at all after the motor died. thanks for any help, this is my first boat, i hope i can get it going again soon.<br /><br />jason

 

[foxjohnc03]

Re: Force 50 died on me

120 psi is fine. A generally accepted range is over 95 psi and within 10-15% on all cylinders. Replace the impeller and you should be fine.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Force 50 died on me

When the impeller goes out on my chrysler the engine goes into a thermal shut down. It has happened to me twice. After replacing the impeller and the engine has cooled down it runs with no problems.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Force 50 died on me

Check the old impeller out when you remove it. Hopefully there aren't any huge chunks missing, that may be lodged in the cooling system.<br /><br />If there are chunks missing, you might want to remove the thermostat and "backflush" the powerhead with a garden hose (engine OFF).<br /><br />Just keep an eye on it for a while after the repair. Check yur sparkplugs after running a few hours for any signs of a warped head or blown gasket. If water is leaking into a cylinder, the plug will be unusually clean.

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: Force 50 died on me

Also make sure that it isn't just a blockage from mud or the peehole blocked.<br />This will also stop the flow and overheat her.

 

[jasperpso]

Re: Force 50 died on me

how difficult is putting a water pump in this engine. I can work on a chevy v8? but this is my first boat. i am getting a seloc service manual, with this should i be able to do it myself? thanks<br />jason

 

[Squeakit]

Re: Force 50 died on me

I have the same engine as yours. The water pump is not difficult. Follow the instructions in the manual. Also, replace your thermostat - they will stick and cause an overheat. Best of luck!

 

[boating brad]

Re: Force 50 died on me

loosen the lower unit bolts to the end of the threads, split the lower unit from the top half, there is a cotter pin through the shift rod you'll be able to see, pull it out and the lower unit can be taken off. do all of this with it in neutral and dont push or pull on the lower units shift rod, and it'll go back together just fine.<br />hoping your manual says something like that!

 

[jasperpso]

Re: Force 50 died on me

well, i am still waiting for my water pump to show up, today i had some time so i went to the local marina and bought a outboard flusher for a garden hose. how safe are these things for running a outboard out of submerged water? anyways i tryed it out for about 5-10 seconds and still no water came out, so i am assuming my diagnosis of waterpump has to be correct? if it had been a clog, would this device have cleaned it out? how long is unsafe to run a outboard without seeing water come out? thanks for any help

 

[Squeakit]

Re: Force 50 died on me

Hi Jasper: I assume from your posts that right now you don't have the water pump or the manual. If you're getting frustrated and wanting to do something with the engine I can sure understand this, but I think you're heading for worse trouble if you try to run this engine until you fix it properly. The only kind of muffs that will fit over the water intake on this motor are the rectangular type - the round ones don't form a good seal and if the pump isn't working you can't flush it out through the water intake anyway. Play it safe, leave it alone until you have the manual at least - then you can take it apart and hopefully see what the problem is and be ready to put it back together when your parts arrive. Just my 2cents.

 

[jasperpso]

Re: Force 50 died on me

yeah, you hit the nail on the head, except i too am aware i shouldnt be messing with it. i only tried the hose thing basically to verify the pump was out, cause i didnt really get to investigate it much when the motor died on me, i just loaded it on the trailer...<br /><br />this question was more in the devices safe use after the motor is fixed. are these things safe? also, on a outboard, when the pump goes out, how long does it take to overheat and cause damage? i realize that last one could be hard to answer.