Plugged water tube

[chilly1]

I recently changed an impeller, fuel pump and carb gaskets, needle and seat, thermostat, etc, on my 1971 55 hp chrysler outboard. This was a resurrection of a dormant motor. Started it today, and it did not stream out the water. Ejected some insect pods, and improved a little, but not near enough. Shut it off after 1 minute or so. Two more tries with the same result, and now the motor shuts off after 10-20 seconds..I suspect this is flooding, but am not sure. Question: Where can this debris be hiding, and how do I get it out?
Also, a little smoke comes out of tell spout, is this ok?
Background...also bumped battery terminals to leads backwards and it clicked somewhere. Did I blow the rectifier or worse?
Thank you in advance!

 

[56 rude]

Re: Plugged water tube

Sounds to me like the motor is not getting any cooling and is shutting off.I just did a 1970 33 hp evinrude with all the new parts for an impeller change and no water came out with the exact same results as you.Took the lower unit apart again and took off the impeller housing and liberally applied permatex avaition gasket sealer/maker to the mating surfaces of the housings.Reinstalled the whole thing and presto a fine running 33 that took me on a 70 plus mile river trip with no problems.Also as you have it apart to do the sealer it wouldnt hurt to blow compressed air up the water tube to clear out ant debris or better yet find the pee hole and do it from there thus blowing any debris out the larger tube as compared to trying to get junk to come out the pee hole.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

Water tube must plug into the grommet under the powerhead. It is possible to connect the lower unit and miss this hole. You can try removing the Thermostat then run water thru the Tstat hole and it should come back out the water tube ( do this with lower unit off and water tube connected through the motor leg.

Probably fried the rectifier. When you get motor running again connect a DVM set to DC volts and see if the voltage jumps to above 13 volts when you are going half speed or better. When you bring it back down to idle the voltage should go back down. If not rectifier is trash.

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

Thank you for your replies! I will break down the lower unit today and see if I missed the hole, and see about gasket sealer. Does the type matter as I have another type on hand?

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

I saw in my manual that some models came with a gasket below the backing plate, so I took the water pump apart and put in a gasket I made and used compressed air. Nothing really blew out, but there was an improvement in water flow. Still not a stream, more like heavy spitting. Is this enough? Next I will put the gasket sealer in there as well. We wanted to go today, and it takes 24 hours to cure.
Took it to the lake, and it ran ok for a few minutes, but I shut it down a couple of times, and before long it would not start back up. At the end, it was like a safety switch or something. Can it shut itself off when it overheats? How?
I also had some clunking when shifting, and I suspect a brass horseshoe looking piece that either is a yoke, or sits on the yoke. It was worn on one side, and I wonder if there is enough slop in it to make a delay in the shifting, and a clunk when it goes in.
The rectifier is probably dead, as I left the lake with a dead battery.
What an exiting first launch! LOL!

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

Over heating will cause metal to expand and then cause the pistons to sieze. I have had my chrysler do this a couple of times and have been lucky to not experience any real damage from this. when the engine cools down it will contract and start back up again. Maybe the newer unit required it but my water pump has no gasket in it and one is not called out in the manual. Are you sure there is an impeller key in the drive shaft. When you installed the impeller you turned the drive shaft clockwise when you pressed the water pump down on it. Does your impeller have a brass insert in the middle or is it all rubber? How many vanes does the impeller have 10 or 6?

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

Yes, the pin is in, and it has more than six vanes. Brass insert. I was sure to get the water tube in, as well. I followed my manual as to the way the bent vanes point upon assy.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

Back flush is the next thing to do. Does your motor have a clear plastic tube going to the thermostat? Older chryslers had this. With lower unit in a garbage can filled with water do you see water traveling through this? Try removing the thermostat and see if water flows then. Caution with this is the bolts are probably corroded to the housing and will break easy. Last resort would be taking the exhaust plates off of the port side. Here again chances are real high that these bolts are corroded and will fuse to the motor and break. This is a tough area to repair if this happens so it is best to do the back flush as see if water comes down. You want to run water through the thermostat housing with the Tstat out. Leave the water tube connected through the motor leg with the lower unit removed. Is water coming out the tube when back flushing?

Examine the water pump. If it looks pitted inside or the exit piece is worn or burned replace the whole pump. I believe new they are about 45 bucks

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

The water pump looks ok, though the backing plate seemed a little less flat before tightening down the screws. Funny, I already tapped new threads for new bolts in thermostat housing because two were broken, and I broke the third one upon removal. Imagine my surprise when there was no thermostat at all. You think the previous owner ran it w/o one? The bolts were probably original, and must have been in for a long time.
I did see water drops in the clear tube after running the motor, but I wasn't watching during running. I will back flush as soon as I can.
Thank you!

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

If you get this fixed you are going to want to put a thermostat in. There are three parts. Thermostat, grommet and the gasket. Post your model number and I will see if I can find part numbers and costs for these.

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

I bought a new thermostat, and cover gasket previously. I made the inner gasket, but when I buy the gear shift yoke arm (already called, he's looking it up) I'll order the inner gasket as well. So far, he (parts guy at Waymack Marine) has found everything I need.
FYI 1971 #557 HC 55 HP.
Thanks again!

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

Here is a link for the powerhead. I dont want to publish the link here cause I kept the file kind of large for detail. I do not see a inner gasket. Just parts 103.104 and 105. Part 105 is a grommet not a gasket. Parts 85 thru 87 is where I hope is where your problem is not. I took these off of mine and busted 3 bolts doing it. I had to drill and fill all the holes with JB weld and re tap. Torque on these screws is higher then JB Weld can give so I have a slight water leak at them screws. Merc shows the thermostat and the grommet not stocked. Hope your parts guy is creative.

http://home.comcast.net/~printergod2000/ph2.jpg

 

[john from md]

Re: Plugged water tube

Euro,

Why not try epoxying studs in the head and using nuts to secure the thermostat housing? You may have to use spacers to clear the cover but they can be made rather easily.

I would not use JB weld though. I would use a Devcon product called Aluminum putty or steel putty. It is sold by a company called Brownells Inc. and is used for bedding rifle actions. I have used it to repair many small engines over the years. I have never had a properly torqued stud pull out of this stuff.

Their website is www.brownells.com.

Regards,

John from MD

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

Thanks for the link, eurolava. I see that I was calling the grommet a gasket, as my parts guy did. He says he can get it, and the yoke (is this called a dog clutch, as well?), too. We'll see. Took the lower unit off again today. I think the gasket I made for the backing plate is not working as well as gasket sealer, so I will fix that, too. Took a garden hose w/nozzle to the water tube in the leg. Water flowed through the clear tube, and back out the leg. Also a pool of water in the tell spout opening. Pool, as I had the motor tilted up. Not enough water to spray or overflow. Should I reassemble and do a running test?

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Plugged water tube

Thanks John for the link. I did the exhaust gaskets almost 4 years ago and the leakage is minimal to the point where I dont want to take it apart again. As far as JB Weld goes I have not ever had much success with it. There is a putty I used to repair my prop and a rivet hole in my boat that worked pretty good as well. Had to kneed it with my fingers and it stunk real bad but I was surprised how hard it was after a couple of hours.

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

Sorry, John. I misunderstood who you were takling to. I changed my last post.

 

[chilly1]

Re: Plugged water tube

Ok, guys. Got my head out. Hosed water through t-stat hole and it came out leg tube full stream, clear tube full, and out leg. It will take me a few days for a running test as I will fix the shifting yoke, and seal backing plate and mating surfaces of water pump housing while I have the lower unit removed. Sealant takes 24 hrs to cure.