Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

[Timothy's crestliner]

Hey all,
I think its my first post here, i created an account a while ago..

Anyways, my boat is a crestliner a 74, and the motor is an 88 merc 90 hp with oil injection.

I've started to do some work on her again, get her back on the water this year. We took it out a few times last year, no problems, engine ran great. This year, I decided to do some maintenance including the waterpump impeller, some plugs, and new oil in the bottom end.

I'm a mechanic so tools and machinerry are a natural to me, however boat engines are a different thing altogether, and i'm always willing to learn something new. I figured i could do a w/p on a merc no problem. Put the gearcase in foreward, drained oil, and unbolted the 5 bolts that secure the lower housing. Dad had to wiggle the housing a bit, but she dropped down, and it wasn't as heavy as I thought it'd be. 4 bolts for the waterpump housing and i was able to remove the oil impeller. The old one was not too bad, some rotting, but all of the fins were intact. Slid the new one in, no problem, tightened the bolts tight, but not too tight. After all was done, and new oil in the bottom end, I fired it up. Engine fired right up, and i let it idle a bit, (with flush cups of course). The tell-tale took about 30 seconds before any water peed out of it which it did before. I revved it up a little, maybe had it running 2-3 minutes, but the water never got warm. I have a thermostat if its needed.
Then something I noticed. Water was pouring out of the little hole beside the shift rod linkage and another nearby hole, which i didn't know if it was normal or not. Another 30 seconds, and the exhaust was blowing smoke, kinda bluish black looking, (it was dark, i'm not sure). I got kinda worried and shut the motor off. I'm going to restart in a short while, but other than that, it was worrying to see both the smoke, and water.

Engine supposedly has maybe 50 hours on it total. It hasn't been used much, we didn't use it for 8 years in a row, but it ran great in the water last year. I don't see how i could have screwed up a w/p replacement, but then again, theres always something to screw up. I didn't use any silicone, was i supposed to? I was under the impression that it wasn't needed.

Should i remove the housing again, and see where I went wrong? Or have I just toasted a very expensive and pristine motor? I hope not.
Theres a merc dealer near me, but i'm not rich, and don't fancy giving away a paycheck to something simple that i can fix..

Thanks for any input.
Timothy

 

[whyboats?]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

Hey Tim, I'm new to two strokes too. Like you, I have been a mechanic for years but 2 stroke boats are new to me. I too have a similar problem with an '83 80hp merc. after replacing a piston and doing an overhaul gasket set I get alot of smoke and water spraying out the upper exhaust port. If I can find out anything, I'll let you know. Between you and me, I've found that if you give too much info, people shy away from your request. Happened to me in an auto forum too. If you look at my post, there's been about 20 hits and no replies. Good luck, Frank

 

[whyboats?]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

By the way, Is the water coming out at the bottom of the lower where you can peek in and see the shift linkage?

 

[Timothy's crestliner]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

Yeah, i've noticed that with too much info, no one replies. But I like to provide as much of a detailed description as possible. I can say i'm pretty meticulous about any engine or machine I own. I try to maintain everything I own to the best possible extent. I also like to figure out how they work, and how to fix em, and keep them purring for a lifetime.
I am however, always open to new ideas, suggestions, opinions, stories or anything that can be put in a topic. I love to hear from people, and talk about machines. (i'm only 22 though, lol)

I started it up 10 mins after i typed my first message. No smoking, so maybe it was someting that needed to clear up. I'm going to try again in a little bit. The carbs have never been touched. I might get them looked at, but thats $$ and something i'd rather learn myself. It goes through 22 liters of fuel in about 2 to 2 1/2 hours maybe. I need to get this thing on the water soon so I can see how well it runs.

The water is comming out of the hole right beside where the shift rod is connected on the lower housing. I can provide a picture if its needed. It shifts in foreward, and reverse just fine.

Theres a Mercury repair shop near me if i have to take it there, I don't have a problem spending the extra $$ to ensure that anything I own will keep purring trouble-free. Either that, or maybe i'll try to find someone who knows more about these motors and can teach me a thing or two, because i'm always keen to know my own motor.

Think i'll try to find a manual for this thing, but in the meantime, anything you want to say is very much welcome by me.
Thanks folks, looking foreward to a fun boating season.

 

[98Merc150]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

First of all, your install of the new impeller was successful due to the fact that you have a good telltail. Second, your exaust will should show bluish/black/white smoke due to the oil your burning with the fuel. The top exhaust port as well as the bottom. I would just make sure that you are treating your fuel with star tron/sta-bil fuel stabilizers.Let the motor run for 5-10minutes and most of the smoke should clear and you should still see some, that is what you want.

 

[electricjohn]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

I have the same motor as you, right down to the year. Every thing you described seems normal. My tell tail never gets hot, but the water coming out of the prop (when using flush cups) will after running a minute or two. The only thing I find odd is, my tell tail starts shooting water almost immediately after start up. My motor has over 1000 trouble free hrs. on it.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

I agree with the TMI comments.

However, you should not have water coming out the top of the midsection. When you did the water pump, you wrecked the seal between the water pump and the delivery tube, so a lot of water is going into the mid instead of the power head. Replace that seal, and lube it this time when you install the lower.

Smoke from a 2 cycle generally indicates mis-firing. Best guess is a weak lower crankshaft seal coupled with water unnaturally being pushed against that seal gets water in the lowest cylinder and causes it to mis-fire. If the bottom plug is squeaky clean, that would further advance the theory. Best fix the seal before it takes out the lower bearing and leans out the lowest cylinder.

Next time, describe the motor, state the problem, ask for help, skip the history.

hope it helps
John

 

[Timothy's crestliner]

Re: Installed new waterpump, now smokes?

I figured it might be something like that.

What you mean is the output seal of the pump that goes to the powerheads is possibly leaking? Not the seal that houses the waterpump?

Probably will wreck the motor if i keep running it like this? It has a good flow on the tell-tale so i'd assume the powerheads are getting sufficent water. I'll visit the dealer mon morning.

Thanks
Timothy