No water coming out

[usmcbucfan]

I hate to sound stupid here, but I have an older 50 horse merc that has been sitting for a while. Last time I ran it it had no problem with the water output (I'm not really sure what the technical name for that is so I'll call it a stream). however, when I started it up again, there was no stream. I replaced the impeller kit with all the gaskets and whatnot, there still is no stream, but now it is coming out of the exhaust. I took the lower unit back off and there was an extreme amount of sand in the water pump area. I tried to force water in through the water intake tube and it still had no stream, but it came back out of the exhaust. I also pulled the tube off of the top of the engine and blew through it and it seemed to be stopped up, but no water would come through the hole on top. Lastly, there was some water leaking out from the middle of the engine but not in a large amount. Once again, I'm new at this and I'm sorry if I sound too stupid. Thanks for any help you may have.

 

[achris]

Re: No water coming out

This isn't stupid. This is a common problem with motors that haven't been run for a while. Without more info on the water leaking out of the middle of the engine it's difficult, but some of those engines leaked water from around one (or more) of the spark plugs. The block cover needs to come off and the gasket or the cover and gasket needs to be replaced. As for no water out of the top of the block, is it get hot on the very top of the block? Have you blown air into the fittting at the top of the block as well as down the telltale tube?<br /><br />Chris.........

 

[usmcbucfan]

Re: No water coming out

There was no water coming out of the spark plugs, it was lower than that and there really wasn't a lot of it, maybe a few drops here and there. I didn't blow down into the block at all, just down the telltale tube. One other thing unrelated to this (I hope) is the the drive shaft has a lot of play up and down (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch). Is this normal or not?

 

[usmcbucfan]

Re: No water coming out

oh yeah, the serial number is 5799109. Don't know if that helps anybody, but I thought I'd put it out there

 

[achris]

Re: No water coming out

Movement in the driveshaft (of that magnitude) is normal. The motor is 1981 model, built in the USA.<br /><br />Chris.........

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: No water coming out

If you are getting water coming out of the motor, at least you know the pump is working. Don't try to take off the water cover unless neccessary as you WILL snap most of the bolts and powerhead removal and re-tap will be needed.Some water will come out of the two holes at the back and out of the prop, but it sounds like the water tube or higher up has a blockage with dry sand.I have exactly the same motor as you 1980 Australian made.<br /><br /> http://www.myfishingpictures.com/watermark.php?file=527/1413merc50b-med.jpg <br />The tell tale tube comes out of the top of the block and runs down the side behind the coils. You may have to remove it and run the motor to see if water comes out the top.

 

[usmcbucfan]

Re: No water coming out

If there is sand blocking something, where could it have come from first, and second, how do I get rid of it?

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: No water coming out

Sand can get picked up when you get in shallow water and as there is only a small screen type filter under the waterpump it will pass through the motor usually with no harm done. Do you flush it every time after use with muffs ?

 

[Oldsaltydog]

Re: No water coming out

Do you have a thermostat? -- the pee hose is usually conncected to its housing. If you do, have you taken off the housing and cleaned the area out?

 

[andrewkafp]

Re: No water coming out

No thermostat on these motors

 

[usmcbucfan]

Re: No water coming out

I've only ran the boat once, that was when it broke down on me and sat for a couple of months because I couldn't get it to start. Then I got it to start, but it wouldn't run, so it sat for about 6 months or so. Last time I started it (6 months ago) it had a stream, so I guess I might not have got all the dirt out. If it is clogged, what exctly can I do to flush it?