My 120 is not getting water to the tell tales or thermostat. Because this is a new engine to me and I have no history of it I started by replacing the water pump and impeller with no change. I flushed the system and pushed water from the thermostat down to the inlet pipe with no problems. With the lower unit on I get water coming out of the propeller. Here's what I think is happening. The lower plate that the water pump bolts to has O-rings that should stop that but that still shouldn't account for no water pumping to the top when running but may reduce pressure. There is a screw in the center tab of the pump assembly aft of the high pressure tube of the water pump. I would have expected this to be a bolt and the screw is a standard SS marine screw. There is no gasket between the two pieces (other than the oil gasket forward of the water pump) so I think that the pump is losing pressure at the o-ring and the area around the pressure outlet pipe. First question, does this make sense to those of you who work on marine engines frequently (this is my first outboard excursion). Second question, is there supposed to be gaskets in the lower unit that I am missing and is there supposed to be a bolt in that aft location? Many thanks in advance.
