1972 65hp water tube problem

[MadCityMike]

One of the water tubes came out with the lower unit while trying to replace the water pump. From what I can see, it's as if it broke flush at the base of the powerhead by a previous owner because someone tried to narrow the end of it to get it to stick back in by fluting it. There's no possible way it could have been watertight with those flutes. How critical is it for the water tube to be watertight, and is there any way of fixing this without pulling the powerhead?

-Mike

 

[Daviet]

Re: 1972 65hp water tube problem

Yes it should be a water tight fit to get all the water up to the block. By the parts breakdown your engine only has 1 tube, are you sure it's a water tube?

 

[MadCityMike]

Re: 1972 65hp water tube problem

It turns out that the lower unit is from a 1969 55hp. The person who did the swap must have brought the second tube from that motor. If the 72 doesn't need it can I just get rid of the tube? The problem then is that the 69 pump has holes for two tubes. Will the pump from a 72 lower unit fit on this 69 unit since it only has one water tube hole?

 

[MadCityMike]

Re: 1972 65hp water tube problem

I was able to get my hands on the old 72 lower unit which still had the pump housing on it. Just in case anyone's curious, the 72 housing is the same as the 69 , but the bottom plate does not have a hole for the second water tube which is just a return tube anyways. The other difference is that the housing cover for 72 has the second hole blocked as well, so that hole is blocked at the top and the bottom. In other words, the water pump housings swap between lower units, but make sure to use the water pump that matches the year of the motor and not the lower unit.

-Mike