1974 Johnson 115HP water flow thru head??

[Wishiniwuzfishin]

I was just running my 1974 Johnson 115HP in my drive on water muffs. I didn't see any water coming out the upper exhaust ports(doesn't have peehole). I ran this motor in the spring and remember water spray coming out the upper exhaust holes. I was having trouble starting the motor in the spring(it was still cold here then) but when I did get it running there was a water spray out the exhaust holes, as it should. Left it sitting and used my small fishing boat all summer and now tried starting the 115 again. It started up real easy but no water spray. I did some searching on here and found some posts that made it sound like (if I understood correctly) if I unhooked the 2 hoses in the pics (where arrows pointing) and hooked motor up to muffs the water pressure should force water out the 2 outlets where the hoses are unhooked. I tried this but no water came out. Should water have come out?
2nd pic just shows a better overall view

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1974 Johnson 115HP water flow thru head??

Water should come out of both outlets if the water pump is functioning (engine running), or if enough water pressure is applied to the water in the water pump to force it through the watertube.

 

[Wishiniwuzfishin]

Re: 1974 Johnson 115HP water flow thru head??

Thanks for the quick reply ezeke. I was hoping one of the "experts" was online. I forgot to mention when I first unhooked the hoses after running the motor no water came out of the hoses or outlets and they looked pretty dry, as if no water had been thru them recently. When I tried to "force" water thru without motor running, using the muffs, no water at all flowed anywhere. I was using decent water pressure but my muffs were malfunctioning a little. I have the "deluxe" muffs that split into a Y after the water inlet from the hose so it is supposed to provide water to both sides of lower leg water inlet. But 1 of the tubes cracked so it was only pushing water into 1 side. I"m not sure if it was going in 1 side and out the other but none was coming out the top outlets where I disconnected the hoses. The muffs were working when I was running the motor. The muff tube broke after I was running the motor so that was not the problem. I think I'll try to repair the muffs or buy a new set and try again before going further.
Kind of ironic that the cooling system seemed to be working fine when I was having a heck of a time getting the motor started. Now when it could hurt it to run if it's not cooling, it starts right up.

 

[EricJRW]

Re: 1974 Johnson 115HP water flow thru head??

When was the last time the water pump was serviced? Might be time for a new impeller.

 

[Wishiniwuzfishin]

Re: 1974 Johnson 115HP water flow thru head??

Not sure how old the impeller is. I bought the motor in Feb. without hearing it run. Normally I wouldn't buy like that but I got a great deal on boat/motor/trailer package. (winter special). Tried starting it to check it out thru Feb. and March whenever weather co-operated. Like I said, was hard to get running but when I did get it started it seemed to run good and pump water good. But when it got warm enough to fish, I just got my little 12 footer out and forgot about this one. Must be a "warm weather engine" because today it started up pretty easy. My first thought when I noticed no water spray was just to replace impeller. But after consulting my factory manual (and never having replaced an impeller before), I decided to do some more checking. The manual said I would need some special tools. It says I need a 5/8 thin wall socket for 1 gearcase screw, a special tool (seal protective sleeve tool #318674) to install pump housing, and a special tool (seal installer tool #318673) to install new seal in impeller housing cover. I have several 5/8 sockets so I'm hoping one will work but I'm not sure about the other tools. Are they really necessary or can I improvise?