1988 125 HP Force Rebuild

[Sandy-man]

Ha ha ( oops ) , I thought it was the po that had fitted the impeller.
As for the flywheel yeah ,I was going to suggest perhaps drilling an appropriate lookin sized hole but breakin a bit off would do too .
I have one of them hydraulic engine cranes for lifting stuff ,worth its weight in gold ,....I have even used it to pull out fence posts and my old hedge ....much to the amusement of the neighbours .
Its always good to finish a project like this when it leaps into life without drama and you zoom off over the water .

I am not the one who fitted the impeller that failed and as a result trashed my cylinder block. I fitted one after that dreadful day but the motor hasn't been run since then.

 

[Sandy-man]

My good old fashioned cherry picker, aka tree branch and come along, worked great as it always does. Powerhead is now bolted into place on the motor leg and all the new parts I ordered have arrived. The weather this week in southern Michigan is supposed to be in the mid to upper 90's with heat index well above 100. So I will only be working on this project for a couple hours each morning. With any luck I will have it all done by the end of next week.

 

[Sandy-man]

Well I got her running today with the lower end in a large tote full of water. I could be wrong, but isn't water supposed to be pumping out of the holes in the pic below?

 

[Sandy-man]

Well I got her running today with the lower end in a large tote full of water. I could be wrong, but isn't water supposed to be pumping out of the holes in the pic below?

 

[Sandy-man]

Also, and I'm wondering if I should start another thread for this. When I started it cold, the choke solenoid was just barely pulling in, so I had to block the linkage with a wrench holding the choke plates closed until it started then run back to the motor and pull the wrench out. Does that mean I need a new solenoid or is there something that can be done to revive it?

 

[racerone]

Water MUST be 6" above the impeller in a test bucket.

 

[Sandy-man]

Water MUST be 6" above the impeller in a test bucket.

Oh, wow. I don't have a bucket big enough for that. So I will have to use my muffs. I was hoping enough water to keep the water inlet submerged would be enough.

Thank you, Racerone

 

[Sandy-man]

Ok, another problem in the past. I hooked up the muffs and she is pumping quite well. Thanks again, Racerone.

 

[jimmbo]

Well I got her running today with the lower end in a large tote full of water. I could be wrong, but isn't water supposed to be pumping out of the holes in the pic below?

If you ran it with out the Pump being Primed(under water), then you need to replace the Impeller, as it uses Water as a Lubricant

 

[Sandy-man]

If you ran it with out the Pump being Primed(under water), then you need to replace the Impeller, as it uses Water as a Lubricant

Are you serious? I just put a new one in yesterday.

 

[Sandy-man]

Are you serious? I just put a new one in yesterday.

It's pumping water really well right now.

 

[Sandy-man]

It's pumping water really well right now.

I will pull the lower end and take a look at it though. Thanks for the tip

 

[Mc Tool]

Are you serious? I just put a new one in yesterday.

Imagine a rubber impeller thats a tight fit in a stainless steel housing , if its dry the friction is very high and there is 125hp driving it so its going to melt down real quick ...like in seconds. If you want proof assemble the pump dry and try turning it by hand.
I have had 2 used motors I needed to replace pump housings and bases because they have melted and distorted.
If you have run the pump while dry you must at least inspect it . Running a motor on muffs is not a reliable test of a pump because the water pressure from the hose can provide enough flow thru the motor to show a good pee stream completely masking a non functioning pump .

 

[jimmbo]

Very Serious, The Vanes may look Fine, but the Top and Bottom of the Impeller are spinning on the Top and Bottom of the Pump Housing, and without Water as Lube, will suffer.
I know someone will be crowing that they run their motor out of water all the Time and it still pumps Water. Maybe they should consider buying some Lottery Tickets.
Do what you want. It is your Motor, and Money, but you have been warned

 

[Sandy-man]

Very Serious, The Vanes may look Fine, but the Top and Bottom of the Impeller are spinning on the Top and Bottom of the Pump Housing, and without Water as Lube, will suffer.
I know someone will be crowing that they run their motor out of water all the Time and it still pumps Water. Maybe they should consider buying some Lottery Tickets.
Do what you want. It is your Motor, and Money, but you have been warned

View attachment 417549

I will take your advice and pull the lower unit today and at the very least inspect the impeller and housing. What I really need is a much larger and taller tub of sorts to submerge the lower end to a minimum of 6" above the impeller.

Thank you for the advice, I do really appreciate it.

 

[Sandy-man]

Imagine a rubber impeller thats a tight fit in a stainless steel housing , if its dry the friction is very high and there is 125hp driving it so its going to melt down real quick ...like in seconds. If you want proof assemble the pump dry and try turning it by hand.
I have had 2 used motors I needed to replace pump housings and bases because they have melted and distorted.
If you have run the pump while dry you must at least inspect it . Running a motor on muffs is not a reliable test of a pump because the water pressure from the hose can provide enough flow thru the motor to show a good pee stream completely masking a non functioning pump .

Thank you, Mc, you've painted a pretty vivid picture in my mind of what the impeller might look like after just 3 different 30 second run times before putting the muffs on. I appreciate it.

 

[Sandy-man]

Well today is my lucky day. I pulled the lower unit off to inspect the water impeller and it still looks brand new, no damage was done, somehow.

I also figured out why the choke solenoid wasn't pulling all the way in and therefore had to block the choke plates closed with a wrench to get it started. I've been running all my tests using my riding lawnmower battery, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned over that big motor and started it. But apparently not enough amps to operate the solenoid. I put my jumper cables on the battery from my truck and the solenoid operated as it should. And now that I know I will soon be able to put my boat in the lake, I will spend the money for a new deep cycle marine battery.

I can just about feel the waves now.

 

[Sandy-man]

Can anyone tell me why the motor idles so high? I made no adjustments to any throttle linkage or fuel/air mixture screws when I tore the motor down to rebuild it.

 

[Mc Tool]

Can anyone tell me why the motor idles so high? I made no adjustments to any throttle linkage or fuel/air mixture screws when I tore the motor down to rebuild it.

Its happier.
Is it possible you have dialed in a tad more spark advance during reassembly ?

 

[Mc Tool]

Well today is my lucky day. I pulled the lower unit off to inspect the water impeller and it still looks brand new, no damage was done, somehow.

I also figured out why the choke solenoid wasn't pulling all the way in and therefore had to block the choke plates closed with a wrench to get it started. I've been running all my tests using my riding lawnmower battery, I was pleasantly surprised by how well it turned over that big motor and started it. But apparently not enough amps to operate the solenoid. I put my jumper cables on the battery from my truck and the solenoid operated as it should. And now that I know I will soon be able to put my boat in the lake, I will spend the money for a new deep cycle marine battery.

I can just about feel the waves now.

Think about how you connected the jumper cables at the outboard end . Is it possible you have bypassed a poor connection ...like the main earth . I got caught out when jumper cabling a motorbike , I put the neg jumper cable on the frame instead of the battery neg and bypassed the crook battery to frame earth cable .....several times ....cost me a battery and starter brushes I didnt need before I twigged .....