1991 150 XR4 Tell-Tale Stream

[27739]

I just bought a boat with an XR4 150 outboard. I have a question regarding the "proper" operation of the tell-tale water discharge. The Yamaha's I've owned in the past immediately started pumping water from the tell-tale when the engine was started. It was discharged from the bottom of the exhaust cover.

The merc only starts the tell-tale discharge after a few minutes of warm-up when the thermostats open up. You can see that the tell-tale hose routes up to the thermostat housing.

My question is whether or not this is normal, or did the previous owner re-route the discharge line? If it was re-routed, where did it originally source from?

Thanks.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 1991 150 XR4 Tell-Tale Stream

That's normal and a major complaint. In some cases, you can replace the thermostats with replacements that have notches built into the cap to allow a little trickle through when the thermostat is closed. Others have tiny holes drilled into the thermostat framework to allow some through for the telltale.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 1991 150 XR4 Tell-Tale Stream

Mine don't pee till it's just about warmed up. The tell-tale is fed from the thermostats, which don't open until it's warmed up. On the muffs, there's some water coming out of the prop until it warms up, then it pees and more comes out of the prop.

hope it helps.
John