'73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

[BillBallinger]

My son took his boat out on the lake for a little test after we made a few adjustments and he noted that the tell tale is flowing a spray cone more than a pee stream. He didn't run it for too long, but it stayed cool. <br /><br />What should this flow be like? And I would think that the thermostat would affect the flow too, correct? The manual is very vague on this. We were going to do an impeller (might still) but I'd hate to do it and have it not make any difference.

 

[catchingmore]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

i havea 40 hp 66 rude and it spays the same and i have never had a problem with it in the 3 yrs i have had it

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

I have a 1961 40 hp rude and it sprays the same and I have never had a problem with it in the 2 years I have had it. I even changed then impeller last year and it still sprays and does not pee. That must be due to the thermostat and not the pee hole.<br /> If the motor hasn't had an impeller change for a while, then I would recommend doing it. It is not difficult and the peace of mind is always there.

 

[Walker]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

Those are all pretty early motors. Do they even have tell tales??

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

An overboard indicater, commonly called tell tale among other names, is a small, solid stream coming from the side of the engine. The water that exits from a hole midway of the back of the mid-section is not considered an overboard indicator, but simply "where the water comes out". Your '73 engine doesn't have a true "overboard indicator" and what you're seeing is normal.

 

[BillBallinger]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

Thank you very much!

 

[reddog349]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

I have the same question last year on my 1977 and I found that if I put the rabbit ears on it and give it about 1 minute or so it will spit/mist water from the port holes and also release warm water from the holes just above the lower unit. <br />I always check this to be sure the old thermostat is doing its job.<br />By the way do the thermostat and impellor - youll find it real easy after you do it the first time and if you have a problem im sure these guys will walk ya through it like they did me.

 

[BillBallinger]

Re: '73 25 hp Johnson tell tale flow?

I guess my next question should be, where do you look and should you see to know you have good water flow on these older engines?<br /><br />One of the reasons I pause on replacing the impeller is that the unit appears to have been serviced, the bolts are nearly new. If the flow is good, We should at least go ahead and drop the unit as a dry run in case we are away from home and have to change it. I am thinking a water pump kit, a pair of points and condensors, keys, and a tap and die set with some heli coils should go in the "possibles bag" if we are going away from home.<br /><br />We live in a lake community with 16 lakes, so it won't be often!