'89 125 Lower unit issues

[EW1(SW)]

Hello everybody,
I have been lurking around here for about a month now while I have been away. As soon as I got home I put the boat in the water. The boat had not been run since May and when we got it out after about a half hour of WOT the High temp alarm went off. shut it down since we were near the fishing hole anyway. On the way back the alarm never cut on but we noticed that the stream was not there like it had in the past. Well we did some testing when we got her home to flush. We tried it in the tank and had little to no water coming out of the wee holes. so we put it on the muffs and put the pressure to it. The water came out better. While it was running I noticed a clunking sound coming from the water pump area.
This got me to thinking that it may be the impeller. So today I pulled the LU and what I found was disturbing. When I pulled the prop and the splines there was corrosion on them. The bolts were very hard to loosen and they had corrosion on them also. I lowered the LU and noticed that the rubber seal from the drive shaft was not on it and I located it up in the intermediate unit.
When I went to pull the water pump cover off it just got worse. The bolts were rusted and when I went to take them off I snapped the two smaller bolts. As I pulled it over the drive shaft I noticed that the impeller is bigger then the water pump housing. Signifigently bigger. The housing was also full of salt and corrosion. The funny thing is that I flush it in fresh water every time I use it for about 10 min. The impeller shows no real wear but the housing is pitted pretty bad and I do not think that the impeller is the right one.

So for my questions:
1. What impeller and housing do I need? I am guessing that it would be best to get a whole water pump kit.
2. How do I get the broken bolts out of the LU?
3. If the pump was working correctly (highly doubtful) how do you make sure that all the water possible is making it up the tub. I think the water tube may not have been installed correctly.
4. What can yall tell me about my motor:
Model - 1251X9C
Serial - 1073

Thanks for all the help in advance,
Talk to you later,
JJ

 

[Kajun37]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

hey EW1(SW)....AM1(AW) here

i'll try to answer some of ya questions shipmate....but hopefully the real mechanics can pop in and help ya better.

1. here is a great place to look up parts for your model
http://www.mercruiserparts.com/selectDocs.asp?doc_nbr=FOB4282

and here is the lower unit breakdown

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show.../33.png&inbr=1289&bnbr=130&bdesc=GEAR+HOUSING

if ya call ya local merc dealer and tell them your model number they will get the right one for ya...and yes... in your case..buy a whole water pump kit to be sure.

2. broken bolts can be tough...try to get the old housing off hopefully leaving the bolts sticking up.. then if you can some vicegrips on them try to get them out....first spray some "PB blaster"(get it at autozone) on them and let them soak over night.....if they broke flush with lower unit housing..there is probably noway to get them out other than drilling them out...at that point you bring it to a machine shop, do it yourself or get another lower unit.

3. if the pump is working correctly you will have water coming out the exhaust ports stronger at idle..less while running

4. you pretty much know all about it.. its an 89 force..prob made by US marine

also if you dont have one...buy a "Cylmer" manual off ebay for you motor.. its a must have if you plan on working on your own motor.....also a compression checker and spark tester is 2 other must have's, i got the cheap ones at autozone..works great....

hope this helps..let us know the outcome... and welcome to iboats..this is one of the great places to learn how to work on your motor...

 

[roscoe]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

kajun pretty much covered it.

Flushing is good, but these parts will not last forever when used in salt.

Install a complete water pump kit.
The impeller does have to be squished into the housing, as this is a displacement pump. The impeller is also "off center" in the housing, making it a tighter fit on one side.

The prop should be removed periodically, to grease the prop shaft.

Also replace the thermostat, and be careful taking the screws out.

Always use new screws when installing these parts.

 

[EW1(SW)]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

Kajun, Roscoe Thanks for all the help.d
Here is an update from yesterday. Went to West Marine here on the Island and the kid there (I stress KID, couldn't have been older then 18-19) got this impeller of the shelf and put it in the housing and said that it will work. When I looked at it the impeller was loose and also about 3/4 of an inch too short. These things are not big to begin with and he found a smaller one. I asked if he could look it up and he told me that the only product that he carries or can get is what he has. Mind you this is a national chain and a well refered chain here in NE Florida. Needless to say I left there scratching my head and with old parts in hand.
Went to NAPA and all they could order from Sierra was the impeller, no gaskets or housing. But did get a little more assistance there. Also picked up a can of Deep Creep and sprayed the bolts and let them sit over night. There is a bit of the broke off bolts sticking up. I am going to get a pair of needle nose vise grips and see if I can get it out. If not my next step may be to drill them out.
I did find a water pump repair kit online and need to call them and see about getting one. it looks like the kit in the Selnco manual. Is the Cylmer manual any better? But still having an issue finding the housing. If all else fails then I will just try to refurb the one I have.
Any more advise would be greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thanks for everything.
JJ

 

[roscoe]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

The only place you will find a complete water pump kit or housing is at a Mercury dealer, or at mercruiserparts dot com

Use the link in Kajun37's post above to get it.

Or go to mercurypartsexpress dot com

 

[EW1(SW)]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

Hey Roscoe is this the Kit that I need?


Water Pump Kit With Housing 2011 85 HP 1975-85
125 HP 1981-89 A, B, COE: FK1069

I found it http://www.seatemp.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d8.html

 

[roscoe]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

Appears to be the one.
That is the same part that NAPA can get for you, in 2 days, and you won't have to pay shipping.

But I still prefer the original Mercury parts, even tho they cost more.

 

[EW1(SW)]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

OK so now that I got the part info. How do I get the broke off bolts out? One is broke off in the lower unit and the other is only a bit above the metal. How do I get them out or should I just replace the oil seal plate that it mounts onto? Help please.
Thanks,
JJ

 

[roscoe]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

One of those screws is 1.625" long, the other is 2.625" long.

You may be able to remove the "seal plate", and remove them from the bottom side.

Do not remove the shift rod.
Just loosen the seal plate and slide it up.

You will have to remove it, if you need to drill it out anyways.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[EW1(SW)]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

Ok, here we go again.:| I am looking to possible replace the whole lower unit. Will a LU from a 85 125 fit on an 89 125?
Thanks,
JJ

 

[Kajun37]

Re: '89 125 Lower unit issues

EW1..i have a 1989 125 LU for sale... i bought it on ebay in august..but i blew my powerhead before i ever took it out of the crate...my LU i had on my motor had a clunk in it but would only clunk once or twice when i took off so i decided to just use it till it totally failed being i had a backup...one month later i blew a piston .....if ya need one let me know