an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

[avanti16]

OK so i have a 50 hp merc 2 stroke. 1982, thunderbolt ignition. when i ran the boat for the first time nothing came out of the tell-tale. so i just replaced the impeller and gaskets, rotated the driveshaft CLOCKWISE while lowering the housing back on, and had the keyway in place. Now i start it and still no water out of the tell-tale.??? I also noticed that while it was apart, there is a hose that comes straight up with a plug on the end, it was cracked in half so i replaced it and kept the cap on it. this hose is located on the bow side of the driveshaft. any info or tricks to help me out?

when i have some more time i plan on taking it apart again to inspect my work. I know the tell-tale tube was in place. Maybe the keyway wasnt secure? I do have warm water coming from the prop, Powerhead get hot, but you can leave your hand on it for a good 10 seconds, i ran the engine about 3-4 times, for a total of 2-3 minutes all together. Im scared to run it any longer. I blew down the tell-tale tube and had no problem doing so. any help is appreciated!

EDIT: I had my uncle standing behind the boat, he said that the muffs loked like they were being sucked in when the motor started, so it seems like the impeller is spinning? sorry if this sounds dumb, im a newb with boats, but great with car engines lol.

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

I have the same motor and recently replaced the impeller as well. First time no watercame out of peehole....took apart again and never had the key-way in properly....assembled again and had water but couldn`t shift ....took 5 attempts to get the splines for shifter in properly. If the muffs are being sucked inwards maybe you should increase the water pressure a slight amount...it does take about a minute or two to get the motor to develop enough heat to open it to dump the xcess water out by the way. It shoots a steady stream about 2 feet when running properly. I hope this was some help to you .....good luck with the merc buddy !!!

PS ....mine has the hollow plastic tube with a plug as well....cant find it on the schematic in the service manual.....may be some kind of vent as it looks like it comes out of the lower drive gears......wish I knew what it is for!

 

[Chevrolet2]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

I just replaced my impeller two days ago, no water at first, but I noticed that my hose colapsed when I started the motor. Ran to the hose bib and opened it all the way (full pressure) and all was good. Took approx. 30 sec for the water to start coming out.

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

i appreciate the help guys... Yea i saw the hollowed blocked hose and was like what the **** lol. Im going to take it apart again one day this week and go through everything again.. and again if needed lol. motor runs strong, and striper season is right around the corner, gotta get her ready to go! lol.. Ill post back when i tare into her again. thanks again!


EDIT: im also gunna put the motor in a drum and run it, my hose has a good amount of pressure but ive read that being in a drum could make a difference? we shall see.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

That small rubber hose is likely a speedometer pickup hose. if so, you should see a small hole in the leading edge of the gearcase, below it, which is the water intake for the speedo pickup. it is not necessary, so don't sweat it.

Inline Mercs should run dead cold on the flusher device at idle. Water from the prop may be warm, but the block will be cold, if everything is working as it should. Pull the telltale hose off the elbow on the cylinder head water jacket cover and observe the stream. it should be full and cold, when idleing on the flusher device.

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

And the tell-tale should be spraying water immediately once the motor fires.

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

If i check out my work and everything checks out ok, what else could cause the water to not come out the telltale? the housing didnt look warped, no scratches, perfectly smooth. possibly a pinhole/crack in the pickup tube? im hopin it turns out that the keyway didnt stay in place. but life is never easy when working on engines right? lol

also. i replaced the metal plate and all gaskets. all installed the correct way. didnt use any sealant on anything. ill be able to take a look at it tomorrow, hopefully its something easy.

 

[Barrolde]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

Hi Folks,

Hope I am not highjacking here but I have a similar problem and hoping my experience can help the OP here and hopefully get my problem fixed as well. Same vintage motor w/ thunderbolt ignition, fires and runs right away but no water out tell tale.

After removing the lower unit, I can see where the water is supposed to come from the water pump. The pump / impeller are in good shape and appear to be working.

What confuses me is that when I push compressed air in the tell tale hose it comes out the intake tube in the leg but if I block the intake tube w/ a finger, the air escapes elsewhere. Is there a baffle on this tube or something? I would have figured it would be a solid loop...

Along the same lines if I force water or air either into the tell tale tube or into the intake tube in the leg, I can't get it to come out the other end. I am just wondering where and and why it would be escaping somewhere else. I am trying to get it cooling without taking the power unit off... any ideas?

Thanks!

BR

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

Honestly what it is starting to sound like to me, is misaligned intake tubes, for lack of a better term. I mean the copper tube that sticks out of the impeller housing and also fits into the base of the powerhead near the driveshaft. I think your models should have this. If you pull the impeller housing off, there should be a small circular plastic fitting underneath the copper intake tube. If that fitting is not in place right, it will allow substantial amounts of water to leak out from the base of the impeller housing. It has happened to me before. The plastic fitting seals off the bottom of the copper tube when the lower unit is bolted into place. Also, if that tube is not properly aligned with its hole on the powerhead end, that can cause issues. Sometimes when trying to get your LU back on right, you can bend the end of that tube so it is not perfectly round. I have seen them almost flat, which can obviously cause serious issues.

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

im gunna give this a try tomorrow. There is no rubber o-ring or anything that fits on the tube from the housing to ensure a good seal? im also gunna run some sort of a probe up in there to see if the path is clear. this motor did sit since 2008 and i found what looked like a small wasps nest by the impeller casing. the motor runs very strong, but i cant tune it or get a can of seafoam through the carbs without it running lol. i really appreciate all the help guys, its given me a few ideas on what to do when i work on this tomorrow. No rain in the forecast for tomorrow here in jersey, so ill have all day to get frustrated lol. thanks again and ill post back with my findings, who knows maybe this thread could help other people out later on.

Edit: I just read the part of your post about the small fitting. My housing doesnt have a fitting that is under it, just one that slides down the driveshaft on the outside of the housing. nothing on the piece that goes into the copper tube. it would make sense to me if there was a rubber ring that would fit into the copper tube to form some sort of a seal. but im a car guy. however i am learning a ton about outboards. thanks to iboats of course.

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

It's really not an o-ring, its just a plastic washer I guess. If there are mud dobber nests there could be something clogging the flow of water. The gaskets under the impeller housing could also be leaking.

 

[Barrolde]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

MacDad, could very well be and I hope it is. I didn't realize that this intake tube could not be aligned properly where it meets the power unit... guess I thought it was all one piece but that would explain why air is escaping between the tell tale and intake.

I will try to take a look tonight or on the weekend at latest. This copper tube that runs the length of the leg, should it just slide out or does it thread / fasten in there somewhere?

Thanks!

Barry

 

[Maxz695]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

It should press into the water tube housing in the Block baseplate and stay there securely but will wiggle back and forth. when putting up the outdrive guide the tube into the water pump housing as well as the exhaust tube you may have to turn the flywheel a bit to get the splines to align. Make sure the shifter is in the correct spot (Same as the LU) before putting it back together good luck

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

i pulled the lower unit today, and i forgot to put into full forward, so i think i just screwed myself :facepalm: ... now when i pulled the unit away two rubber pieces fell out after it, they're about an inch long each. one is flexible and tapers off to a smaller diameter, and one is not flexible. they both have threading on the inside to slip over the splines, but i dont know which is top and which is bottom. the non flexible one isnt threaded all the way down and lookes like it slips farther down the shaft splines and the tapered one would go ontop of that and then inserted into the shaft location in the engine? this is going to be a frustratung day. any help is GREATLY appreciated

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

post pictures of them if you can

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

its the driveshaft seals and seat

http://www.mercurypartsexpress.com/us/parts-search.html#mr1451ar15496

# 32 and 33 on this page. i think the whole lower assembly has to come off for these to be put back in. it would help if any place around me had manuals.

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

http://pdfcast.org/pdf/mercury-outboard-manuals-service-repair-workshop

scroll down through the list until you find the right one and click on it. You can download them for $7.95 I think. its just a big pdf you can save to your computer.

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

ahh dam, i got back to this too late. thank you very much for that link. But before i saw it i ordered a sealock manual from my parts place. The guy behind the counter said there will be a step by step on how to install the driveshaft seal and seat correctly. is this true? never realized how much $12.83 worth of parts can ruin a day lol. I REALLY appreciate all the help so far.

One question i do have is, am i going to have to unbolt the whole lower unit from under the powerhead to replace these seals? it seems like it only makes sense to do it that way.

 

[MacDaddy21]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

yeah the whole lower will have to come off to get the seals back on. No biggie though. When you do it enough times, it gets really easy.

 

[avanti16]

Re: an exhausted topic, im sure. But i need help. Tell-tale

ok thats great news. the lower doesnt seem so hard to pull off. Do you know where i can find this " special tool " ive been reading about to press in the gaskets? Youve been alot of help MacDaddy, thanks.