Help; no water out pee hole

ctak

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Sep 24, 2001
Messages
84
I've got a 15hp evinrude kicker (ser. no. E15RCIS) that has no water coming out the tell tale hole. When I put the muffs on yesterday there was a little stream coming out.. but not as strong as I remember and it was rather hot. NOw today I took her out and no water was coming out. Can I use compressed air and blow back into the engine from the tell tale hole? Also what is the best way to check where the restriction is. <br /><br />I've dropped the lower unit and checked the impeller and it looked fine so I put her back together.<br /><br />Thanks
 

Cricket Too

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 14, 2003
Messages
1,732
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

If you take the hose off of the tell tale and the motor you can blow through it and try to blow out anything that could be stuck in there, but if that doesn't work I would replace the impeller even if it looks good, you should do it every two years or so. You might not be able to physically see anything wrong with it, but it could be shot. Good Luck.
 

blueboat1

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Apr 29, 2003
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Re: Help; no water out pee hole

I can't imagine why you'd put it back together and not put a new impeller in it if you where unsure enough to check it. Not bashing just trying to save you time in the future. Do you run it in salt water? I have seen a similar issue in a 6hp kicker used in salt water. The salt will crystallize in the passages and cause a condition like you mentioned.
 

ctak

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Sep 24, 2001
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84
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

Thanks for the replys.... OK I've replaced the impeller and still the tell tale is rather weak and gets hot after a few minutes. I do run the motor in salt water so there may be some crystalization in the water lines. How do I do about cleaning them out? Do I need to take the engine apart? I was thinking about pulling the head cover and looking at the thermostat and see what else I could check. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 

oldboat1

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Apr 3, 2002
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Re: Help; no water out pee hole

I also run in salt water, but it's not necessarily the salt water that is the issue. If you know the motor is overheating (can't hold your hand on top of the head because it's too hot, or you have used temp sticks), first check the thermostat for function or a blockage. You can try running it without the t.stat to see if that makes a difference. Beyond that, I like to force water up through the inlet tube to try to clear blockages (unfortunately, means taking the lower unit off again). If water is flowing back out the way it should be, you can be pretty sure it's circulating through the passages the way it should. If you find the water is blocked, you have to find the blockage. To do that, I remove the head cover and the exhaust port cover, and again force water through the passages until I know it's clear. You will need new exhaust cover gaskets and a head gasket (usually) to put it back in running order.
 

ctak

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Sep 24, 2001
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84
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

When you say force water up through the inlet tube... do you just mean hooking up a hose and turning it on... or do you need more pressure? Also where should the water be coming out when you do this. Thanks,
 

ctak

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Sep 24, 2001
Messages
84
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

I've taken off the lower unit and put a hose up the inlet tube. When I turn on the water only comes out the tell tale. A little is dripping down the back cavity. Isn't a majority of the water supposed to exit down the outboard cavity?
 

ctak

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Sep 24, 2001
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Re: Help; no water out pee hole

I've now taken off the cylinder head cover and thermostat. I tested the t-stat and it's working fine. When I take a hose and force water up the intake tube the only water coming out is from the tell tale. Shouldn't there be water coming to the t-stat? I read a post where you can clean out water restrictions by removing the right hand water jacket side plate.... for the life of me I can't find this side plate. Does anyone know where this is? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,
 

Xcusme

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Apr 21, 2003
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Re: Help; no water out pee hole

Ctak,<br />Yes, usually you should see a gusher of water out of the thermostat opening if you're moving water up the water tube to the power head. If your motor suffered an overheat, you may have melted the upper water tube grommet (seals the water tube to the power head). When this grommet deforms from the heat, it restricts the water flow from the water pump to the power head. I'm also assumming that all water passages are not clogged with salt, mud, old impeller pieces or dead mice ect.<br />Removal of the power head is usually the only option to replace this upper water tube grommet.
 

ctak

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Sep 24, 2001
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84
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

To remove the power head do I need to take everything off... flywheel, carb, etc.? Also does the powerhead just lift up once the bolts are taken out or do you have to be careful w/ parts falling out? It's kinda funny... when I force water up the inlet tube water comes out the tell tale but nothing going to the t-stat area. I can blow air back thru the tell tale tube and it comes right out the t-stat area... seems that if water comes out the tell tale and then air comes out from the tell tale to the t-stat area then water in the inlet should come out the t-stat area. But Blowing air in the tell tale and blocking up the t-stat cavity won't get air back to the inlet tube. This ones go me stumped. Looks like I'll have to take her apart to find out what's going on.
 

Xcusme

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Apr 21, 2003
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Re: Help; no water out pee hole

Ctak,<br />Before you get nuts and yank the power head, take a deep breath and do some more investigation. You can get to just about all of the cooling passages by removing the outer and inner exhaust covers ( the tell-tale is connected to the outer exhaust cover, this is the one you asked about) and the head of the motor. Since you already have the water cover off (it sits on top of the cylinder head), remove the head and inspect the water passages. Clean out any debris, mud,sand,scale etc, and flush all passages. <br />You'll need 2 gaskets for the exhaust covers (one inner, one outer), a head gasket, and a water cover gasket. Pick-up and new thermostat and gasket too. Do it right one time, the first time. Keep us posted on your progress. BTW, passages that will pass air, won't always allow water to pass.
 

ctak

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Sep 24, 2001
Messages
84
Re: Help; no water out pee hole

Thanks for the information. As I look at the exhaust cover the two bottom screws are extremely difficult to get to. In fact the bottom one won't come out (it hits the cover). Is there a way to get to these without bent wrenches? That's why I was thinking I need to remove everything.
 
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