Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

[Bearcamp]

I have a 1981 Glastron with a 1981 Mercury 90hp that I just bought and had out for the maiden voyage tonight. The problem I found, I was getting water under the flooring. Here there's a hose going from the motor lower unit through a hole and to the inside of the boat in the rear. What happened was the hose was connected with an adapter and was pulled apart, therefore water was being pumped inside the boat. What is the purpose of the hose? The motor has a good pee stream, but why the hose and why pumping water?

 

[Gevans17]

Re: Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

probably the pick up for the speedometer?

 

[Bearcamp]

Re: Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

So then my pitot to operate the speedo is on the Merc lower unit?

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

Yup, IIRC the '79-and-up Inlines had this feature. Take a look on the leading edge of the lower unit and you'll probably see a small, notched hole; this is for the speedo pickup. There will be a tube coming up out of the shift shaft area.

To prevent the in-hull splice from separating again, use a couple of tie-wraps to secure the hoses to the connector.

This type of pickup seems to work a lot better than the old-style "on the transom" type and you don't get near as many problems with the pickup getting fouled by debris. Plus its placement at the centerline of the boat gives more stable and consistant speedo readings.

One more possibility, do you have a water pressure gage, and did the water come in when the engine was running with the boat stopped, or only when underway?

HTH.............ed

 

[Bearcamp]

Re: Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

Yes I do have a PSI gauge and really I believe the water only came in when under way. It still read about 10 psi with the hose disconnected.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Merc 90hp with water hose going from engine to boat?

I have an '02 90 3 cyl that has it too. I think my son's '95 150 has it also. Either the hose broke somewhere probably due to friction, or it may have come off the end of the speedometer.

Mark