Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

[rruberto]

Hello there, I have a 9.8 Mercury (late 70s) that does not eject water from the telltale.
I have tried inserting a small wire trough the tell tale and up the hole for 5-6 inches. All that I get is hot air and a bit of water and the engine seems to be running too hot.
I'm aware that damaged pieces of old impellers might have got stuck in the water duct and little flow reaches the telltale.
Now, do I have to remove the engine to clean the water duct or there is a simpler way to reach inside the water duct and allow the water to reach the telltale?

Thanks guys!

 

[Drindin]

Re: Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

I think you're going to have to remove the lower unit to get a good look. This way you can see if, in fact, the impeller needs changing. If it hasn't been replaced in the last year or two it probably needs it anyway. This is not a hard thing to do. Another possibility is that the water pump tube that leads to the telltail is not lined up right, maybe even leaking (doubt it's leaking though).

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

Thanks for the advice! I have removed the lower unit and changed the impeller and the water flow has improved, but water just drips out of the telltale and i cannot seem to get a nice stream. While i inserted a fine wire up the telltale i noticed that some sand/mud came out; therefore, i'm almost convinced that the duct is pluged somewhere.

To clean the water duct that leads to the telltale, would i need to remove the engine block, or is there a short cut to free the clean troughly the waterway?

Any imput is appreciated.

Thanks again and have a great day! (maybe is time to buy a new one... ha-ha!)

 

[Laddies]

Re: Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

On the 9.8 mercs, some melt the plastic grommet under the powerhead, others impeller parts get stuck under the exhaust plates in the water passage and worst cases in the passage from the exhaust cover to the cyl, water jacket. All 3 areas require powerhead removal

 

[Drindin]

Re: Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

I've had the same trouble before and, just on a chance, I decided to use a high pressure nozzle on a water hose and shot a fine stream of water up the tube and, luckily, it worked (flushed out the garbage that was stuck) and I didn't have to do anything else. Try that. You might get lucky. BUT, Laddies knows what he's talking about. I've learned alot just from his replies.

 

[rruberto]

Re: Mercury 9.8 Telltale clogged

Sounds good guys!

How about the flush nut that is on the right hand side of the engine, just beside the telltale? If i spray water in there will it help? Or the flush hole serves other purposes?

Thanks again for your valuable insights!