Old Sea King Outboard - No Water Circulation?

[gibbywmu2000]

Hi Everyone,

My Uncle gave me an old Sea King outboard. Its in great shape, and I fired it up for a bit. Problem is, I don't believe it is circulating water. I removed the lower unit and checked the water impeller, and it looks almost brand new. I reinstalled (correctly of course, I checked and double checked). It is still not spitting any water out of the discharge area.

Pics attached (I tried to view them, but they may be too small?) Can anyone else let me know what the issue might be? The entire exhaust housing area gets very hot, so I know something is not right. I also removed the water cover plate, for "bucket testing", like it says in the manual........still nothing.

Any suggestions?

 

[gibbywmu2000]

I can't seem to view these pics up close, of course the file size issue is a problem on this site. These pics are all less than 1MB but for some reason they are showing very small.

 

[Willyclay]

It appears that you do not have the motor deep enough in the water bucket to prime the water pump impeller. Need something like a trash can filled to just below the exhaust bypass outlet opening that is about halfway down the exhaust housing. Good luck with that old beauty!

 

[gibbywmu2000]

Hmmmm.......The manual doesn't say exactly how deep to submerge the motor, so thats probably true. I'm trying to picture it, can you edit one of those pics I've attached and show me just how far it has to be submerged? What do you mean by priming the water pump impeller?

 

[Willyclay]

[/ATTACH]
It is still not spitting any water out of the discharge area.

This picture shows the "exhaust by-pass outlet" to which I referred that you called the "discharge area". When using a barrel, I like to begin the running with the water level just below this opening. If you submerge this opening, it may cause hard starting due to excessive back pressure. My comment about priming the water pump impeller was an attempt to explain what has to be achieved for the motor's cooling system to work properly in a barrel. Bottom-line, there has to be enough water in the barrel to displace any air in the water pump housing. Sorry for any confusion I may have created.. Good luck!

EDIT: The second picture did not show when I tried to incorporate it in my response.

 

[gibbywmu2000]

Thanks so much! I seemed to have got it working when I tried in the trash can. My neighbor and I took it out for a test run, but it overheated and seized up after about 20 min. I'm not sure if it was because it was too weedy in the shallow river or if it was because I forgot to put the water cover plate back on. From reading the manual the water cover plate on helps water enter when you are going in reverse so I don't see how this would have affected it.

Any other suggestions for why it might have overheated if the water impeller is ok? I'm not sure how much water is supposed to come out of that discharge area, but it was not a lot.

 

[Willyclay]

The weeds certainly could have been the cause if the water pickup tube under the AVP was blocked. Make sure that is clear and try it again in the trash can after it has cooled down overnight. Hopefully, it did not do any major damage. Not a lot of water will be visible out of the exhaust bypass outlet until you are running at high-speed on a boat on the lake/river when the back pressure in the lower unit is the greatest. IMHO the absence of the water inlet cover plate should not have caused the overheating but I have been wrong many times when trying to troubleshoot an outboard motor. Good luck!

 

[WIMUSKY]

Does it have a thermostat? If so, take it out for now and see if the water circulates good...... I believe there is something about the plate on the water pump. I think after years of use they tend to bow out and reduce the water circulation. I believe they should be flat. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...... I had a '70 'Rude I messed with the plate per a mechanic and it made a difference....

 

[F_R]

The water plate must be on when running at any speed on a boat. The channel behind it transfers the water from the inlet screen behind the prop, to the water pump. Without the plate the water from the inlet screen just slops out the opening where the missing plate is/was. BTW, the prop force-feeds water into the inlet screen, then it goes behind the plate to the water pump.

 

[Willyclay]

F_R to the rescue once again. That's why I love this forum.

 

[gibbywmu2000]

Thanks guys! I decided to buy a brand new 4 stroke 5HP motor. If this old Sea King is ok, anyone have an idea on what its worth?

 

[gibbywmu2000]

Hmmm.......no input? Anyone have any ideas on what I could get to sell this Sea King Motor? Whats it worth?

 

[F_R]

A lot depends on where you are. And horsepower. I would hate to even offer a guess, but lets say $50-100 for a negotiation starter.

 

[ronboonville]

check that inlet screen...