possibly the water pump???????

[greenwell001]

hey guys,

i started my boat up on muffs just to get everything freshened up (still havent got it out on the water this year) and noticed that on my exhaust (captains call)more water was coming out of the left pipe than the right....so i turned my exhaust off and ran it normally....and the same thing happened with it in silent.....i have never noticed this before and i am kinda scared that something major is wrong....it is a 5.7 with an alpha 1 gen +.....the engine temp never got over 150 but it was idleing the whole time....please does anyone have any suggestions

 

[bruceb58]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

Its normal.

 

[greenwell001]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

thank you bruceb

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

How old is your impeller?Change it at least every 2 years and more often if you use it a lot.
Water from your hose is not enough to run your boat.You have enough to check the basics but the lake or ocean has an unlimited supply.J

 

[bruceb58]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

Water from your hose is not enough to run your boat.

Of course it is.

 

[RL Gman]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

Of course it is.

^ Yep!

As others have said, normal. Was your boat and trailer level on the driveway. If not, more water will come out of the side the boat is leaning towards...

 

[greenwell001]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

1996 5.7l 2 bbl
alpha 1 s/n 0F866654 1.62 RATIO what gen is this?



i was reading another thread and i believe that i might have fried my impeller....i was adjusting my electric choke on my carb after i rebuilt it and was so focused on the carb that i forgot to turn the dang hose on and ran it for about a minute and realized what i did and shut it down.....i did pay attention to the engine temp the whole time as i was adjusting the choke....now this was about two weeks ago and didnt really think i had hurt anything....but when i started it up yesterday and noticed the water flow difference i got nervous...since the impeller is still pumping am i ok?....if i do have to change it, keep in mind that i have no idea how too, (first boat, second season) would it be possible for me to change it out without any help....i dont know how much the shop would charge me to do this but i dont want to spend a lot of money considering the 1,000 dollars i have already put in her this year....i have downloaded the manuals off the adults only sticky and feel a little overwelmed.....i dont have an alignment tool so i would only be removing the lower and i only have basic tools....what is the average rate for this kind of work at a shop? all i want to do is get out on the water and i keep on hitting brick walls...i have put a new SS prop on, rebuilt the carb, need to put the new control cables on and new teleflex control box as well.....i love doing my own maintenance on everything but have never tackled something like this....i feel like there is no end in sight and i am stuck feeling helpless and nervous about disassembling things that i have never worked on before and wondering if i can put it back together....would you guys just bite the bullet and take it to the shop or dive in with both hands if you were a newbie like me....also i propped the boat going off of a 1.5 ratio, did i screw up on this as well? sorry for the long post...thanks for any input

 

[backyard mechanic]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

As a newby to your engine and drive, it is always good to have an idea on what it is you are doing. The best investment you could put into this boat right now is a manual. You'll find it helpful on many things.

As far as your impeller being bad after a minute or two w/o water... Good chances that you're still OK. That said, don't make that a practice as it is like holding your finger on a bike tire when it's going around. Impellers are pretty tough and if you had at least some lubricant it most likely is OK. The key is does it pump water? I've seen some burn up that quick but that's not usual. The question is... was it REALLY a few minutes or was it WAY longer? To error on the better side I'd be looking at that impeller.

Water is designed to exhaust out the bellows along with the exhaust. If you see water coming from the vents on the side of the gimbel housing you are seeing only a small amount of the water exhausted. Look down at the prop and see how much is coming from that. It's a better indicator of your WP working.

 

[greenwell001]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

i didnt see any significant flow out of the prop when i shut off the thru hull exhaust.....but it was coming out of the vents pretty decent, one more than the other

 

[bruceb58]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

Water is designed to exhaust out the bellows along with the exhaust. If you see water coming from the vents on the side of the gimbel housing you are seeing only a small amount of the water exhausted. Look down at the prop and see how much is coming from that. It's a better indicator of your WP working.

No its not...Most of the water will come out of the idle ports.

 

[cr2k]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

15 seconds with out water and your impeller is toast.

 

[nola mike]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

Impellers are pretty tough and if you had at least some lubricant it most likely is OK.

the only lubricant to the impeller is the water. changing it is pretty straightforward--if you've been doing the other work you describe, you should be able to handle this no problem. don s posted a condensed version of how to replace the impeller a month or so ago.

 

[RL Gman]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

First time doing it, change it in about 2-3 hours for as little as 50 bucks (if your like me, buy everything new, and change it all while in there...spend about 150), or bring it to a dealer, and since it's prime boating time, have a two week wait, and spend 300 dollars.

If you did all of the other things you explained, this will be a walk in the park, as you said, just take off the lower unit, and follow step by step the manual.

 

[full stringer]

Re: possibly the water pump???????

make sure you have a thermostat installed without it the manifold pressures differentiate. that is not a good thing you need equal pressure to manifolds and the engine should warm up to normal operating temp even at idle i would check the thermostat in bioling water to see if it opens and closes it may just be rusty