I just replaced the water pump & thermostat & relocated the tell tale to the top of the head on my 90 60 hp Johnson. In the water pump kit was information on moving the tell tale & it had a couple parts for that job if one was doing it. The fitting in my cowling that the hose hooked up to was called a restrictor in that literature & It said to replace it with a grommet that was included in the water pump kit that just snuggly holds a 3/16 or 1/4 hose as it exits the cowling. Between having a good working impeller & that restriction gone from the tell tale hose I can't hold my hand under the pee stream for more than about 3 seconds & it starts to get painful from the pressure of the stream. If that thing was sticking straight out the side 180? it would spray for probably 20' or more. I'm not sure that having a stronger tell tale is any advantage over a weaker one but it lets a fellow realize how much pressure that pump can create. It was a pretty straightforward job on this particular motor. There was a machined place on the right side of the head that was already tapped to 1/8" pipe threads & was in the water jacket & all I had to do was drill the remaining 3/16" or so at the bottom of that hole & put my fitting in & it was done. I suppose if a guy was careful & greased his bit up good you could do it without removing the head with no danger but I wanted to take a look in the cylinders since it had been hot & I wasn't sure just how hot it had gotten. If you're thinking of moving your tell tale to the top of your motor (especially if you have one of these 3 cyl like mine) do it. It's a pretty simple job & I think getting away from having air pockets at the top cylinder is more than enough motivation to do it. Have fun & stay safe! Jim.
