What did I do??

[IBEW236]

Hello all,
New to boating and new to this site. I recently purchased a 1995 15hp Force, took it out several times and it ran great. Then I began having trouble starting it, seemed like a fuel problem. This is my first boat so it took me some time to realize that there was a vent on the fuel can, thanks to this site, fuel problem resolved. Then fuel problem came back, but I found the primer bulb to be cracked. While waiting for the primer to come in, I ran the boat several times.... I primed it manually the first start of the night, then it started fine all night. While running along at it's cruising speed, it just quit, sounded like another fuel problem. ... fished for several hours before trying to restart it, started up, but sounded and felt like it was running on one cylinder. At home, pulled the plugs found lower cylinder had some water in it and no compression, pulled the head to find a blown head gasket. Replaced the head gasket, started in a barrell and ran fine. When I took it to the river tonight, it started right up and ran fine for about 5 minutes, then quit and was very hot. Got home, engine has cooled and pulls over fine with no strange noises. It is obvious that there is a cooling problem, my question is...where do I start looking, and how do I know if I did any severe damage? Sorry about the long post, but I thought the history may help. Thanks in advance!

 

[Jimmyz123_]

Re: What did I do??

I could be wrong, but it almost sounds like you may need to replace the water pump. Do you see water spitting out when the motor is running? There should be some hole on the outboard where the water should come out of.

James

 

[roscoe]

Re: What did I do??

Poor cooling, likely a broken or worn impeller, probably caused an overheat that blew the head gasket.

Motor heat seized, and likely will be ok, with no serious damage.
But, it needs a new impeller, and you should check the compression.

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

Thanks....I will check the comp and impeller today.

 

[sdunt]

Re: What did I do??

Great service related how to's, I know these are written for OMC's, but we all have water pump impellors. Max Wawrzyniak's Obsolete Outboards column: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/07/columns/max/articles.htm

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

Here's what I found...When I got to the water pump, the pin in the impeller was lodged sideways in the impeller and out of the hole that it is supposed to be in. It wore a slight groove in the driveshaft, I am assuming this groove is not supposed to be there and it also hogged out the hole in the driveshaft a bit. Do you think I should replace the driveshaft? Also, the gearcase also had a bit of milky water in it, is this normal?

 

[sdunt]

Re: What did I do??

Also, the gearcase also had a bit of milky water in it, is this normal?

Easy one 1st: milky lube = water in gear case.. Get a LU seal kit and install it.

The drive shaft. Oh, Boy. I know, I am really reassuring. Those drive shafts are stainless and you might find a replacement, you might not.

If the groove is behind the impellor, you might be able to live with it. As for the hole being worn, you might be able to have a machine shop (someone with a BIG drill press and the right sized bits) drill a new hole half way around the shaft.

I hesitate in suggesting that because I can not familiar with the size of the hole compared to the size of the shaft and whether you will weaken the shaft allot.

I sheared off a drive shaft in my 45 HP last year. Long story, very unusual situation, but I wound up with an entirely different LU. So, if you go that way, let a machinist look at the shaft and make some judgments. Remind him that this shaft spins at engine speed 5000 - 6000 RPM's

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

Let me correct myself, the "milky water" was not in the gearcase, it was the upper gearcase housing, which holds the shift rod and water tube....is it normal to have a bit of water in there?

 

[sdunt]

Re: What did I do??

Let me correct myself, the "milky water" was not in the gearcase, it was the upper gearcase housing, which holds the shift rod and water tube....is it normal to have a bit of water in there?

The entire upper gear case, the area around the water pump, is flooded when the motor is in the water.

Still if you have, milky water, you are getting grease from some where mixing with the water..

 

[Jimmyz123_]

Re: What did I do??

Personally, I would replace all the gasgets so that you know you have a good seal in all the right areas. I little extra time will be spent on doing that now, than all the troubleshooting you may do later. Sounds like your getting close to solving the problem though.

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

I think you are right.....I did get to the bottom of the impeller issue. I picked up a new one today, the center hole diameter on the new one is about 1/4" smaller than the one I took out. That would explain why the impeller would have spun on the shaft and dislodged the pin. Going to check out my driveshaft situation a little closer tomorrow and see what I have to do there.

 

[Jimmyz123_]

Re: What did I do??

Good Luck, I hope it all works out for you. When all you want to do is get out on the water and have a fun day. I just got my boat operational after 3 years of working on it. The boat itself needed work, a lot of work, the motor just needed to be replaced and tuned up. I had an old Mercury 85hp but didn't want to invest the time and money into getting it to work, so I bough a newer motor for $800, it's a 1988 85hp force. I love it. Good luck with what you find.

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

I put the new drive pin in the driveshaft, it's nice and tight so I just reinstalled the impeller. Put everything back together and it appears to be running fine. Have had it out the past few days for a couple of short trips....it is starting fine and staying cool.........hopefully I am good for the season. Jimmy....when I was buying the impeller and talking to the shop owner about my frustrations, he was kind enough to give me a price on a new Yamaha four stroke, which really got me thinking. One more little problem and I think I may have purchased it. Thanks to all for the help in my repairs!!

 

[Jimmyz123_]

Re: What did I do??

Glad to see that you are on the water again. That's why we buy these things, so that we can get them out and get them wet. They do no good sitting in a yard or driveway. Congrats, I hope all works well from here on out. Just wondering, what was the price you were quoted?

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

2150 manual start, 2250 electric start.....15 hp four stroke......

 

[baxtr]

Re: What did I do??

IBEW? electrician ?


UBC 344

 

[IBEW236]

Re: What did I do??

Yes....Local 236 Albany,NY