Help, motor won’t pump out water!!!

OK guys need your help. My dad passed back in January and I finally am getting around to selling his boat. He has a 40hp Mercury (believe it is a 96) 2 stroke that has been stored in the garage for the last 3 years with maybe one use a year. I started it up last night and water wouldn’t come out of the “spit hole”. I am supposed to do an on the water with a potential buyer on Wednesday night but I can’t sell it unless I am sure everything works. Does anybody know any quick fixes for something like this. We had never had any problems with the motor before, and I am not real confident with tearing the thing apart. Are there any things I can look for to rule a problem out???? How do I fix it????

Dan,

The only “quick and dirty” thing I can think of would be to make sure the ports aren’t clogged up. The inlet ports are down low on the lower unit, and there may be sand or old vegetation plugging them up. Same thing with the outlet, it may have some gunk clogging it up. You could try snaking them out with a small piece of wire.

After that, I’m afraid you’re going to have to open the lower umnit up and look st the pump itself.

Good luck Dan!

Rootski

You may have already tried this, but stick a piece of fine wire into the “spit hole” a little way to see if perhaps some sand or other debris is preventing the water from coming out. I’ve had sand and other small stuff block the outlet so that no water can get out.

Before tearing anything apart, give that a whirl.

Dan

You could check to see that the tubing for the exit hole isn’t plugged, if it is, unplug it and see if it works then. Also, the inlet ports near the bottom of the lower unit could be plugged with gunk also.

If it isn’t plugged, then the water pump is most likely shot and you shouldn’t run it at all, if this is the case you will want to have it fixed before you sell.

When you had it in the water, did you speed up from an idle at all, sometimes when a pump is weak it won’t pump at an idle, but will if the motor is running a little faster, if this is the case, good news!!! you still have to replace the pump!!

Hope this helps

Rootski has a good start. Use a soft wire or even better use some weed whip cord to clear out the pee hole. (Spiders like to get in there and set up house)

I’ll assume you used the “Water Muffs” on the lower unit intakes Right? I have seen a lot of times where they don’t work too well. Try putting the lower unit in a garbage can filled with water. Give the motor a few minutes to warm up. Likely your T-Stat did not open up to let water pass through to the pee hole.

If all that fails. Drop the lower unit and replace the pump and impeller.

-J.

I’ve got a 1973 20 hp Merc that every spring it never fails I have to run a wire up the out let before the water will come out. Once I do, it works the rest of the summer. Make sure you go far enough up.
WarrenMN

There is a very good chance the impeller has dried up and cracked from 3yrs of sitting. If youre sure its pumping ok, try blowing compressed air into the outlet hole to dislodge the debris

If the wire up the pee hole doesn’t work follow the hose up the back of the motor where it 90’s pull the hose off and blow through sometimes the wire can’t get that far up.

Thanks guys, kind of scrambling right now. I am totally worthless when it comes to anything more than changing plugs and lower unit oil. I pulled the grates off the intake on the bottom and it was clean. I am using the cups, with the hose turned way up. Had no problem this spring with my boat and the cups. Like I said everything has always run fine with this motor, and it has very low hours. I will try the weed wip cord when I get home tonight. Any one with any knowledge want to come to East Bethel and drink free beer, supervise a novice, and offer constructive advice????

Quote:

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or even better use some weed whip cord

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Brilliant!!! That’s a great idea, thanks Jon…

Rootski

Dan,
I just checked, and you are 65 miles from me, (1hr. 20 min. on Mapquest) To far for me to go because I have some other things to do, but, if you find out for sure that it is possibly/most likley, the water pump, if you drove to my place, I would be willing to put it in for you/teach you how to do these. You would need to get the impeller from the Merc. dealer, and we could arrange a time tonight if you wish. And yes, I do have beer in my shop!! I just don’t have time to spend 2.5 hours on the road. It should take less than an hour to replace. PM me if you are interested.

Dan Riveness

Like one of the other replys stated the impeler is more than likely shot from sitting so long and you will need to replace the water pump. I have had this happen with 2 used motors that I have purchased over the years. In both cases the motors were in storage for several years and the rubber impeler became brittle and would not pump water. Rubber has a tendancy to break down when not in use. You can try to blast out any obstructions but I would guess that you will end up having to replace the water pump which is not a big deal. Don’t run the motor for very long without water flowing thru it. Check the paint on the cylinder heads and if it is cracked and checkered then the motor has been overheating and is not far from locking up on you.

Eyehunter

I’ve noticed problems with the “muffs”, sometimes it doesn’t create enough water pressure to get the pump to flow properly, a trip to the boat luanch or a garbage can might provide better results.
Might want to try a little compressed air into the water outlet to ensure it’s clear… Good Luck.

By running the engine harder, the water started pumping through it finally. Then continued after going back to idle.

Amy, you been busy. How long it take you to get back to this thread from 2006?

Welcome to IDO!

Amy N wrote:

By running the engine harder, the water started pumping through it finally. Then continued after going back to idle.

Don’t you think the time is right for us to find

Rumor has it he is still waiting for some one to come supervise

I had a 99 25 horse and I was told that that motor may not pee until warmed up. I changed my impeller and the motor still did not pee until it ran a few minutes and warmed up. I never had a problem with it. Should be easy to Change the impeller on that motor for peace of mind.

After a Dozen years later I would hope it is peeing out by now

jeff_huberty wrote:

After a Dozen years later I would hope it is peeing out by now

No body took his offer to supervise, he is still searching for the hole