Mercury 98hp overheated stopped running

"Bought a 9.8hp mercury outboa

"Bought a 9.8hp mercury outboard serial#6620545, I believe it is a 1985 model. Took my boys out to test the new motor. After 5 minutes it died. Had to get pulled back to the dock. The motor was real hot. I suspect the water pump was not working. My question is; did I do any more damage to the engine or would it be worth fixing the water pump?"

"Either the water pump was not

"Either the water pump was not working or you picked up a plactic bag or something which covered the water intake,However a new water pump is worth doing and not a big job.The unknown is how much damage has been done to your motor.if you can still turn the motor over ie the fylwheel still turns your degree of damage is less then if the motor is locked up.Considering the age of the motor i would take it to your dealer for a compression test and visual inspection if the dealer is satisfied there is no metal or bad scuffing and compression is ok ,then I would go for a water pump and run the sucker .This is just my opinion.Your other option is to have the motor stripped and inspected for damage, but now you could spend easily what the motor is worth or more??.i hope you get some more opinions and it works out well for you and the boys."