baytonemus
New member
I'm rebuilding the '69 LU and have started putting it back together. I have a couple of Mallory water pump housings (#312612 replacement for original OMC) that came off LUs from '63 and '69. Both have fairly typical corrosion and pitting inside that doesn't really concern me too much. One has pretty serious grooves cut into the top of the inside of the housing, so that one's junk, I think. The other one had a spot that looked like someone had maybe pried in open with a small screwdriver and then sanded it smooth. Basically there was a little gap about 3/8" long that wasn't going to seal.
I went out to the local independent OB motor shop where I've bought some salvage parts before to see if they had a decent used one. The mechanic said he thought I could still use that one and took it to the sanding disc and took maybe 1/32" off the bottom.
It will be a tighter fit now, but I think that I still have enough clearance for the impeller to turn properly. When I put it in the housing a straight edge laid across the bottom contacts the edges on both sides and I can still see light between the straight edge and the brass hub of the impeller.
My other option would be to cut a gasket to put between housing and the plate. I have some fairly thin rubberized fiber gasket material that I think would work. However, if it ended up making the top to bottom fit a little too loose I'm not sure how much that would affect the amount of pressure the pump would produce.
I'd appreciate input. Thanks!
I went out to the local independent OB motor shop where I've bought some salvage parts before to see if they had a decent used one. The mechanic said he thought I could still use that one and took it to the sanding disc and took maybe 1/32" off the bottom.
It will be a tighter fit now, but I think that I still have enough clearance for the impeller to turn properly. When I put it in the housing a straight edge laid across the bottom contacts the edges on both sides and I can still see light between the straight edge and the brass hub of the impeller.
My other option would be to cut a gasket to put between housing and the plate. I have some fairly thin rubberized fiber gasket material that I think would work. However, if it ended up making the top to bottom fit a little too loose I'm not sure how much that would affect the amount of pressure the pump would produce.
I'd appreciate input. Thanks!