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early 80s merc 9,8 doesnt tattletale water but does pump out warm air

T

tsunami14

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guys i bought a 9.8 merc early 80s. it starts easy, idles smooth, but asthe title says no water from telltale. now i know that is an indicator for a new impeller, however when i put my finger under the telltale, i get a strong stream of warm air. so this tells me .... that the impeller is pumping air throught the cooling route/jacket? or not ? i don't know enough about the cooling system to tell, but isn't the strong air stream created by the impeller, sans water? maybe the water route to the impeller is clogged, although i blew up it with an air compressor.
thanks for any thoughts
 
Not pumping water. Either the impeller is not in right, the water tube to the power head is not inserted into the lU, or there's a blade from the old impeller trapped inside the power ehad.

Drop the LU and see if the impeller looks okay. If so, bucket test it with a 3/8 drill. If okay, force water up the tube to the power head with a hose. If all of the above are working, reassemble--being careful to get the water tube into the LU correctly--and it should pump fine.

Jeff

PS: The photo shows how to hook thne driveshaft to your drill.
 

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It is NOT PUMPING AIR !!-That is exhaust coming out of the tell tale.-----You must install a new impeller , on those about every 3 years.------------If it still does not pump then you may have to remove the powerhead.------There is a plastic washer around the water tube, on severe overheat it melts / folds over the water tube to block the flow.
 
hey Jeff i tried your suggestion and by golly it worked! not to doubt you, but rather my own impeller job. anyways, got water bubbling up throught the water guide tube. thanks

fastjeff said:
Not pumping water. Either the impeller is not in right, the water tube to the power head is not inserted into the lU, or there's a blade from the old impeller trapped inside the power ehad.

Drop the LU and see if the impeller looks okay. If so, bucket test it with a 3/8 drill. If okay, force water up the tube to the power head with a hose. If all of the above are working, reassemble--being careful to get the water tube into the LU correctly--and it should pump fine.

Jeff

PS: The photo shows how to hook thne driveshaft to your drill.
Click to expand...
 
thanks for the help racerone, i put in a new impeller, did the test that jeff suggested, then checked the water tube by shooting water up, it went through hard and fast so i knew no blockages. then i was impressed with myself to get that all back together , gears worked, impeller proudly pumping out water, everything was awesome and i was impressed with myself . til i took it out on the lake and it wouldn't go to high throttle like it did in the barrel (although just for a few seconds). now i am bout to do a new spark plugs and seafoam it for a couple days. oh well, i am sneaking up on it lol.
thanks again, i have a new thread now about my new challenge !

racerone said:
It is NOT PUMPING AIR !!-That is exhaust coming out of the tell tale.-----You must install a new impeller , on those about every 3 years.------------If it still does not pump then you may have to remove the powerhead.------There is a plastic washer around the water tube, on severe overheat it melts / folds over the water tube to block the flow.
Click to expand...
 
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