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1957 Evinrude 5.5 Water Pump Problems

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brickmaster587

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1957 evinrude 5.5, stuck roll pin in water pump shaft.

Water pump is bad, have a new one but the roll pin in the end of the shaft that holds the spring is stuck and will not come out.

Have tried 3/32, and 1/16 roll pin punches, and both have broken in half and the pin has not moved, was only able to get it flush with the shaft using a hammer.

Need advice, motor runs fine besides water pump.
 
NO---the drive shaft pulls out of the lower unit and parts will slide off the bottom !!!----Done this a few times since 1968 I believe.
 
Agreed. Also done it many hundreds of times. Don't believe the old wives' tale that you won't be able to get the shaft back in.

As for the motor in question, if the pin is still ok, just knock it back in place with a hammer.
 
racerone said:
NO---the drive shaft pulls out of the lower unit and parts will slide off the bottom !!!----Done this a few times since 1968 I believe.
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Found that out when I took the water pump housing off. Put a new pin in the shaft.

Now, has a new water pump, new driveshaft grommet on top of the spring, new grommet for the water pump tube and a new power head gasket.

But, when the motor is first started it pumps water great, then after about 30 seconds it stops pumping water. Can’t use the motor until it’s fixed.
 
Spring on top of the driveshaft is not a " shock absorber spring "----It is there to put a controlled pressure on the seal as it rotates against the seal stator !----Was the passage way in the block inspected for any loose material ?----Sounds like something is floating around and getting stuck randomly to block water flow !
 
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303391 is the carbon seal.

How deep do you have it in the water? In a bucket, or what? Wild guess: A bucket?

There is a hole drilled at an angle, below the pump grommet, connecting to the well surrounding the drive shaft. Its purpose is to keep the well filled with water, making a water seal so it doesn't pull in exhaust air through the drive shaft hole. If that hole is blocked, it will cause lots of mysterious problems.

Also: Is the water pump plate sealed or at least clean where it sits on the bearing housing below? Pulling air in through there causes more mysterious problems.
 
racerone said:
Spring on top of the driveshaft is not a " shock absorber spring "----It is there to put a controlled pressure on the seal as it rotates against the seal stator !----Was the passage way in the block inspected for any loose material ?----Sounds like something is floating around and getting stuck randomly to block water flow !
Click to expand...

The passage way is nice and clean, even flushed it out with water. And it’s not a random stop, every time we start the motor it works for 30 seconds then stops, if it stops we shut the motor off and restart it and it begins pumping again.
 
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fdrgator said:
303391 is the carbon seal.

How deep do you have it in the water? In a bucket, or what? Wild guess: A bucket?

There is a hole drilled at an angle, below the pump grommet, connecting to the well surrounding the drive shaft. Its purpose is to keep the well filled with water, making a water seal so it doesn't pull in exhaust air through the drive shaft hole. If that hole is blocked, it will cause lots of mysterious problems.

Also: Is the water pump plate sealed or at least clean where it sits on the bearing housing below? Pulling air in through there causes more mysterious problems.
Click to expand...

We have it in a 50gal barrel and the water is only 2in below the water pump/exhaust outlet. Water pump housing is nicely below the water level. And the inlet hole is clear and the well does stay filled with water. We spun the water pump with a drill in water with the gearbox taken off the exhaust tube. And yes, the water pump plate is nice and clean. We even put it back on the exhaust tube and spun it again and water pumps out at the top where it goes into the block.
 
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Spinning it with a drill gives you a nice cozy feeling, but doesn't mean a whole lot. There is no exhaust surrounding the pump when you are doing that. And just how have you established that the well is staying full when you cannot see it when it is running?
 
fdrgator said:
Spinning it with a drill gives you a nice cozy feeling, but doesn't mean a whole lot. There is no exhaust surrounding the pump when you are doing that. And just how have you established that the well is staying full when you cannot see it when it is running?
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We took the power head off after it stopped pumping and the well was still full of water. Although it could've just refilled after the motor was shut off.
 
I'm telling you that when it is not running, everything is underwater. When you start it up, the water is blown out and the pump is surrounded by exhaust/air. That air must be kept out of the pump. I've serviced literally thousands of those things during the 20+ years that I did it for a living.

Nest time you take it apart, use a light to look up into the water tube, Do you see a restrictor up in there? Does have crud in it? Not all have the restrictor.
 
Angled hole...........
 

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Once you get it back together put it in abarrel at least five inches above the water pump and add a gallon of saltaway and let it fun at leas 30 minutes. Use your hand to monitor the head temp if you cannot hold your hand on the head shut it down.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Once you get it back together put it in abarrel at least five inches above the water pump and add a gallon of saltaway and let it fun at leas 30 minutes. Use your hand to monitor the head temp if you cannot hold your hand on the head shut it down.
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I always make sure the water level is almost up to the outlet so there’s plenty of water in the pump. And what’s the saltaway for?
 
It flushes the engine cooling circuits good. Even engines run in fresh water collect silt and minerals that amplify corrosion especially if not flushed regularly. It is good practice to flush it after each use with tap water and disconnect the fuel line and let it run out of fuel. Then your set for the next outing.
 
So I took the motor apart, the bleed hole is clear as well as the motor passages and the water tube. No restrictor in the tube. And the mating surfaces are clean on the pump housing and mounting plate. Still stops pumping water after about 30 seconds, and lots of exhaust is coming out of the port where the water sprays out of, not sure if that’s normal or not.
 
Perhaps the head gasket is blown ?---I can only guess because I can not see / hear / or feel the motor ?-----Water should pour out at the exhaust relief all the time when motor is running.
 
In post #6 you said it has a new water pump. Does that mean a new complete water pump, or does it mean just a new impeller? If a new complete pump, is it the new updated/smaller type or is it like the old one? If you mean only a new impeller, is the pump housing worn? Knowing your answer will be it is not worn. We're still guessing.
 
racerone said:
Perhaps the head gasket is blown ?---I can only guess because I can not see / hear / or feel the motor ?-----Water should pour out at the exhaust relief all the time when motor is running.
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I tested each cylinder with a compression tester and both hold a steady 75psi. This was after waiting for 30min.
 
Hold your hand in the exhaust relief you should get a spray of warm water dripping off your fingers thaat is normal can you hold your hand on the head after running about five minutes? The hole in the leg just below the engine is the exhaust relief port/s. As long as you can hold your hand on the head for a slow count to six go kill some fishes.
 
kimcrwbr1 said:
Hold your hand in the exhaust relief you should get a spray of warm water dripping off your fingers thaat is normal can you hold your hand on the head after running about five minutes? The hole in the leg just below the engine is the exhaust relief port/s. As long as you can hold your hand on the head for a slow count to six go kill some fishes.
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There is a nice spray of water as I said for about 30 seconds, but after that I can hold my hand in front of it and only hot exhaust comes out, little to zero water at all. And after running the motor for one to two minutes the cylinder head is too hot to touch. The exhaust tube also gets quite toasty as well.
 
Get a new head gasket and pull the head. Surface it on a glass table using a figure 8 motion until it all shines the same then torque it down to spec.
 
So I took apart the water pump again. The wear plate has a slight ridge you can feel on the thin side of the wear line. Not sure if that's enough to cause it to leak. The housing also has a very slight ridge on the top inside surface of it. The housing also seems to have a bit of wear around where the shaft slides through. I'd post pics of them but for some reason neither my iPhone nor computer will let me.
 
Chuck the driveshaft in your drill and see how well the pump is pumping are you turning the driveshaft clockwise as your pushing down on the impeller housing?
 
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