1982 Mercury 18hp 2 stroke

[scolowe]

No water from the telltale. Replaced impeller, confirmed fins are facing correct direction. Put it in a barrel last night and still no telltale water. However, a pretty good flow of water was coming from the area I've marked in the picture....Any ideas? I'm thinking the water tube seals are loose at the top, since the tube fell right out when I did the impeller change...Any and all help would be appreciated, this is my first boat and I'm ready to get out there.

 

[Swagonmaster]

I haven't worked on one like yours but I suspect that the cooling layout is similar to my 79 140hp in that the tube from the pump is pretty easy to miss the hole while installing. Why not loosen the lower unit and drop it down maybe 4 Inches or so (I used a ratchet strap to hold it) and look up in there with a flashlight and see if the tube is lined up properly, no you were afraid that the top is off and you might not be able to see up there so if the lower connection at the pump is correct then drop the lu, install the tube in the top first then reinstall and stop while you can still see if the lower end of the tube is started in the water pump guide tube before pulling it up the rest of the way.