Hi all, I have a few questions. For context, I have been having issues getting a strong stream flowing from my Tell tale which lead to my DF140 shutting off within 10 seconds on the water once I I tried to open the throttle. I tried a few times to get it restarted which it eventually did, but by this stage there was no water exiting the tell tale so that's where the day on the water ended.
Once home I ran water through the upper flush port then connected my ear muffs and tried to run the motor, once again, no water was exiting the tell tale after 30 seconds so I shut it off. I then preceded to replace the Thermostat and Water pump kit (it looks like the mechanic who previously did this a few months ago used the same housing seal and it was in very poor condition). It did initially have water exit the tell tale, but stupidly, as I had my Salt-Away cannister connected to my Ear muffs I tried to turn the cannister from Rinse to Salt-Away, which then dropped the water pressure and after 30 seconds the outboard sounded the alarm and shut off. I did try to restart it a few times, it would restart and then shut off after 10-15 seconds as it was too hot.
My next steps;
- I removed the Thermostat and connected the garden hose to the upper flush port to confirm water exiting out the top, then reinstalled the upper flush port plug,
- I then directed the garden hose through the small tale hole hose and confirmed water exited the tell tale hole,
- Then directed the garden hose through the larger hose above the Thermostat and confirmed water exiting the lower unit,
- I then reconnected everything and tried to re-start the Outboard but this time with the Thermostat removed to see if water would 'instantly' come out via the tell tale but the motor must of been still hot as it shut off after about 30 seconds. during that time no water was seen coming out the tell tale, and lastly
- I did check the Poppet valve there was a grain of sand but it looked in okay condition with no deterioration or corrosion...but I am not sure if it has ever been changed.
So my questions are;
1. Could my ear muffs and garden hose pressure be too weak? The ear muffs are the rectangular type where water enters from one side, but just to reiterate, even out on the water the motor still shut off, potentially due to lack of water exiting the tell tale.
2. Am I doing catastrophic damage to my Outboard by continually trying to start it after each time? I did check the dipstick and the oil is still amber and not milky, finally
3. Is there anything else I can do that I have missed?
Once home I ran water through the upper flush port then connected my ear muffs and tried to run the motor, once again, no water was exiting the tell tale after 30 seconds so I shut it off. I then preceded to replace the Thermostat and Water pump kit (it looks like the mechanic who previously did this a few months ago used the same housing seal and it was in very poor condition). It did initially have water exit the tell tale, but stupidly, as I had my Salt-Away cannister connected to my Ear muffs I tried to turn the cannister from Rinse to Salt-Away, which then dropped the water pressure and after 30 seconds the outboard sounded the alarm and shut off. I did try to restart it a few times, it would restart and then shut off after 10-15 seconds as it was too hot.
My next steps;
- I removed the Thermostat and connected the garden hose to the upper flush port to confirm water exiting out the top, then reinstalled the upper flush port plug,
- I then directed the garden hose through the small tale hole hose and confirmed water exited the tell tale hole,
- Then directed the garden hose through the larger hose above the Thermostat and confirmed water exiting the lower unit,
- I then reconnected everything and tried to re-start the Outboard but this time with the Thermostat removed to see if water would 'instantly' come out via the tell tale but the motor must of been still hot as it shut off after about 30 seconds. during that time no water was seen coming out the tell tale, and lastly
- I did check the Poppet valve there was a grain of sand but it looked in okay condition with no deterioration or corrosion...but I am not sure if it has ever been changed.
So my questions are;
1. Could my ear muffs and garden hose pressure be too weak? The ear muffs are the rectangular type where water enters from one side, but just to reiterate, even out on the water the motor still shut off, potentially due to lack of water exiting the tell tale.
2. Am I doing catastrophic damage to my Outboard by continually trying to start it after each time? I did check the dipstick and the oil is still amber and not milky, finally
3. Is there anything else I can do that I have missed?
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