Am I overheating 4hp Johnson

[andy]

"I'm new to outboards and

"I'm new to outboards and fear my 4hp 1981 Johnson is getting too hot. I've checked the impeller and it's fine. I'm getting a small amount of warm water out of the tell tale hole's down the shaft, not a lot. I understand the majority of pumped water exits with the exhaust under water, so I can't check it. But the engine is too hot to touch around the casing by the plugs, even after a short run. I was told they never get so hot you can't touch them. Is this true ? I'm worried it will seize up. The mix is 50:1. The engine has never been in salt water so I'm pretty sure the water ways are clear. Any advice please."

 

[John Kramer]

Is the water a strong squirt o

Is the water a strong squirt or does it just drizzle out of the hole that you can see? I have had poor water flow on a late 70's 7.5 hp merc and a few of the problems I ran into were: 1. The hose under the cowling that the water runs through to the hole where it exits was not hooked up to the hole. 2. The exit hole was clogged by some sort of debris that was easily cleared out with an old coat hanger.