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Lower unit cavity cleaning

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Darrin85

New member
New here and new to boat motors. I have inherited an '81 Tide Craft bass boat from my Dad. Brother in law had it and treated it like garbage. Not to mention beat the heck out of it but gel coat repairs will come after motor repairs. So now she is mine and in the process of fixing it up. Motor is a 1980 Chrysler Charger 85 that sat for 8 years. After a day of replacing fuel lines, cleaning carbs, new plugs and wire terminal cleaning she started up. Here is where project 2 starts....NO water pumping. The thermostat is working good, so next thought...impeller. Drain the lower unit and if I didn't know any better it looked like a good milkshake to drink. Not a good sign. Pulled lower unit and off with water pump housing. Impeller looks good an little corrosion but a new one and some cleaning with $150 worth of seals and gaskets should be good as new. The lower unit water cavities and ports are filled with nasty corrosion and muck. So I figured the power head was the same. I attached a hose to the water feed tube and nothing. Reversed the order by removing the the thermostat and ran water in through the top of block. Some water and brown muck started coming out and after about 30 minutes of flushing both ways started to get some cleaner looking water. The big question is, How do I clean the walls of those ports with out cracking open the motor? Is there a solvent that can be run through system to break down the crap and what can be used on the lower unit to clean the inside wall cavities? Friend suggested car radiator flush to clean block, but I ain't to sure that would be ok for marine motors.
Thanks for all suggestions and help.
 
The best way to clean the inside of the block is just run it. You can try and put some soap in a BIG bucket but just running it will do the same. A pressure washer for the nooks and crannis you can see. The lower unit, pressure test it before the seal job. You need to figure out where it was leaking.It might surprise you and not need anything but some sealer under the shift plate. Your gonna need to pressure test it anyway? Impeller is out?? Replace it. 8 years old is old enough.
 
Jerryjerry05 said "The lower unit, pressure test it before the seal job. You need to figure out where it was leaking.It might surprise you and not need anything but some sealer under the shift plate. Your gonna need to pressure test it anyway? Impeller is out?? Replace it. 8 years old is old enough.

So how would I go about this pressure test? Yes the impeller is being replaced with new. Still waiting for parts to get here. I have order just about ever seal and gasket for the lower unit.

Thanks for your help.
 
Another question I forgot to ask. Is it normal for water to feed through exhaust? Man I am hoping yes. In the auto world that would not be good.
 
Yes normal. It should come out 2 places. The snout on the bottom and the hole or holes on the mid section. You need to find or make a low pressure tester. Try the search function on this site. Or go to i boats . com Force/Chrysler Foum and use their search link. Try posting another link with the question, "how to make pressure tester" You should get an answer there.
 
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