Water pump problems....

Having self diagnosed a knackered Impellor on my Mariner 55, being as no water coming out the pisser and when I removed the cover on the thermostat, no water coming out there either. I set about taking the leg off this evening, after a small bit of bother (due to a hidden bolt) I got it off, unscrewed the water pump housing to view the impellor which surprisingly was perfect. Question is this, there appears to be a plastic gasket which the pump housing bolts down onto, this was not in good shape at all, in fact, it was in bits, could it be this, and not the impellor which was causing the problem?

I am not 100% on how these things work but I would have thought for the Impellor to do its job properly it has to be operating in a sealed housing. If this is indeed the case then I presume all I need to do is to change the gasket and that will be problem solved? The reason I ask, instead of getting an outboard mechanic to do it is the fact its July and I cant be arsed waiting a couple of weeks to have, what would be a ten minute job done. Advice greatly appreciated.

Sounds like you should replace the gasket anyway. Were the impellor arms hard? Sometimes, especially if the engine has been left a while the impellor will be hard and not spin correctly. Since you bought a new one I would consider replacing it anyway. You may also need to check the line from the impellor to the pisser. You might have a blockage. Some coat hanger wire or tough electric cable might do the job. You can get gasket gel in some car shops that might do a job for you on the pump housing. Not sure how well they perform when submerged though. You should thing about getting the workshop manual for your engine. You should get it at seloc.com

Let us know how you get on.

Kev

I will do, cheers Kev.

Pete,
I had a similar problem a while back and was told to thread some heavy mono down the pisser before trying anything tricky on the impellor. Did what I was told, like the good boy that I am, and the mono cleared out a lump of congealed "stuff" - everything worked a treat after that. Worth a try before you start messing with the internal workings !!

Hi Conor, I did try that from the top end alright, back to where pipe comes off the thermostat (from what I remember) I didnt however run anything up through it from the base yet though. I'll try that this evening. Incidentally, spoke to an outboard mechanic this morning who said to either use gasket paper or a cornflake box :shock: to create a seal.

Ill keep you posted.... :D

Gasket paper is good..... (I forgot about that) You just have to be careful cutting it. I've used it for a lower unit I couldn't get a gasket for without any problems. Most car shop should stock it.

Cornflake boxes....... :shock: I won't even comment.

Kev