Re: [OMC-Boats] Good boat day

On Sat, 29 Aug 2009, Justin DeSantis wrote:
> Ok, now for the stupid questions that you knew were coming.... I'm
> linking to a picture where I labeled the stuff I'm asking about to
> make it more clear. Heres the pic.
> http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee285/nitsujcbr/good%20ship%20lollypop/boat.jpg
>
> 1. How much water should I be getting out of the pisser when running
> on the hose? There are 3 holes that the water is just dribbling out
> of. But none are shooting it hard. (See pic.) All 3 are on the right
> side. I labeled them in the pic. Am I right about the one I think is
> the pisser? And is it a problem that water seems to be coming out of
> the other 2?

I thought my "pisser" was a bit higher than where you mark - on the
underside of one of the tilt caps. But they could've moved it... In the
water, you may see a weak stream at idle but it should be very strong under
power. With a hose connected, a weak stream can mean inadequate flow or
pressure coming from the hose. That hole is basically directly connected
to the supply passages (I'm assuming you feed water in through a tilt cap
adaptor?) so it should be directly related to the supply pressure, whether
the engine is running or not. Another thing that can cause bad flow
through might be too much grease in the tilt bearing caps - it's possible
to block the water flow passages that way.

The other two may just be vents of some sort (or holes drilled for some
unknown reason) for the exhaust - that's what's running through there...
I'm pretty sure my unit does not have these.

> 2. I know where the upper gear case fill is, and I think I know where
> the drain is.But I know there is another hole. I can't find it. Unless
> it's the plastic plug right in the middle of the drive facing forward.
> (Labeled "Whats this? in the pic.) The fill is directly on the top,
> right? And I marked what I think is the drain in the pic, please
> confirm.

"What's this" is an access port for lubricating the "swivel housing" -
there's a "zerk" (grease fitting) inside there that you need to pump up
with a grease gun once a year or so. It's a little tough to reach, but you
should be able to see it with a flashlight, and it's easier to access with
a rigid nozzle on the grease gun instead of a flex hose. I've always
wondered "how much is enough" with that and worried that I'd overfill it
and pop a bearing out or clog one of the water passages that surround it,
but haven't had that happen yet. Supposedly undergreasing it can lead to
exhasut leaking into the cooling water.

The port is "supposed" to be covered with a little plastic plug (I got a
red threaded one from boats.net for $3 or so), but I don't know if it
matters much if it's missing - I didn't have one for years and you just
have some exhaust leakage there. You can also just shove a rubber stopper
in there.

As for the upper gearcase level port (third hole), I know some drives don't
have them. You fill from the bottom/drain and use the dipstick installed
on the top to check the level. I have a tough time doing it - the oil is
clear and it's hard to tell when the dipstick is wetted. I always figured
that "dimple" above the drain was where they were supposed to put the level
hole and they just didn't drill it for cost saving, but that's just a
guess. That's how mine is - I wish it had the third hole.

> 3. When running, I'm getting some water and I assume exhaust leaking
> around the point where the lower unit pivots when you steer. I marked
> it in the pic. Is it a big deal that water is coming out there? Should
> it not be?

That's pretty normal - that's where the exhaust (which contains used
cooling water) goes from the passages in the upper housing down to the
lower unit. There's a gasket that goes around there - I think it's called
the "swivel housing gasket" - but mine was in pretty bad shape. I never
bothered to fix it - the consequence of it leaking is a bit of extra noise
and soot around the spot where it leaks. The entire exhaust passage is
vented near the top through the "overflow" hole (back top and center), so
it normally fills up with water when the engine is not running or idled.
When you rev it up, exhaust flow pushes the water out of the exhaust
passages.

> 4. On the top, there is a red plastic doohickey that I think the
> previous owner had made. He said if you raise the motor too far, it
> gets stuck and you have to remove the gear rack to get it back down. I
> think he made the red plastic doohickey to keep the motor from being
> raised too high. Whats the deal? What is supposed to be stopping it
> from going to high. And why is it getting stuck?

I've never seen that. I'm guessing the tilt motor was weak or maybe there
is some damage to the tilt caps or sector gear or something that causes it
to get jammed at the end of its travel. That's a spot where it tends to
get stuck anyway (all the way at the top and all the way at the bottom -
that's understandable because it can be "rammed" into those positions).
You can probably try removing it to see what happens...

Good luck!

Ethan

-- 
<a href="http://www.engr.wisc.edu/~brodskye/"> Ethan Brodsky </a>