90 hp merc water pump question

[foxhunter]

i had the boat out last night and i noticed the indicator was just trickleing water out. i stuck a piece of wire up the hole and it started shooting water like it always has in the past. is my water pump getting weak or did i just have some dirt plugging it up?

[jentz]

That telltale flow you opened isnt really a indicator of how your water pump is working.It is however a indicator of water going through the system.Normally at idle if its flowing your OK, at higher rpms centrifical force takes over and forces water through.Now I'm no expert but at high rpms a water pressure test can be preformed to see if the impeller is preforming at its best.

Maybe a motor expert on this site can correct me if these are misstatements.?

[BoxMN]

Sand spiders clogging up your pee hole Normal.

[marine_man]

jentz & Box are both right on... stuff gets stuck in the tell tale indicator from time to time, and if you have better flow now you're in good shape.

marine_man

[foxhunter]

thanks for the replies guys. how can you tell when its time for a new water pump, is the there any tell tale signs? with the price of motors i'd hate to burn her up.

[BoxMN]

When the telltale is not flowing, or flowing very weak no matter if you clean it out, or if you get the overheat alarm. Be safe, and just change it about 3rd year or 4th for sure, and you will never have to even worry Learn to do it yourself and it only costs the price of an impeller, about $20.

[walleyemaniac]

I just replace mine about every three years. The fins start to harden and break apart. Not a big job to do and a new impeller isn't that expensive. I don't know what other guys do but that is what I was told for the amount of use my boat gets.

You shouldn't burn up the motor if it fails. Most motors have built in safety alarms if they start to over heat and should cut you back to half throttle or less if this occurs. Kind of a fail safe.

[Andy Loos1432404924]

More videos at HSOshow.com™ [/hsoshow]

[boatfixer]

You shouldn't burn up the motor if it fails. Most motors have built in safety alarms if they start to over heat and should cut you back to half throttle or less if this occurs. Kind of a fail safe.

I would never assume any built in safety feature will protect the engine.