Re: Changing the water pump
That motor doesn't have a pee hole. The water comes out the little exhaust hole just under the cover on the rear of the motor. It tends to start out as a very light spray once you start her up and in about 10 seconds or so becomes a much stronger spray. When WOT (theromstat most likely is open at this time) it kind of changes to a stream of water falling from this same hole.
To change the pump, just unscrew the six screws on the cavitation plate. It should drop down about an inch after they are removed. Within this inch you will see two slotted screws holding the shift rod together. Loosen one of them until the shift rod comes out and the lower unit comes off of the motor.
Unscrew the 4 screws holding the water pump housing down (remember where the screws came from because 2 screws are larger than the other two and I forget which go where). Pull off the housing from the drive shaft and remove the impeller. Be sure to grab the little pin that fits between the impeller and the driveshaft. It is very small and you will definitely need it when you put it all back together. You can inspect the impeller for wear but even if it looks OK, I would change it anyways since it is a cheap part. I would inspect the bottom plate and chrome cup for scratches and wear and replace them if necessary and make sure the rubber grommet the copper tube fits into is in good shape as well.
While I have my lower units off I tend to clean out the cavity in the front where the water drains out. It tends to get all gunked up from sitting most likely in the tilted position and this is the best time to clean it out.
Now, put the bottom plate back down. Coat the impeller fins and the inside of the chrome cup with a light coating of marine grease or two stroke oil or some people even use dish soap. Just to slick them up a little. Slide the impeller down the driveshaft and align the impeller pin against the flat part of the driveshaft. If done correctly, the impeller should turn if you manually turn the driveshaft.
Now you may have noticed that the impeller seems way too big for this small little cup. It is not. It is supposed to be very tight. The trick is to get it all into the cup. All you do is place the chrome cup in the housing and lower both, down the driveshaft to the top of the impeller. Now just put a little downward pressure on this pump housing while at the same time turning the driveshaft clockwise (when looking down at the lower unit). The fins will naturally form correctly into the cup. Tighten the 4 screws to hold down the pump housing. Make sure the rubber grommet that will surround the copper pipe is properly in place, the seal around the housing and driveshaft is there and that you have a small O'ring on the upper part of the drive shaft just below the splines. You should also grease up the splines with OMC moly lube or the next time you try to drop the lower unit it could end up be seized.
Put the lower unit back up into the motor. Connect the shift connector and then tighten up the six screws in the cavitation plate.
Your done.
