First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

NickBlaze466

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Sep 4, 2007
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I have a 1966 Mercury 650. Totally rebuilt 2 years ago, maybe 20 hours on the boat since then. Posted about it not starting, got that straight. Also posted about no telltale, so i ordered the impeller and the book from iboats.

I dropped the lower unit, pulled out old impeller with help of boat mechanic buddy. he said impeller looked almost new, didn't need to buy a new one but might as well put it in. install new impeller, pull copper line make sure thats all cleaned up no clogs. he walks me though everything, puts it all in for me and i help him so i know how to do it next time.

put engine in big trash can, it fires right up. no stream from "telltale". I'm starting to think i don't know where the telltale is. as i'm looking at the motor, from the back of the boat, there is a little hole on the upper left hand side of the motor that has a hose leading down to it. the other end of the hose is connected to a flat plate sitting on an angle. i was told this was the telltale. turns out its more like a drain as we poured some water on that plate with the engine off and it just dripped right out.

important to note that we only ran the motor for maybe 20 seconds at a time at most. but my buddy says not ever motor has "pee hole" and that a lot of the water is vented back out under the water level with exhaust. he also said that mine is running great, and he would not hesitate to take it out on the water as is. i'm having a hard time with this, as i really don't want the thing to blow on me. is it possible theres no telltale? the motor never really got hot, so where is the telltale hole supposed to be as i'm looking at the engine from the back of the boat? is it possible the engine takes a minute or so to pick up enough water to fill the cooling channels? literally a minute, not like 10 seconds. Where else do i look?
 

firehog6305

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jun 30, 2007
Messages
283
Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

you are going to have to wait for a outboard expert on that one, but on my merc (sterndrive) the water comes out of the prop mostly. I'm sure some of the mercury experts will help you out more, sorry:redface:
 

protozo1

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Aug 19, 2007
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

I would not be suprised at all if you didn't have a telltale on a 1966 motor. We've had a couple that age which the water all came through the exhaust outlet.
 

tmcalavy

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Aug 29, 2001
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

My 73 Merc 500 50 hp had a telltale hole on the rear starboard side of the engine...looking at it from behind. Earlier models pushed cooling water out through the exhaust and prop, but I'm not sure when they changed to the telltale hole. If the waterjackets around the cylinders don't get too hot to touch and keep your hand on when it's running, the water pump/impeller is doing it's job. Someone more familiar with your engine will post in here soon and let you know for sure.
 

NickBlaze466

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Sep 4, 2007
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

Anybody out there have experience with this motor that can give me a 100% for sure "good to go" answer?
 

Scaaty

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May 31, 2004
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

"little hole on the upper left hand side of the motor that has a hose leading down to it. the other end of the hose is connected to a flat plate sitting on an angle. i was told this was the telltale. turns out its more like a drain"
It is the lower pan drain.
Now look at the other side of the pan. If theres a hose (or a small nipple on that side of the pan, thats the telltale. If nothing there, it all goes out the lower/prop
 

NickBlaze466

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Sep 4, 2007
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

thank you very much. ill be out on the water saturday god willing
 

emckelvy

Commander
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Jan 16, 2004
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2,506
Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

One way you can tell if your 65 HP is cooling adequately regardless of telltale is to feel the exhaust manifold cover (the big flat one on the left <port> side of the engine).

The exhaust cover should stay cool to lukewarm and if it's ever too hot to touch, that's way too hot. This cover will get hot REAL fast after you start the motor, if there's no cooling water circulating thru the powerhead.

Your motor has no thermostat, so the block won't get very warm, either. After a long, hard run it may be warmer than usual but again, never too hot to touch.

Have a good day out on the water..........ed
 

Scaaty

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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

thank you very much. ill be out on the water saturday god willing
I just asked...he said "its a old 65 Merc?'..said yep.
Said he will do his best for you to have a good day..(I got a real soft spot in me for those middle 60's Mercs...wish ya well...keep us posted...good luck!:D
 

NickBlaze466

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Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
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Re: First time working on a boat this afternoon, now i have some questions

Thanks, I hope it goes well too.

After the engine was running a couple times i put my hand right on the head by the spark plugs just to see if it was getting hot. it wasn't really even warm. i wasn't aware that i would be able to touch the exhaust and not burn myself if it was running, but the motor definately wasn't hot.

we'll see, with my luck the motor will run great and the boat will sink :(
 
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