Grass + stuff in pee tube

[SierraMark]

This is strange....

Yesterday I went out to the boat, which is stored right next to my garage. I have not used the boat in about 3 weeks and to prepare for an upcoming trip I wanted to make sure the motor was good so I hooked up the muffs and started the motor. It started right up but no pee stream so I kill the motor and go look at the tube and I see pieces of grass and other stuff coming out of it. I pull the stuff out and turn the motor over again now the water is dripping out but not a stream like it usually is. I take the tube off the engine and clean out more stuff...now the tube is completly clear so I hook it up and start the motor again and it is dripping a little more but still no stream. I take the tube off again and there is more stuff in it so obviously the stuff was in my engine and it came out. I cleaned the tube again and started again and this time the water was streaming as it should.

Looking at the stuff that was coming out it looked like pieces of grass that were kind of twisted together...looked like maybe a bee's work but no bee's came out of the tube or were around the boat.

Has it happened to anybody else?

I am thinking my solution is to cover the hole and remove the cover before going out.

-Mark

 

[duke33]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

Maybe a bird was starting a nest. Or a mouse. Yeah, plug it just in case. It's a good thing you saw it.

 

[JB]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

Several varieties of wasps and spiders just love holes to "build nests" in. Wasps start by depositing a dead prey insect and an egg, then plug it up with mortar.

You could have found a started wasp or spider nest.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

Maybe last time you used the boat you ran over some seaweed/grass and water pump chopped it up and pumped it up into your powerhead? I've gotten mud and small worms(bug larvae) out of mine, but don't recall any grass....The pee tube is just an indicator that water is circulating....if it's plugged up your cooling system would most likely continue to operate.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

If you want to cover the hole or clean it out......... I have found weedeater plastic line works excellent Yes I have had mud wasps invade my tube too.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

this statement: "...now the tube is completly clear so I hook it up and start the motor again and it is dripping a little more but still no stream." tells us that the grass, etc. was not in the tube but in the engi8ne block, probably stuck behind the fitting the tube attaches to. It entered the motor through the intake; probably dried up there since last use.

I wouldn't worry about it; they get blocked all the time and are not necessary for the motor to function. On some of mine I removed the end fitting and just have open hose.

 

[SierraMark]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

this statement: "...now the tube is completly clear so I hook it up and start the motor again and it is dripping a little more but still no stream." tells us that the grass, etc. was not in the tube but in the engi8ne block, probably stuck behind the fitting the tube attaches to. It entered the motor through the intake; probably dried up there since last use.

I wouldn't worry about it; they get blocked all the time and are not necessary for the motor to function. On some of mine I removed the end fitting and just have open hose.

Yeah, it was in both the tube and the block. The first time I took the tube off and cleaned it I got all the grass out of it then I put it back on and fired up the motor and it was blocked again so I took it off again and there was more stuff in it. You are correct, I'm sure there was stuff in the motor that came out into the tube the second time.

I'm pretty sure it was not in there at last use because of the way it was sticking out the bottom of the tube...I would have noticed it when I covered the boat.

So this got me thinking.... if I had not noticed (I always do look for the streem when I start the motor) but let's say I didn't.....would the pressure have eventually blew the stuff out of the tube or could I have detroyed my moter over some twisted up grass?

-Mark

 

[robert graham]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

If that grass is in your pee tube, then maybe it's in your thermostat and pressure control valve...might be good to remove, inspect, clean those items and their passages...

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

"So this got me thinking.... if I had not noticed (I always do look for the streem when I start the motor) but let's say I didn't.....would the pressure have eventually blew the stuff out of the tube or could I have detroyed my moter over some twisted up grass? "

Generally, no. The "pee tube" is simply an indicator that your water pump is sending water to the power head; it serves no function for the mechanics. Older motors don't have them. You can plug them off no problem to the motor. It's just that if something upstream malfunctions you won't know it until you get that clanging noise in the motor.

Likewise debris mixed in with the water, itself, won't harm the motor if it circulates through, but it will if it lodges somewhere and blocks circulation. Sandy water moving through the system increases wear. If the inside of the cooling area is rough, like 95% of motors are after a while, I suppose your gunk could hang up and build up.

I have had the tubes get blocked a lot and have found that generally, once blocked, the pressure isn't sufficient to clear it and it doesn't build up. So carry some wire to unblock as needed.

As an aside, I have a mid-80's johnson 70 that originally had the fitting on the bottom of the head but this was a bad idea so they put a new one in the top. I didn't realize it, but the old one's cap came off, and I was bathing the inside of the cowl with salty sea water. Don't know how long. meanwhile the telltale kept working.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: Grass + stuff in pee tube

My old 1958 35hp was full of dirt dobers. There were at least 20 nests in the cowling alone and in the midsection....Of course it sat for at least 20 years before I got to it.