water flooding my lower unit!!

[buddhapi]

I got my 1972 402 Mercury running a few days back, and saw there was no water coming from the pee hole. I let it run for a couple minutes until it got warm. 1/2 hour later, I pulled the bottom plug in the LU, and there was no water coming... all grease. yesterday I put a new impeller and face plate in it,(because there were only 2 fins left on the old impeller) and still no water from the pee hole. reassembled everything and now it's pouring out of the vent hole in the LU when I hook the ear muffs up. we took the LU off, and hooked the ears up, and no water at all came up the tube. looks like it all headed down in the lower unit. could a bottom seal go bad just like that? could it dump that much water in the lower unit that fast? does it sound like I assembled something wrong? this is my very first time working on a lower unit, although I've owned this set-up since 1996. any ideas would be great. I can post pics if that would help.

 

[daveswaves]

Re: water flooding my lower unit!!

I got my 1972 402 Mercury running a few days back, and saw there was no water coming from the pee hole. I let it run for a couple minutes until it got warm. 1/2 hour later, I pulled the bottom plug in the LU, and there was no water coming... all grease. yesterday I put a new impeller and face plate in it,(because there were only 2 fins left on the old impeller) and still no water from the pee hole. reassembled everything and now it's pouring out of the vent hole in the LU when I hook the ear muffs up. we took the LU off, and hooked the ears up, and no water at all came up the tube. looks like it all headed down in the lower unit. could a bottom seal go bad just like that? could it dump that much water in the lower unit that fast? does it sound like I assembled something wrong? this is my very first time working on a lower unit, although I've owned this set-up since 1996. any ideas would be great. I can post pics if that would help.

If you were to rotate the driveshaft clockwise with the muffs on the lower end you would see the water pump out of the tube. With the impeller not turning the water cannot get past and it has to go somewhere. make sure that is the vent hole you took the screw out of and not the waterpump drain. The vent is lower down on the lower unit. You still need to find the blockage in your pee tube. Since you have the lower end off, connect a garden hose directly to the copper tube that comes down the mid section. Dont run the engine, just flush the power head. Remove the fitting at the block were the pee tube connects and let the water flush through. Clean out the pee tube or replace it.

 

[buddhapi]

Re: water flooding my lower unit!!

thank's for the ideas. for the most part, they sound very possible. the lower unit also got water in it with the motor running, but I'm not sure if the copper tube was actully in alignment. is there anywhere for it to go except in the hole below the motor? (the copper water tube comes down with the lower unit). maybe I'm just assuming I had the water tube in the right spot on top. makes sense though that we would have had to rotate the shaft for the water to come up the tube. I have it all disassembled now, but could reassemble and then check that out. or is it best to just rebuild the entire pump now as long as it's all apart? I will remove the pee hose tomorrow and back flush some water and air through the fitting. will that mess anything up? thank's; Greg

 

[corm]

Re: water flooding my lower unit!!

Hi,

Take that water tube out of the pump housing and install it into the upper fitting. Then put your unit on.