I finally got the raw water pump out, it looks fine but I'm replacing it anyway since it's already out. I had the muffs on the boat but couldn't get water to come out of the SS hose that connects to the pump. Then I did it backwards from the hose and got nothing from the drive. What could've happened? Is there a valve or something somewhere that would be salted up? I stuck a snake up the pickups on the drive, the first 12 inches or so is clear. I couldn't take the hose off, no room.

uh oh, thats not good. Theres either something pluggin it up or the hose that goes from the bell housing to the transom assembly has collapsed. I would remove the drive and repeat your hose tests to see where the problem is, in the drive or in the transom assembly. You will also be able to see the hose I am talking about then. You should be able to get the hose off the inner transom plate?

My buddy said spiders are notorious for packing in small places over the winter. Maybe some liquid plumber or something would loosen them up?

dont put any chemicals in there. it might eat the plastic or rubber hoses.

If you have really isolated the problem to be between the engine and the drive, you might want to pull the fitting off of the inside of the transom plate. If it is a saltwater boat corrosion on the gimbal housing can close off the hose.

question, do you have a sea strainer with a water pickup that is on the hull, also supports the speedo pickup? who winterized your boat last year?

djm,

Did you hook a garden hose to the reinforced hose that goes to the Gimbal? Was there water leaking anywhere out side of the boat?

Dan

No strainer yet but there will be before the season starts. My boat has the low water pickup bravo.

I winterized the boat myself last year. Bought the Camco kit to fill the motor with antifreeze. I got about 2 gallons from the camco kit into the outdrive to fill the lines and coolers. Then I drained the motor with the 5 drains. Opened up the t-stat and poured another 4-5 gallons in the block and all the hoses. I hope nothing froze

Candyman, I did just that and water stayed in the hose, nothing came out the drive.

Here's something else I thought of. I posted about my drive fluid resevoir tank. Last fall it was at the full level but now it's completely full. What are the chances of that being an indicator of a serious problem with my drive?

When you get the pump reassembled and installed, shove the garden hose down the intake hose to the pump and run the engine. Eliminate all that as a problem. Make sure the pump is good and engine is ready. Then try the garden hose in the transom fitting again to make sure you are not getting flow out the drive. If still no flow, theres no choice but to remove the drive. If you get water out, reconnect the intake hose to the transom fitting, this time taking extra care to make a solid connection at the transom.. Double clamp if not already done. I suspect you had the same problem I did with no prime. When you run the engine and pump you will prime the pump and fill it with water. When you next start it, it will take a couple seconds, then start shooting water out the exhaust. You may not have had a prime before.

Good luck.

BT

Not many people post solutions to their problems so I thought I'd post mine. After much disassembly the impeller was found to be wrecked and the transom water passage was full of mud. Water did flow to the impeller last fall when I put it away but something must've happened over the winter.