Home › Forum › Ask A Member › 1961 Johnson 40 (RDSL-23) stops pumping water › Reply To: 1961 Johnson 40 (RDSL-23) stops pumping water
Well, to tell the truth, mine was used often in salt water skiing and fishing, with fresh water flush a soon as we got home. Your experience may vary.
I wouldn’t mess with the SS exhaust plate. It would be rare to find one of those with holes or cracks.
As for the head gasket, that’s a judgement call. Good compression and no water intrusion into the cylinders is a good sign. Personally, I’d hold off at least for now.
And as for the water path, you may already know this, but that is a thermostat controlled recirculating cooling system. Water from the pump goes up to the powerhead, circulates through the powerhead, and is presented to the thermostat. If the ‘stat decides it is not up to temp, it stays closed and the water goes down through the plastic check valve and returns back to the pump via the second water tube and is recirculated. This continues till the ”stat says it is warm enough and opens and the water is discharged and replaced by fresh lake water. It should be noted that some water will always be discharged, regardless of thermostat state. This is necessary to cool the exhaust system. Also, it is not an either-or situation. The thermostat is constantly checking the temperature and opening or closing as necessary to maintain a proper temperature. It is normal for it to stay in recirc mode most of the time at slow/idle speeds in cool lake water.