Re: Do I have the right pump?

[Don]

OK, so maybe that three hole stuff will fit properly, never really noticed what Steve points out…In any event, the paint on top of the gearcase looks like light blue paint, not green, someone painted that newer style gearcase. So, back to the original question, why won’t it pump? You mention the SS impeller plate is slightly bent, that could be enough to mess things up. I would clean things up more, get all the crud out of the impeller housing holes, seal a new SS impeller plate to the housing, and replace the impeller…How is the condition inside the impeller housing, excessive grooves/corrosion? Don’t forget to make sure the tiny bleed hole is clear in the impeller housing as well…
And yes, I agree, using just three screws is pretty poor…Making it all the more important that the mating surfaces are clean/flat, or else the pump will just pull air…
Just looked at Frank’s 79 diagram…I guess the holes must line up seeing that the water pump was in place, but I don’t know if the screw pattern/sealing pattern changed from 78 to 79, so hard to tell if you have the 79 style gearcase. The part numbers do not supercede from 78-79 though. Looks like the 79 set up has a pinion needle and thrust bearing which the 78 models did not, the 79 also has the plastic water pump housing…
I guess the question is has this engine ever pumped water OK for you, or did you just buy it and it doesn’t pump. Needless to say, if it pumped OK in the past with this set up, it should be able to work now…