Re: 15hp exhaust & water leak…why?

[johnyrude200]

The upper water tube grommet was OK, intact. I ended up taking the motor out on my test boat and running it. It ran totally fine and did not overheat. I couldn’t help but notice that these ’74-76 models throw almost no water at idle through the blubber hole (Pre overboard water indicator models), but at mid to high throttle you’ll see it gushing out like a hose. I guess the newer models behave in a similar manner though, >just thought of that<.

For whatever reason, it seems that some motors have a hard time pulling water into them in my 275 gallon test tank, particularly the motors with the thru-hub exhaust. I think they are throwing so much air into the water that it is creating an air pocket and a churned up soup of water and air bubbles.

However, I did have a 3hp JW a fews weeks ago that had the same problem. I had the motor aimed dead center of the pool, and it kept overheating erratically. Then I turned it about 70° to the left and allowed the water to start swirling around and it ran totally fine (cold, if anything). This was, of course, after I had torn it apart 3 times, replaced gaskets, impeller, etc.

There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for when this situation occurs in the test tank. I haven’t observed any trends yet across generations, model types, or HP ratings.

School of hard knocks as Frank Robb would say…and by the way, I haven’t seen him on here in some time. Anyone know if he’s OK? 😯