Rick, Jim, or anyone else,
Wouldn't the same volume of water flow thru the pump and out the discharge
(part of which would be indicator stream) regardless of the state of the
thermostat ? I had assumed the thermostat merely diverted cooling water to
the powerhead , as needed. I don't know for sure, but would like to know, if
someone can say.
A few years back, my first ebay purchase was for a kit to force a regulated
amount of fresh water back thru the "pee tube" to flush out the outboard
motor. At the time, i was skeptical whether this would flush out more than
just the water pump, but figured what the heck.
I'm still skeptical, so would appreciate it if someone who is familiar with
these cooling system could tell me.

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 16 Mar 08, Frank wrote:
I made sure the water level in the barrel was well
above the water intake.

Make sure it's higher than the impeller. There's no mark on the
outside of your lower unit indicating where it is, you'll just have to
estimate. But some impellers won't suck up water if they're above
water level.
Second thing, remove the thermostat. It might be stuck closed. It
won't hurt to run the engine without it. If that's the problem, you
can replace it later.

Rick