I recently bought a sailboat that had received little care for the last many
years. It has a 1983 Honda 7.5hp long shaft motor.

I couldn't get it to start so I took it to a local boat repair facility.
They admitted that they had never worked on Honda motors but they would take
care of me. (I would not have done this EXCEPT this company is a client of
mine) I asked them to get it running, tune it up, replace the impeller and
change the grease in the lower end. I supplied the new impeller.

Tuesday they called me to say that they couldn't get the motor to run and my
bill was $(the MAX I allocated for repair based on their maximum cost
estimate)
Wednesday I picked up the motor. This evening I have it running well BUT
there is no water discharge at the rear of the engine. It's in a 55 gal
drum.

Prior to tonight I've never seen this motor run. I assume there should be a
visable discharge of coolant. Is that an accurate assumption?

I found a pair of small holes above the water line at the rear of the motor.
When I cover them with my fingers while the motor is running, there is
considerably more bubbling from the exhaust.

What is involved in replacing the impeller? Are there instructions online?

Any help will be appreciated.

Hi Michael

I had one of the outboards, it was a short-shaft 7.5 hp which I bought in
1975 and replaced it in the late 80's with an 8hp Honda.

There should be a strong flow of coolant when the engine is running, it is
unmistakable so if you are not seeing it, the coolant is not flowing,
probably not even reaching the engine.

When the motor has been standing for a few weeks, the blades of the rubber
impellor for the water pump, stick to the pump housing so that when you turn
the engine over, the rubber blades are all torn off, this could be your
problem. You need to give the pump a good soak before you start the engine.

Replacing the impellor should be simple if it has been dismantled recently,
if not be prepared for the stainless steel studs to be corroded into the
aluminium housing, even breaking. The pump housing is obvious when you
remove the gearbox and propeller assembly.

Also the pump housing can corrode through and this will impair flow. Check
the pipe which carries the water up from the pump to the engine, it may not
have been placed correctly when reassembled.

I have had problems with the stainless steel exhaust pipe corroding through,
this lets the exhaust gases find their way into the carburettor and cause a
major loss of power, if the cover is removed while the engine is under load,
the increase in power is immediately obvious.

--
Regards - Terry Hollis, Auckland, New Zealand

replace "nospam" with "terry.hollis" to reply

"Michael J." wrote in message
m...
I recently bought a sailboat that had received little care for the last
many
years. It has a 1983 Honda 7.5hp long shaft motor.

I couldn't get it to start so I took it to a local boat repair facility.
They admitted that they had never worked on Honda motors but they would
take
care of me. (I would not have done this EXCEPT this company is a client of
mine) I asked them to get it running, tune it up, replace the impeller and
change the grease in the lower end. I supplied the new impeller.

Tuesday they called me to say that they couldn't get the motor to run and
my
bill was $(the MAX I allocated for repair based on their maximum cost
estimate)
Wednesday I picked up the motor. This evening I have it running well BUT
there is no water discharge at the rear of the engine. It's in a 55 gal
drum.

Prior to tonight I've never seen this motor run. I assume there should be
a
visable discharge of coolant. Is that an accurate assumption?

I found a pair of small holes above the water line at the rear of the
motor.
When I cover them with my fingers while the motor is running, there is
considerably more bubbling from the exhaust.

What is involved in replacing the impeller? Are there instructions online?

Any help will be appreciated.

On Sat, 08 May 2004 02:02:52 +0000, Michael J. wrote:

I recently bought a sailboat that had received little care for the last many
years. It has a 1983 Honda 7.5hp long shaft motor.

snip

What you're referring to is what some call the "pee-hole". Although the impeller
should definitely be replaced, the pee-hole often gets gunk in it. Try poking a
wire into it and see if you get water.

Lloyd