Telltale spray

[county61s]

Have a 90 Yamaha v max, pulled it out of storage. Put on muffs and it took about 2 min for any water to come out telltale.   it was steam them not real strong stream but a stream, and it was very hot water. Is that common for first firing it up and with using just mufflers???

[regulator]

Could be the thermostat. I just replaced the one in my 60 HP Merc and it is flowing good again. It was down to a trickle, then would flow weak, then stop altogether.

[Shakemsam]

11 hours ago, county61s said:

Have a 90 Yamaha v max, pulled it out of storage. Put on muffs and it took about 2 min for any water to come out telltale.   it was steam them not real strong stream but a stream, and it was very hot water. Is that common for first firing it up and with using just mufflers???

Put it in a trash barrel and see if it's any different. When I use muffs, I wrap a bungee around it tight but it is still slow to stream.

[sherman brown]

17 hours ago, county61s said:

Have a 90 Yamaha v max, pulled it out of storage. Put on muffs and it took about 2 min for any water to come out telltale.   it was steam them not real strong stream but a stream, and it was very hot water. Is that common for first firing it up and with using just mufflers???

sometimes the lines get clogged from bugs to spider webs. on a couple of motors that weren't getting any flow, I used a large piece of weedeater line and ran it up the pee hole until I hit the blockage. I kept moving the line in and out hitting the clog hard until it gave way and I ran the line all the way in and did the back and forth. water was already coming out around the line and when I removed the line the water was dark green until all the crap came out. one motor had set for a couple of years but both were stopped up with green moss.

 

I have had quite a few motors over my 45 years boating not pee until I opened them up. at first, I used a small wire to unstop the water line. but about 15 years ago I started using the Weedealine.

 

to answer your question the water should be coming out within the 1st 60 to 90 seconds. but if the pee tube has anything in the tube it may take a little longer or not at all.

 

to explain it better the thermostat has nothing at all to do with the pee tube. the water doesn't ever enter the inside of the motor. it has its own line running by the motor and next to the exhaust tubes that heat the water up. the water gets hot from the exhaust, not from the motor. the pee tube water is a bypass to let water flow so the operator knows it's pumping water.

 

taking a short time the water is next to the exhaust tubes which heats it up. if it's slow to start flowing the water will get hot and cause the steam. be sure if it isn't flowing after a couple of minutes to run something up the pee hole all the way up. it doesn't hurt your motor to run it without water for a few minutes as it takes a while for the motor to get hot enough to hurt it. when I clean the line I run the motor so the water pressure helps clean the line as I break up the clog.

 

if the motor is running and you're worried it is overheating just carefully put your hand against the head to see how hot it is. it shouldn't be near hot enough to burn you.

 

my tip of the day is to use a set of muffs that has water going to both sides. with any muffs make sure they are covering the water intake on the motor. be sure to turn the water supply as much as it will go. some people think they will blow out the impeller and only turn the water on about halfway. they don't ever think about the pressure from the lake going 40 or 50 MPH. it is so much more pressure than any water supply. if you watch the water coming out the muffs with a warm motor you will actually see the amount of water being much less than it was.

Edited April 17 by sherman brown

[county61s]

1 hour ago, sherman brown said:

sometimes the lines get clogged from bugs to spider webs. on a couple of motors that weren't getting any flow, I used a large piece of weedeater line and ran it up the pee hole until I hit the blockage. I kept moving the line in and out hitting the clog hard until it gave way and I ran the line all the way in and did the back and forth. water was already coming out around the line and when I removed the line the water was dark green until all the crap came out. one motor had set for a couple of years but both were stopped up with green moss.

 

I have had quite a few motors over my 45 years boating not pee until I opened them up. at first, I used a small wire to unstop the water line. but about 15 years ago I started using the Weedealine.

 

to answer your question the water should be coming out within the 1st 60 to 90 seconds. but if the pee tube has anything in the tube it may take a little longer or not at all.

 

to explain it better the thermostat has nothing at all to do with the pee tube. the water doesn't ever enter the inside of the motor. it has its own line running by the motor and next to the exhaust tubes that heat the water up. the water gets hot from the exhaust, not from the motor. the pee tube water is a bypass to let water flow so the operator knows it's pumping water.

 

taking a short time the water is next to the exhaust tubes which heats it up. if it's slow to start flowing the water will get hot and cause the steam. be sure if it isn't flowing after a couple of minutes to run something up the pee hole all the way up. it doesn't hurt your motor to run it without water for a few minutes as it takes a while for the motor to get hot enough to hurt it. when I clean the line I run the motor so the water pressure helps clean the line as I break up the clog.

 

if the motor is running and you're worried it is overheating just carefully put your hand against the head to see how hot it is. it shouldn't be near hot enough to burn you.

 

my tip of the day is to use a set of muffs that has water going to both sides. with any muffs make sure they are covering the water intake on the motor. be sure to turn the water supply as much as it will go. some people think they will blow out the impeller and only turn the water on about halfway. they don't ever think about the pressure from the lake going 40 or 50 MPH. it is so much more pressure than any water supply. if you watch the water coming out the muffs with a warm motor you will actually see the amount of water being much less than it was.

Thanks for the info, I guess my main concern is why it too so long to spit, and the temp of the water coming out. I have never started a motor after winter break when it was 50 outside, and was concerned more of the steam and then the temp of water coming out. The week stream I am chalking up to the mufflers and not having any RPM on the motor. Again thanks for the info and time you took to help out another boater.....

[county61s]

7 hours ago, Shakemsam said:

Put it in a trash barrel and see if it's any different. When I use muffs, I wrap a bungee around it tight but it is still slow to stream.

Thanks.......

[13owhunter]

I had the same issue the first time i fired it up this season.  I had spider webs/eggs? in the hole.  Ill be putting blue painters tape over the hole when I store it next season.  Weed eater line is a good idea.

[sherman brown]

22 minutes ago, county61s said:

Thanks for the info, I guess my main concern is why it too so long to spit, and the temp of the water coming out. I have never started a motor after winter break when it was 50 outside, and was concerned more of the steam and then the temp of water coming out. The week stream I am chalking up to the mufflers and not having any RPM on the motor. Again thanks for the info and time you took to help out another boater.....

the water temp and steam isn't caused by the motor and get hot much sooner than your motor. As long as your head doesn't feel hot then it is all good. if you still have a weak stream something might be blocking the line. I would make sure I got the line clean all the way through it. you can feel it when you are all the way through the line. if the flow doesn't improve after cleaning you might want to think about replacing your water pump.

 

the reason I know about this is I was having trouble with my Mercruiser kept getting hot after I replaced the impeller when I had run it without turning the water back on while we were working on the motor. it seemed fine but after 3000 RPMs would get hot fast. I went back and made sure the lines hadn't got blocked by my old impeller busting into many pieces. I spent more than a week researching everything including the pee line on outboard motors. i had almost given up on it then I remembered a charter caption that lives close by and said he was also a marine mechanic. I gave him a call and asked if he could work on it. I told him everything about it. then he asked me if I had changed the upper housing and the wear plate on the bottom. he said that sometimes they got distorted after they had been hot. I replaced everything except the lower part. when I took it back out it never got hot. by now I had already bought another boat and sold this one.

[county61s]

14 minutes ago, sherman brown said:

the water temp and steam isn't caused by the motor and get hot much sooner than your motor. As long as your head doesn't feel hot then it is all good. if you still have a weak stream something might be blocking the line. I would make sure I got the line clean all the way through it. you can feel it when you are all the way through the line. if the flow doesn't improve after cleaning you might want to think about replacing your water pump.

 

the reason I know about this is I was having trouble with my Mercruiser kept getting hot after I replaced the impeller when I had run it without turning the water back on while we were working on the motor. it seemed fine but after 3000 RPMs would get hot fast. I went back and made sure the lines hadn't got blocked by my old impeller busting into many pieces. I spent more than a week researching everything including the pee line on outboard motors. i had almost given up on it then I remembered a charter caption that lives close by and said he was also a marine mechanic. I gave him a call and asked if he could work on it. I told him everything about it. then he asked me if I had changed the upper housing and the wear plate on the bottom. he said that sometimes they got distorted after they had been hot. I replaced everything except the lower part. when I took it back out it never got hot. by now I had already bought another boat and sold this one.

Better be just that it wasnt under much water pressure or a clogged line, motor is only 2 hrs old with less than 50 hrs on it  sigh

[county61s]

19 minutes ago, 13owhunter said:

I had the same issue the first time i fired it up this season.  I had spider webs/eggs? in the hole.  Ill be putting blue painters tape over the hole when I store it next season.  Weed eater line is a good idea.

never thought of taping it off , it was stored in an old horse barn all winter,,, thanks

[rolmops]

Spiderwebs do not make a hot engine. The peehole is just an indicator that you have cooling water going through the system. If at first it does not come out but only after a while and it is real hot, you should check a few more things.

If it is an extra long shaft you should not use the muffs period you must put it in a barrel.

Did you put the hose on full blast or just a trickle because the water was coming out the sides of the muffs?

 Did you put the muffs on the right spot or a bit off to the side? (sometimes when you turn on the water the muffs slide away a bit)

Did you check if any water came out from the outlet from behind the propeller? And was it hot or cool?

My worry is the thermostat. When you just start up the engine , there is no waterflow to the block until the block is hot enough to open the thermostat. Until then there should be cold water coming from the peehole and the through the propeller exhaust outlet. If it only lets the water through when the engine is hot then you have a blockage at or near the thermostat.

If it was my engine , I would check both the thermostat and the impeller pump and housing,and make sure that the hose os on full blast even when the water leaks around the muffs.

One last thing. Does your engine have a place to attach the hose higher up above the impeller? This is often there and it is to flush the engine innards after having been in salt water. If you do, screw the hose in there and give it full blast. If everything is open, you should water coming out of the peehole. just make sure not to run the engine when you this or you'll ruin the impeller/pump.

[county61s]

oyeeeeee-- the flushing is my next thing to do. Of course weather turned here AGAIN,, so will do that asap. Yes there was water spraying out from the muffs. Yes it was on full but it is still just faucet pressure in long hose. With the motor only 2 yrs old I am sure ( ok hoping) its just minor issues to ensure all good.. hoping when in actual water and under some rpm all will be ok... thanks appreciate the knowledge

[sherman brown]

2 minutes ago, rolmops said:

Spiderwebs do not make a hot engine. The peehole is just an indicator that you have cooling water going through the system. If at first it does not come out but only after a while and it is real hot, you should check a few more things.

If it is an extra long shaft you should not use the muffs period you must put it in a barrel.

Did you put the hose on full blast or just a trickle because the water was coming out the sides of the muffs?

 Did you put the muffs on the right spot or a bit off to the side? (sometimes when you turn on the water the muffs slide away a bit)

Did you check if any water came out from the outlet from behind the propeller? And was it hot or cool?

My worry is the thermostat. When you just start up the engine , there is no waterflow to the block until the block is hot enough to open the thermostat. Until then there should be cold water coming from the peehole and the through the propeller exhaust outlet. If it only lets the water through when the engine is hot then you have a blockage at or near the thermostat.

If it was my engine , I would check both the thermostat and the impeller pump and housing,and make sure that the hose os on full blast even when the water leaks around the muffs.

One last thing. Does your engine have a place to attach the hose higher up above the impeller? This is often there and it is to flush the engine innards after having been in salt water. If you do, screw the hose in there and give it full blast. If everything is open, you should water coming out of the peehole. just make sure not to run the engine when you this or you'll ruin the impeller/pump.

the water should always be opened all the way. and I would clean the pee line first, then if it's still low volume your motor might not get hot idling but at high RPM you should pay close attention to your heat gauge. but I would never take the chance, I would replace the water pump impeller at the least.

[sherman brown]

2 minutes ago, county61s said:

oyeeeeee-- the flushing is my next thing to do. Of course weather turned here AGAIN,, so will do that asap. Yes there was water spraying out from the muffs. Yes it was on full but it is still just faucet pressure in long hose. With the motor only 2 yrs old I am sure ( ok hoping) its just minor issues to ensure all good.. hoping when in actual water and under some rpm all will be ok... thanks appreciate the knowledge

when you say faucet pressure is your water coming from a faucet or an outside line? faucet pressure is much too low to use on your motor.

[county61s]

35 minutes ago, sherman brown said:

when you say faucet pressure is your water coming from a faucet or an outside line? faucet pressure is much too low to use on your motor.

out door faucet, but not a ton of pressure out of it, and of course the mufflers were not the best.... I am sure once in water it will be fine,,, fingers crossed, new motor should not be problem. SHOULD NOT anyways

[4426]

Most Yamahas I’ve dealt with haven’t liked muffs very much, definitely stronger stream with a barrel or tub 

[spoonfed-1]

Any outboard I've run off muffs didn't flow well. Make sure they fit well and I usually have to turn my water pressure down out of the hose.