Peehole blocked on Tohatsu 9.9 2 stroke

[Zed_Head]

I noticed the pee hole on my outboard was blocked while testing at home and unblocked it using a thin piece of wire, it started pumping water great and left it at that. However i took my SIB on Windermere at the weekend and after about 5-10mins noticed the engine seemed a little sluggish i checked the pee hole and noticed no water was coming out, foolishly i hadn't takedn any wire out with me so had to make do with what i had on board (which wasn't a lot!!) and poked around for a while and a trickle of water appeared which was like boiling water. I presume this was because it wasn't exiting from the engine and got hotter and hotter??

When i tried to start the engine again it wouldn't start, i put my hand on the cowl which was v. hot! I had to let the engine cool down before it would start again, i limped back to shore (minimal revs) and tried to clear the obstruction but it didn't budge. I had sandy grit coming from the pee hole so it must now be blocked with a larger piece of shell or similar.

I don't know anything about outboards so was hoping for some advice on here, hopefully i haven't damaged the engine by overheating it but how would i go about clearing the blockage?

Thanks in advance

[captnjack]

Start by disconnecting the hose from the inside of the fitting in the cowling. Clear out the sandy bits and leave the pee hose disconnected from the grommet for now.

Then I would drop the lower unit and examine the water pump for grit, blockage, broken, or burnt up impeller vanes. You can find videos of how to do this for your engine model/year on the internet/youtube. It should be 4 or 5 bolts holding it on. Then 4 screws holding the water pump together.

If there's any evidence of water pump damage I would replace the whole pump. Don't reassemble yet.

Lastly I would put a hose onto both the pee outlet and flush any debris back out of the engine the way it came in (towards the water pump). You are more likely to remove any jammed fragments this direction.

Then put the lower unit back on, reconnect the pee hose to the cowling, and test for good water flow and cooling.

[willk]

AFAIK, the telltale doesn't have a function as regards cooling - it just tells you if your impellor/water pump is working. It sounds like your water pump is stuffed. Hope you don't have damage....

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by willk

AFAIK, the telltale doesn't have a function as regards cooling -

Yep, the tell-tale on our BF blocks constantly. Shoving a length of soft wire in there whilst running on muffs sorts it.

[jcjcat]

Willk is right, the pee has no effect on the cooling - just there to say that you have water pressure if not obstructed by insect nest - they like ...!

Replace the impeller, if not your engine is dead !