raw water pump priming?

[Chris S280]

I just replaced the raw water pump on my 2006 280 sundancer. Do I have to prime the system or should it just suck the water from the muffs? The motor is a mercury 5.0 mpi. I just tried starting it with the hose hooked up to the muffs and no water was coming out I only had the motors running for about 20 seconds just enough time to start the motor and then get down to see there was no water coming out then got back up and turned the motor off. It seemed like it was sucking water because when it was running there was no water coming out around the muffs.

 

[dtfeld]

Has the boat been out of the water all winter? If so, may take a little bit of time to prime, then fill the muffler up and begin to see water out the side.

Did you put any lubricant in the pump before installing the pump? A little dish soap or glycerin from the drug store reduces wear on a dry pump until it primes.

 

[scoflaw]

It should of happened in 20 sec. Got the hoses on right?

 

[Chris S280]

It should of happened in 20 sec. Got the hoses on right?

yea there on right I only had to take the two hoses off the pump and they are different sizes so they could only go on one way. I did drain the whole system though when i took it off because i had to remove another hose to get out of the way but everything should be on right and i have no water leaking into the bilge

 

[Chris S280]

Has the boat been out of the water all winter? If so, may take a little bit of time to prime, then fill the muffler up and begin to see water out the side.

Did you put any lubricant in the pump before installing the pump? A little dish soap or glycerin from the drug store reduces wear on a dry pump until it primes.

I had the boat started already this year on land with the muffs thats when i noticed the leak coming from the pump and I bought a whole new pump I didn't just replace the impeller and it was all put together already so I didn't put any dish soap on it. I know the whole system drained though because I had to remove another hose and everything drained.

 

[scoflaw]

Interesting, I had that exact boat and both hoses were the same. Anyways, if your putting plenty of water to it the impeller shouldn't burn up. I'd try it again.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Agree with the above - if the water is going in, you're good. Sometimes it takes longer than you think, especially if the engine was drained, to see water to start coming out. Plus, it always feels like longer when you're waiting.

 

[Chris S280]

Thanks for the help everyone just went out and restarted it and it took about 10 seconds for the water to start coming out this time i had someone else start the boat and I was able to stay out there and watch. Thanks for all the help and advice on this and all my other projects that i have been doing this year and I'm sure there will be a lot more questions.