Tohatsu 9hp vs other brand options

[Charlyipad]

Thanks SukiSolo, good information, that will save me a lot of extra work. Since I will be doing this job with engines on the boat it will be much much easier to change out the gear oil remotely. Without this info I would have needlessly drained the oil first, working from a precarious position.

 

[Charlyipad]

OK guys I am set to do this job in the cool of the a.m.tomorrow.

One final question: Is lithium grease OK to use for impeller?

Thanks

 

[PAR]

Yeah, about anything will do, though I usually use automotive brake fluid, which doesn't attach rubber, like a lot of greases can. It'll wipe clean in a few seconds after startup and water will become its primary lubrication. Hell, if you wipe your finger along side you nose, then on the impeller, it'll do just as well.

 

[SukiSolo]

I'd put money on the impellers being Polyurethane 30 or 40 Shore hardness not rubber...though you can never tell with some Far Eastern copies...

 

[Charlyipad]

Success!

For the benefit of anyone doing this job on their own, I post a few photos. But, if you go to you tube and search tohatsu water pump etc. there are several very helpful clips there.

The water pump kits cost about 40 bucks. I found I didn't need to change out the gaskets or the cups or the bolts. if you are really careful and don't lose the pin you may only need to buy the impeller.

The impeller shown has about 200 hours on it. Motor has never been flushed, but run up to temp every ten days minimum. It is muddy brackish water where i live. salinity varies.

The hardest part of this job is getting the thing back on. Be patient and it will go. when you get the shaft touching the power head reach up and gently pull the start cable to rotate the flywheel just a touch. that is all it takes. it will slip right in.

 

[Charlyipad]

OK I m not out of the woods yet.

When I got the second motor hooked back up and running, it pumped fine etc., but when I shifted forward, it didn't go into gear. It was like I had a spun hub.
Normally that is what I would think is going on, but since I had just got done monkeying with the shift rod I wonder if I did something to it. It seemed to go into reverse. There was a big tide running and sometimes it is hard to tell. The boat moved though.

The shift rod is coupled to the lower unit and held in place with roll pins. Earlier, in this same thread i posted a pic of what happened after a few months. the thing corroded and broke. The mechanic didn't have a spare, so he put in a cotter pin, and it worked fine. there may be a micro- miniscule bit of play there but not much. So that is one thing.

And then there is this (see photo): it is a piece of metal that looks like a valve handle but it isn't. It is bolted on one end and hangs down there some kind of way... i don't know what it does... anyway it was broke off, just laying there inside the cowling. I looked at the other motor to see what it was, and there was the other one, still attached, but when i touched it, iT broke off too. WTF?? BTW, the other motor still shifted fine.

Unless there is something obvious, that I don't know about, I am going to assume a spun hub. Anyone have another theory? This all happened about high noon when the heat hallucinations start, so I left it till things cool, and I can think straight.

Thanks for the input.

ps photo, I am holding the broken piece. It has plastic on it except where it attaches to the bolt. The bolt that holds it is just to the left and down a bit from the pull cord.

 

[PAR]

Check the shift linkage hookup, before you suspect the hub. It's probable you got things misaligned during reassembly.

The broken strip looks like a wiring hold down that wasn't "shaped" to hold anything.

 

[Charlyipad]

I can't tell where the shift rod goes once it enters the cowling. where do I look?

When I dropped the LU I had to tilt the engine up, so it was in fwd gear to do that. would that make a difference? should I re-unhook the shift rod at the the coupler, and hook it back up with the motor in neutral maybe?

 

[Charlyipad]

Fixed.

The shift shaft that goes into the cowling is slightly curved forehand aft and then makes a right angle bend athwart. that right angle end fits into a hole that is very hard to see, but once you find it, not so bad to hook it back up.

still haven't figured out what those broken metal pieces are for.

 

[PAR]

The broken metal strips are the usual way they dog down wiring and cables, under the cover, sometimes there's a extra or two used for different setups (tiller steer, versus remote, etc.). Do you have the repair manual on this puppy? Many require the shift rod be in reverse, before it's released from its stop nut, pin or keeper.

 

[SukiSolo]

It's also possible you clamped the lower gear linkage - behind the grommet or down the front of the engine in the wrong place. It maybe a locking, almost bottle screw arrangement or a clamp holding two rods set slightly apart with a central bolt squeezing the clamp together. With engine kill switch off, turn the prop by hand and test the gear engagement and free spin in neutral. There should be no 'clicking' when in neutral and positive engagement when in gear no slipping to neutral.

Check the 'Do not start in Gear' linkage too. Sometimes the plastic clips which hold the rods in place break.... though you might have a micro switch which earths the ignition type.

Same ie plastic clips for where the linkage rod(s) go to the 'box. Mostly the rod ends are push through hole and pivot the holder/retainer catch into place.

 

[Charlyipad]

Thanks for the help guys, for now they are up and running again. I have changed out the thermostats, fluids,impellers and cleaned/gaped the plugs.

I will buy a shop manual, I can see how it would have been helpful.

Love my motors. When they work.