DF175 No water exiting pee hole

[seahawk IV]

I have a 2007 DF175 4 stroke that has about 20 original hours. I'm the second owner of this motor. The previous owner ran the motor approximately 4 months ago and the motor ran great. As of today, I turned the motor on and it ran smoothly. Except there was no water streaming out of the pee hole. Not a drop of water. I had the ear muffs hooked up to the lower unit pick-up screens.

I recently gave the motor a 100 hour service. Replaced the gear oil, motor oil and filter, water pump assembly, fuel filter, low pressure fuel filter, breather hose, thermostat, fuel assembly with hand pump, cleaned all the zincs and checked the spark plugs. All parts used are Suzuki OEM purchased at Boats.net.

I've inspected the water pump installation 3 times and everything looks great. I also snaked all the water lines with a 100# monofilament line. I inspected the thermostat and it looks excellent because it's new. I sprayed Salt Away in all the thermostat housing and allowed it to sit for a while. I removed the lower unit water pick-up screen and it was clean. The motor turns over and purrs but no water is coming out of the pee hole. I allowed the motor to run for about 5 seconds up to 15 seconds on various tries.

I ran the motor without a thermostat and still no water flowing out of the pee hole. Where else should I look for a possible blockage. The only area I have not checked is the exhaust manifold. It almost seems like the impeller is not sucking up the water and allowing it to flow into the motor.

Please suggest what else I should check and if I'm flushing the motor incorrectly.

[drifterny]

Did you try connecting the hose to it instead of the earmuffs? I have the df 150s and i know when i connect the hose water comes from the pee hole. When I winterized and used the muffs i don't recall anything from the pee hole. If you connect the hose to the hose port i wouldn't start it. Just see if it flows. Good Luck!

[seahawk IV]

I'll try the hose connections. If I can't run the motor, is this a sufficient flush that will get all the salt deposits out of the motor?

[drifterny]

I dont believe its good enough to get all deposits out on its own. Its recommended to run hose while motor is running in the water to flush it. But it will tell you if something is wrong. Heres an idea. If you have two hoses close by run 1 with the muffs and one in the hose port. You can then start the motor and see if water is coming out of the pee hole.

[seahawk IV]

I ran fresh water in each hose port. Water is pushing out of the pee hole at a high volume. So now it's confirmed the pee hole is clear of obstructions.

I fired the motor up with the earmuffs and still no water coming out of the pee hole. Maybe I'm not waiting long enough for the water to come out of the pee hole. I've let it run for as long as 15 seconds and still to no water.

I checked the impeller and it appears that it has spun which is a good sign.

Any other suggestions before I remove the exhaust manifold? I've read that others have used distilled vinegar to dissolve the crust build up. They poured the vinegar in the thermostat tube going both ways and also used compressed air to blow out any particles in the lower unit water pick-up tube and other various hose connections. Is this safe to do since vinegar is on the acidic side?

When I replaced the impeller, I replaced everything except for the water pump housing. The plastic housing appeared to be in excellent condition. Also did not notice any water on the exterior of the housing when I removed the lower unit for inspection. So that tells me there is not leaks.

Getting a bit frustrated...

[nelbur]

I believe you are just not giving it enough time. The engines water passages all drain when the engine is shut off. When it is started up the water passages all have to fill up before the water flows out of the pee hole. Turn the hose bib wide open and check to be sure the muffs are still on the water inlets, before you start the engine. Suzukis have the water inlets far enough forward on the lower unit that there is some danger of the muffs falling off the lower unit due to the water gushing around the muffs.

[drifterny]

Give it longer than 15 seconds. If that doesn't work find a dealer.

[seahawk IV]

The ear muffs are grabbing on pretty good with great coverage. I'm allowing about 60-70 PSI of water flow. The earmuffs that I'm using has a double passage for water flow.

I'm apprehensive in running the motor for more then 15 seconds without water shooting out. I don't want to risk damaging the motor. Also the alarm never sounded. My last motor was a Yamaha and it started to shoot water after 2 to 4 seconds.

How long does it typically take for these DF175 for water to shoot out after start up?

[catacom225]

Pee

Hold the cups tight with your hands and put the rpm's up a touch, mine takes longer tham 15 seconds

[seahawk IV]

Found the problem.

I submerged the lower unit in a tub of water and water immediately shot out of the pee hole. Ran the motor for 15 minutes and the water stayed cool to the touch.

I then ran the motor for about a minute with the earmuffs and still no water coming out of the pee hole. It use to work fine, not sure what happened since then.

Thanks to all of you that replied.

[Captlarry99]

I just picked up my new 2012 Carolina Skiff with a DF150 and started it for the first time today, but didn't get a pee stream using the muffs. Waited about 15 seconds and shut it down because I was worried about not having the stream.

The engine has about an hour on it from the dealership test run.

[Moonlighter]

Many similar posts about this. Nothing to worry too much about.

The Suzukis like LOTS of water pressure on the muffs. And even then, it sometimes takes longer than you would expect for water to flow from the tell-tale hole. My DF115 sometimes takes 30 seconds or more for water to show.

So your choices are to up the ante with water pressure if possible, but also get get the muffs that have dual hose feed from the rear, not the ones where the hose attaches to one side, or flush them in a large bucket.

Cheers

ML

[Captlarry99]

Thanks for the info ML. I'll try the dual feed muffs.

[Captlarry99]

Just tried the dual feed muffs and that was the ticket. Had the pee stream within 10 seconds. Ran the motor about 10 minutes and had good water from the hole the entire time.

[seahawk IV]

Update

Guranteed method to have water shoot out of pee hole when flushing. Attach hose to mid section flush port and let water purge through system until water pees out. Quickly remove hose and replace plug. Then immediatly connect hose to dual spray muffs covering water pick-up screen and the holes just infront of it and start motor. This method has worked everytime. Tedious but effective.