LouC wrote:
Never having had a Volvo with the engine mounted impeller, I'm not sure if that's common or not but I have heard of people having difficulty getting them to suck water on the hose. I'd make sure that your muffs fit very tightly and use the dual inlet ones if you are using the single inlet ones. Some Volvos use a flush port that is in the raw water intake line, I'm not sure if you can run it this way though. It would eliminate the problem of the distance the water has to travel from the lower unit all the way to the engine mounted pump; the water has to travel up at least a foot and forward at least 4 feet.
On my OMC Cobra, that has the impeller in the upper gear housing, one of the checks I do when I replace the impeller is to leave the impeller housing off and hook up the muffs and water hose, and turn on the water. This is to make sure there are no obstructions in the water intake area or leaks in the water transfer tube grommets inside the drive. I can tell you that unless the muffs really fit tight, you will not see water at the water port that feeds water to the impeller, and this is only at the top of the upper gear housing, not traveling the long way from the intake holes on the lower unit all the way to the front of the engine. So the muffs must fit tight.
Also I have heard of the water transfer tube grommets rotting or just not sealing inside the drive, that could be part of the issue.
Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking it may be an issue with getting the impeller "primed". Perhaps with the outdrive down, I just don't have enough water pressure/seal to get water to the pump.As soon as I get my wings on the smoker, I'll be bolting everything back up and trying again!