I have a question about my 1978 55 Hp. Evinrude. I hope some of you folks out there might be able to help me.
   I just bought this motor along with an older boat for a restore project. The motor runs great but it had over heating issues. We pulled the lower unit and checked the impeller and it was like new. The shear key had come out so the impeller was just spinning on the shaft. We devised a key and fixed this problem. We then found that the motor was missing the rubber grommet seal that fits between the water pump and the tube that leads to the motor , new one on order.
   Now for my problem.  When we called our local dealer and quizzed them about the water discharge, they told us that there is a tube at the top of the motor that the water should exit the motor from. My motor has no tube or place on the housing for a tube to exit. At the bottom of my motor on the gear case right under the hydrofoil it has holes that water does come out of. The water INTAKE of course is just above the skeg so this puts the water exit above the intake. Is this EXIT the water out put?? if it is is the alarm on the motor the only way to tell if overheating is occurring? Most outboards I have delt with have a discharge right under the power head or through a tube out the case. This allows you to see when water is flowing properly.  I looked at some You Tube videos of 55 hp Evinrudes running. One video had a motor (not sure of the year but looked a little older than mine) with the tube through the case spraying out water. I noticed this motor did NOT have the holes in the lower gear unit like mine does (just below the hydrofoil) The other video was of a 1977 Evinrude (Looked exactly like mine) it had no tube and the water was coming out of the holes under the hydrofoil. All of these motors, mine and the two in the videos, have water exit through the prop. Also I believe this is where it exhausts also.
  I realize that I may have you all scratching your heads wondering just what the prob is but I'm really looking for confirmation that The holes under the hydrofoil is the water exit port. This motor runs fantastic and I don't want to chance burning it up.
   Another question I have is Does this motor have a thermostat? If so how hard are they to change? Mine may be in good shape but if not I want to replace it. I live on fixed income so I really have to do the work myself, can't afford the repair shop prices. Lastly are there any tell tale signs of when a thermostat is not working properly? Any and all info anyone would be willing to share will be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone. Dave

Dave: You might want to think about investing in a service manual for your motor. A good one will answer almost any question you might have. A good source for parts and supplies is Sierra Marine. The entire catalor of Sierra stuff can be ordered through any Car Quest auto parts store or online. Tom

Hey dbarnett1 , I posted a reply to your question where you posted it on the Outdoor-Fishing.com. forum. Check there.

also go to your local library they usually have many boat motor repair manuals to choose from that may help you. It has helped me numerous times with motor problems similar to yours.

Your better off ordering the manual. There are a bunch of websites that sell outboard manuals for just about every year and make. Thats the first thing i did when I got my boat. It came with a 1997 80 Yamaha. And it turns out that Yamaha only made that model one year.

Thanks Fellas, I'm going to order a PDF file manual for my motor.