I had to pull my lower unit because of a potential exhaust blockage (different thread). Ultimately, today was supposed to be the final straw in what was going on. So, yesterday I hooked up the boat to my truck and then hooked up water to the engine, Cranked up right away. But I noticed the tell-tale wasn't telling. Water was coming out the seam where lower unit meets mid section. Now what??? Pulled the lower unit and noticed the drive shaft would not rotate. Turns out the drive shaft collar and and spacer were worn. This means although the dealership that replaced the impeller (I saw the invoice for that work) replaced ONLY the impeller. They clearly re-used all other related wear-n-tear parts. AND put the washers that sit on the impeller incorrectly (supposed to be flat, wave, flat... was flat, flat, wave). I really hate cheap, low-Q work!
Anyway, enough rant. The real question... if I have my facts right, from front to back on the lower unit is the water pickup (speedometer and pressure?), shift gear, drive shaft, exhaust chamber.
I poured water through the opening below the impeller to make sure there were no obstructions and the water flowed out the water inlet as expected. I poured water in the water pickup (?) and the tube filled.
If I have it right, water should have also flowed out the inlet. Obstruction, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I have time to clear it as I'm waiting on parts that a dealership service department was too cheap to replace (yup, still gritting my teeth).