Water not coming out exhaust....?

Need input: I was using the fake a lake at home, and everything was normal, except after 10 or 15 seconds no water was coming out the back. I tried this 3 or four times, and did not let the boat run past 10 seconds each time. The engine was warm but not hot. I rechecked everything over, and everything was hooked up right, and I replaced the plunger to make sure. I raised the nose of the boat, and still nothing happened. Like the third time I heard a squeak for a second or two, and I turned the boat off. Had this ever happened to you? I dont drive through anything that would have clogged the intake. Is the impeller faulty? I am just unsure what is happening.
Thanks for the imput.

Boat is a 89 Malibu Sunsetter with 350 Merc.

Sometimes it will take a little while for the water to come out.

It usually takes less than 10 seconds. How long is a little while? How long does it take to ruin your impeller or engine without any water? Thanks.

turn the pressure of the water up?

It takes a while, if it's longer than about 30 or 45 seconds, you have a prob

if the impellar is shot this will happen -- should only take a few sec for water to make it out the exhaust

Jason, same thing happened to me at the start of the season. The boat sat in the garage all winter and the impeller gave out. They are cheap to replace. Just remember to lube up the new one prior to install.

if the impeller is good, check the thermostat.

mine froze closed this summer, and got the same effect of a bad impeller.

If the thermostat is stuck open or closed it won't make any difference to the water flowing through the exhaust.

Its quite simple that what goes in must come out so the water is not flowing in if its not coming out.

After draining my block it can take as much as 90 seconds before the whole cooling system is full of water and it starts flowing out the exhaust.

Best thing to do is pull the raw water hose inside the boat and just put the end of you hose in there. That way you'll be able to see easily if the water is flowing into the engine. If it is then just wait. Eventually it will have to come out!

Personally i've never liked the fake a lakes and flush pros. It take me 10 seconds to pull the raw water hose and stick my garden hose in the end. Much better than messing about under the boat or paying through the nose for a flush pro.

I usually do not start mine until I see water coming out of the tail pipe. Let the water run all of the way through first, then start the motor.

^ sounds like a "safe, than sorry" type of deal. But how does water get past the impeller?

easiest way is like Jay said, pull the hose off the strainer. i don't like upside down plungers either. you can put a fitting on the threads that makes it super easy to pull the hose off. Seen some where the fitting wasn't there. a little more of a pain to undo the tranny cooler and unscrew the hose off the strainer, but ya may have to the first time.

Did this over the weekend and we had water out the back inside of 10 seconds.

Jason, check your impeller

Make sure you have the plunger on the raw water intake and not the intake for your ballast system...if you have one.