Hey folks, new to this site and relativily new to boating in general. I've got a 1997 60HP tracker by Mercury- 2 cycle on a pontoon, the alarm started going off last weekend. Gas and oil level is good and the pee hole is spraying a steady stream of water. I don't have a manual for the motor or boat, so I traced the wire back from the alarm to the engine, looks like it goes down into the prop. I've read that this could be a water pump or impeller problem: does that sound right? Also if so, how labor intensive would it be to change out the pump myself? Should I change out the thermostat as well? Thanks for the help and looking forward to using the site more often..... Dave

Probably does need water pump replaced, it's not hard to do, best to get a service manual first and check or replace thermostat to.

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OK, tonight I replaced the water pump and impeller and now the motor is stuck in forward, won't shift to neutral of reverse. What did I do? The motor is running good, the alarm didn't go off yet, but I'm stuck in forward.

First - The lower unit must be removed.
Now reinstall in the same gear as gear shift lever.
You can shift the lower unit by rotating the shift shaft.
Forward gear - Prop will rotate clock-wise and click when it is passing over the clutch-dog.
Neutral - Prop rotates freely.
Reverse - Prop locks into clutch-dog no rotation.
Neutral is the easiest to find. If you install in Forward you must make sure the shift shaft does not rotate past the just engaged position.
Check the shifting before installing all of the hardware this saves time and frustration.
Now alarm problem.
For oil injected motor.
Is it solid beep (overheat).
Intermittent (beep,beep,beep) oil tank empty?
If intermittent and you have oil in tank check float switch in tank or sensor in tank or the oil injection control module. Oil tank is most common. I have seen all three fail many times.

Thank you for the response....Engine is now shifting correctly, but I still have the constant alarm after replacing the impeller and thermostat. It starts about 5 minutes into the ride and never goes off. Pee hole is working properly and discharging cool water, and the engine is running fine. Could it still be the float? I'm trying everything I can to keep from having this serviced because they say it will be in for 2 weeks...

Its good to know that the engine is shifting correctly but the alarm is still there.i think you just need to get it checked by a good technician.