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Something really weird happened to me the past couple of days. Day one, I took the boat out and was just idling waiting for my driver to come back to the dock, After we were all boarded, we started out for our day. Well, the engine overheated and I immediately shut her down. Waited for the engine to cool down and then tried running the engine and again it overheated. I got a tow back, put the boat on the trailer and took her home.
At home the next day, I thought it was the impellor, a month old, had blown up and I started down the path of a bad impellor, Took the raw water pump off and looked through the tubes and it was fine. I then thought it was the water pump or I sucked something up into the system. I started with the sucked something into the system and started pulling hoses off and running my garden hose through the tubes pushing water out the hull inlet and vis-a-versa. Nothing seemed to block anything. I then ran the boat without the raw water pump by directly running the hose into the engine waterpump. She ran just fine, water came out of the risers, it started to warm up. So, I thought maybe the keyway on the raw water pump had sheared off and the impellor was spinning but, slipping so much that there wasn't enough water getting to the water pump. Pull the impellor and everything is okay. Put everything back together and run it with a fake a lake and she was running fine again, water coming out of the exhaust and engine temperature started to rise, I did not get the engine up to operating temperature because I don't like to run the rpms up when on the fake a lake.
I thought the only way to really test it would be to put the boat back in the water. Went to the lake, kept the boat on the trailer and ran the engine until it got up to operating temperature. It got up to 165 and then cooled down to 150 or so and thought okay the thermostat is opening. Pull the boat off the trailer and go cruising around.
So, now I run the boat up to different speeds and continue to watch the temperature. It would go up to 170 while idling and then go back down to 150 or so again. It holds around 150 or so, during the time I was at speed and I could see that the temperature would go to around 160 and then drop to 150. But, it seems like it never kept the engine at 165 steady.
I'm now thinking things are okay but, still question if the thermostat is sticky. I'm reading that thermostats either frail in the open position or the closed position but, I can't find an records of a sticky thermostat. I'm wondering if day one, the thermostat was failed in the stuck closed position and then I somehow managed to get it unstuck with all the work I did on it. I thought it was supposed to keep the engine at 165 even when there was sufficient cooling water.
It is just worth the effort to just replace the thermostat for good measure?
At home the next day, I thought it was the impellor, a month old, had blown up and I started down the path of a bad impellor, Took the raw water pump off and looked through the tubes and it was fine. I then thought it was the water pump or I sucked something up into the system. I started with the sucked something into the system and started pulling hoses off and running my garden hose through the tubes pushing water out the hull inlet and vis-a-versa. Nothing seemed to block anything. I then ran the boat without the raw water pump by directly running the hose into the engine waterpump. She ran just fine, water came out of the risers, it started to warm up. So, I thought maybe the keyway on the raw water pump had sheared off and the impellor was spinning but, slipping so much that there wasn't enough water getting to the water pump. Pull the impellor and everything is okay. Put everything back together and run it with a fake a lake and she was running fine again, water coming out of the exhaust and engine temperature started to rise, I did not get the engine up to operating temperature because I don't like to run the rpms up when on the fake a lake.
I thought the only way to really test it would be to put the boat back in the water. Went to the lake, kept the boat on the trailer and ran the engine until it got up to operating temperature. It got up to 165 and then cooled down to 150 or so and thought okay the thermostat is opening. Pull the boat off the trailer and go cruising around.
So, now I run the boat up to different speeds and continue to watch the temperature. It would go up to 170 while idling and then go back down to 150 or so again. It holds around 150 or so, during the time I was at speed and I could see that the temperature would go to around 160 and then drop to 150. But, it seems like it never kept the engine at 165 steady.
I'm now thinking things are okay but, still question if the thermostat is sticky. I'm reading that thermostats either frail in the open position or the closed position but, I can't find an records of a sticky thermostat. I'm wondering if day one, the thermostat was failed in the stuck closed position and then I somehow managed to get it unstuck with all the work I did on it. I thought it was supposed to keep the engine at 165 even when there was sufficient cooling water.
It is just worth the effort to just replace the thermostat for good measure?
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