Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

[dirtyoldman]

I have an 87 sea ray with 260hp thunderbolt 350 and alpha one.

I had an overheating problem and replaced the impeller and water pump. I put it on the water and it ran hot at idle. As soon as I took it out above about 1500 RPM it would cool right down, and then at idle it would get hot, and FAST!! In less than a minute it would be back at 220F. I was going to shoot the water jacket tomorrow because the engine was running 180 out on the water, but wouldn't budge off that number until I idled again. I do now know the accuracy of the gauge, so doubt the numbers a little bit.

Anyway, I was looking this up when I got back here and found a thread about the little check balls on the thermostat housing, which I immediately realized I forgot to put back in.

So, it only got hot at idle and I assume it had enough cooling water out on the water. The impeller was always moving water, so should be OK, right? Do I have reason to pull the lower unit back off to see if I overheated the housing?

I didn't let it jsut sit there that hot, it got there twice while trying to decide if it was really 220F or if my gauge is bad.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

At this point of your story, Your impeller should still be ok.

I would fix your thermostat housing and retest.

Also you could try checking your exhaust manifold inlet water hose connectors to ensure they are not clogged up with anything just to be safe.

Was your impeller bad enough to cause your first over heat issue?

Did you replace the thermostat? Was it stuck?

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

Good - thanks!

I fixed the thermopstat housing last night and reinstalled the check balls. The thermostat was replaced yesterday, and the engine pump was checked yesterday also.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

oh - the impeller was terrible and the unit was severely overheated. I had to replace the lower pump housing and the pump got hot enough to melt it.

 

[dirtyoldman]

Re: Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

Well - I just got it done and on the muffs. It ran the same 180F on the gauge. I shot it with the heat gun and the engine showed 160F actual, so appears a proper temp and only got to 200 for a short period. The gauge is inaccurate.

Thanks for the help!

 

[nitrosteve]

Re: Did I toast my new impeller and water pump?

That's still hot especially on muffs it should only vary a small amount during idle and beyond. I think you still have issues.