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Running hot after possibly sucking up sand

Old 02-11-2008, 07:03 PM
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Default Running hot after possibly sucking up sand

So, after being beached like a whale at Peanut Island yesterday, we managed to get underway at about 4PM... 3 or 4 minutes into the trip I notice the temp gauge creeping up, followed shortly thereafter by the alarm... cut the motor, jumped in the water to make sure nothing was plugging the water inlet holes -- all clear. Back on board, pop the engine hatch, sea pump feels cool, not like a burnt up impeller, no screeching from it when the motor is running.

Let it sit for a few minutes, restarted, and it ran relatively cool at idle -- a little warmer than usual (165 or so, instead of 155 as usual), but it was stable. Temp stayed steady up to 1400 rpm, but anything over that, the temp shot upwards... Took us 3 hours to get back to the ramp from Peanut.

Ran nice and cool on the hose when I got home. No load, of course.

So I started tearing apart the cooling system tonight. (this is a 454 carb non-mag/Bravo, btw)

The impeller looks perfect -- no torn vanes, no sand in it at all.

The thermostat housing looks fine from the underside of it -- how do I get the thermostat out of there to inspect the top of it?

No sand in the intake manifold (below the thermostat), or any of the hoses going to or from the sea pump. The top screen of the oil cooler is clear other than a piece of grass or 2.

If I flush with the hose into the exhaust manifold feed hoses, or the water pump upper hose, or the oil cooler, I get flow through the system.

I opened up the stopcocks on either side of the block (which is rusty, btw), and the water doesn't pour out like I would expect -- it just drips... drip.. drip... That's the only thing I've found so far that seems strange to me, but maybe it's normal??

SO, next step is what? Take out the freeze plugs in the block? Pull the intake?

Thanks!
Andrew
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:13 PM
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OK, just got the bright idea to stick a screwdriver into the drain hole -- I hit sand. Duh.

Poked around a bit, got a nice gusher of water from both sides of the block, and a good amount of sand. Guess that's why I was running hot.

SO, what's the recommendation for getting that out of there?
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:32 PM
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leave the plugs out and run it on the hose
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:36 PM
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Yep, leave plugs out and run on the hose should flush it, just keep poking the block drain is if they block up
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:38 PM
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I would take the input hose off of the raw water pump, then stick a garden hose in it and clamp it down and turn the water on.Make sure the water coming out of the drive is clear. I have a buddy that has the exact same boat with a low water pickup drive and we have had to do this several times. How much water were you getting out of the exaust after you noticed it heating up?
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:45 PM
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I can't say I really looked to see if there was water coming from the exhaust when I noticed it was heating up -- it didn't occur to me to look at the time.

I do know that when I got home, and ran it on the hose, there was the usual amount of water coming from the exhaust, as far as I could tell.

About the thermostat housing -- what's the deal with that? Is it serviceable as a unit only, or can the thermostat be removed from the housing?

Thanks!
Andrew
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:50 PM
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What type of housing do you have? Like this one? You're looking at it without the top cap that has two hoses coming out.
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:52 PM
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If that's the one you have, you need to pull the brass ring out; that will let the t-stat come out. But that whole housing is held in with those two bolts. Usually the entire unit comes out to work on.
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Old 02-11-2008, 07:59 PM
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That's not the unit I have... I'll get a pic later...

Mine is symmetrical, has a large nipple and a small nipple on each side, and an electrical connection on each side.
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Old 02-11-2008, 08:04 PM
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There is a plastic insert that holds your thermostat in. take a pair of needle nose and pull each side and it should come out. Then you pull the thermostat out. There is a gasket underneath the thermostat that you might want to replace before putting back together.
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