Check the hose coming though the transom assy. It might be damaged. If adding a raw water pump, do as others suggested. Use a transom pickup for the rwp, and let the impeller cool the drive. You can let the water from the drive exit on top of the drive for added cooling.

I agree. I don't have that problem either. I'm running a 454 with alpha and mines been holding up just fine. its all about the nut behind the throttles. If i were to venture a guess, I'd probably suspect the thermostat. I actually run without one and mine runs a consistent 140. i did have a temp gauge surging issue while i was running a tstat. removing it fixed it. keep in mind though, if your water pump is on its way out, its just going to be a band-aid and it will leave you stranded in the not so distant future. alpha water pumps are very cheap. get a new water pump kit, check your inlet lines for any debrit, and check/replace your stat. all in all, less than 100 bux in parts, and a good piece of mind that your boat won't leave you stranded.

Thanks for all your responses, the boat is all winterized so most of this will wait till early spring.

Honda I was not sure about pulling the thermostat I may try that in the spring. I have been making a list of things that I was going to need for the raw water pump and all and it`s not cheap even doing it myself.

Thanks

mark

merc had issues with larger engines and alphas running warm, they changed the inside of the drive and went to a engine mounted bravo style water pump to cure the issue, if you do the engine pump use a thru hull or transom pick up....oh since you have had good luck with your alpha...maybe pick up a lottery ticket on the way home ?? only kidding

Along This Thread...
I'm Going To Drop My '01 7.4 Mpi Ito My 24' To Get Some Run Time On It While Waiting For My 28' To Be Ready.
It Has A Bravo I Coupler But I'm Hooking Up To An Alpha Gen Ii.
Will The Bravo Coupler Work Or Do I Need To Swap It?

You will have to swap it. Completely different. Alpha coupler bolts on by the flywheel to crank bolts. Here's what they look like.
http://www.sterndrive.info/alpha-one...i/coupler.html

The bravo coupler will work fine, I use them on all of my small block engines. The late model alphas use the same coupler anyway. All of the splines are the same.
Easier to install and stronger then the little crank mounted alpha units.
You must use a bravo or late model bellhousing which has the bigger hole to clear the coupler..

Has this thing ever ate an impeller? Maybe blockages in the system? Have you ever backflushed it? AND on my last alpha 350/260 combo I replaced what I considered a damn near new looking impeller twice and it fixed the problem.

I had problems with the Merc impellers lasting and the first sign was higher temps at idle and lower speed. Switched to the Sierra pump kit (needed a kit on a Sunday) and never had a problem again.

you don't really need a list of things you need to replace it. all you need is the whole water pump kit and an outdrive gasket kit. the gasket kit is about 12 bux and the water pump kit including the housing can be got on ebay for less than 50 bucks. make sure if you buy on ebay, you buy a decent brand like quicksilver or sierra as mercruiser parts are outrageously expensive for no reason. sierra and quicksilver makes good parts, and i have used them with no problem for multiple seasons in my boat.