Temporary Overheat

[LetsRock]

This is a first for me. Started her up yesterday to head off for a guys fishing trip. Let her warm up and headed out the channel...all's well. We leave the channel, get her up on plane then the temp alarm goes off and the temp gauge is pinned. Shut her down right away. Open the hatch, hear some sizzling so we just let her cool. After the gauge comes down I start her up and temp is holding. Start to pull away at half speed, still fine. Get her on plane again and gauge is rising so I slow her down to half speed again and gauge goes back to normal. We enjoy a long day of fishing, time to head home. Get her to half speed, fine...get her on plane doing about 20+ knots for a good 10 minutes and all is fine. Gauge stayed dead center.

Is it possible I sucked something through the intake and there was a temporary clog and it worked itself out? I have all new manifolds/risers and thermostat. Impeller is a year old but I ruled that out since the engine cooled right down when restarted.

Should I just keep an eye on it and consider myself lucky or should I check/do anything at this point?

 

[jwws007]

were you driving through alot of weeds. i've had that happen and it clears itself up once they get knocked off

 

[LetsRock]

were you driving through alot of weeds. i've had that happen and it clears itself up once they get knocked off

No, just the usual path I have taken 100 times. There sometimes is seaweed and stuff floating around but not thick patches of it.

 

[Firerooster]

Sounds as if you caught something on the out drive with enough restriction that while running on plane was reducing the water flow but not at slower speeds. Hopefully it fell off and no more issue

 

[Danny Troy]

I once ventured into an area on the lake I boat on that was very, very shallow. This was at the end of the season, when the water level is lowered in the lake. I sucked up a lot of mud, and the engine overheated. It was after hours, and I thought I'd be stuck without a tow. It turned out OK since the mud was purged when I turned the engine off and let it sit. Luckily there was no damage from the overheat. Something like this may have happened to you, but instead of mud you may have had another type obstruction.

 

[tdschafer]

Hey Rock,
It was probably seaweed. This same thing used to happen to me on the bay frequently with my 260 DA. When this happened I would slow down to a stop, then put the boat in reverse and goose the throttle a little. This process usually blew the stuff off the outdrive where it was blocking my intakes. After that all was well! :thumbsup:Todd

 

[LetsRock]

Hey Rock,
It was probably seaweed. This same thing used to happen to me on the bay frequently with my 260 DA. When this happened I would slow down to a stop, then put the boat in reverse and goose the throttle a little. This process usually blew the stuff off the outdrive where it was blocking my intakes. After that all was well! :thumbsup:Todd

Thanks Todd. After I cut the engine I raised the drive and felt around with my hand but didnt feel anything stuck to the outside. Hopefully whatever was sucked in worked itself out and all is well. FINGERS CROSSED!!!!

 

[tdschafer]

The object doesn't usually get past the pick-up screen. That's why when you reverse it the object becomes dislodged! Good luck!! Todd

 

[magster65]

If I ever see a high temp of hear the alarm I immediately slow down, put the boat in reverse and give it a quick rev. The wash blows any debirs off the drive pickup. 99.9% of the time this will cure the problem.

 

[LetsRock]

Well I thought I was out of the woods but I guess not. I took her out yesterday and all started well but when I got her on plane and it 20+ knots the gauge started to rise so I dropped it down and instantly the gauge lowered back to normal. Did this about 5 times on the return trip. Any suggestions what to check for to see if I have some sort of obstruction blocking the water flow?

 

[Danny Troy]

I wonder if your impeller was damaged and can't provide the cooling at higher rpm. Are you do for an impeller change? Might be worth a try, and while doing it try to inspect any lower unit passages.

 

[Firerooster]

Sounds like you have a blockage between the thermostat and the impeller. Or even sand etc. In the block reducing high volume flow. May even be parts of a bad impeller. Need to have the entire cooling system back flushed and clear it out