correct flushing technique ?

[Brite Idea]

In Miami I'm sure there are plenty of places that sell Mercruiser parts. The 160 degree thermostat is for a raw water cooled engine. Like I said before don't be afraid to bring it to a mechanic just ask someone with an I/O boat if they know a decent mechanic?

 

[Ron1204]

In your picture#1, the thermostat housing(#1) mine was corroded bad after 30 years. Just got boat fixed after 6 weeks from overheated issue. Anyway that housing is $480 from Merc. Just fyi.

Dam that’s a pretty expensive piece right there. I’m hoping I’m just either missing the thermostat or a cable. Something small without any overheating issues. I might be hoping for too much though.

 

[Ron1204]

In Miami I'm sure there are plenty of places that sell Mercruiser parts. The 160 degree thermostat is for a raw water cooled engine. Like I said before don't be afraid to bring it to a mechanic just ask someone with an I/O boat if they know a decent mechanic?

that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m contacting a few different mechanics for this week. Trying to get a few different opinions and hopefully come up with a solution soon.

 

[Ron1204]

So I finally Got around to bring me a mercruiser mechanic and check out the boat. The temp gauge is good and so is all the wiring. Either the temp sender or the thermostat is bad. I’m going to be changing those two. The cable that is disconnected is the high temp alarm. I can’t find that cable and connected anywhere since it comes with the wire harness of the engine but as long as I am aware of the engine temp I should be good. He also recommended to change the impeller just to make sure the engine is cooling well. He turned the engine and said It sounds very strong and sounds good. Recommended to change the manifolds and risers sometime in the near future along with the anodes of the drive. Also he checked my trim tabs. They’re not working. He said the cables are good but the motor is bad. Said the motor for the trim tabs alone is over $300 . Crazy. I have two people that came to see the boat that already made me a full price offer for it. I’m now considering if I should sell it or just fix it up little by little and keep it. Just wanted to give an update to everyone here

 

[Ron1204]

So opened her up and there you go. No thermostat.
Started pouring and had to stop mid way. Doing it myself to try to save some money.

 

[ColoSR]

Nice to hear on the thermostat, much less painful than running down electrical issues

Sell or keep is going to be a tough call. Prices are crazy high right now, but selling will leave you without a boat. On the flip side you are looking at some hefty mechanics bills if you want to pay someone. You are looking at impeller, manifolds/risers, power steering cooler, trim tabs, some seals on the outdrive (or bottle), and maybe bellows and steering pin leak. A SWAG on that list is probably $5k.

On the plus side, there are a lot of great folks on this board that can walk you through the work so if you want to put in the time the bill comes down substantially.

 

[Ron1204]

Nice to hear on the thermostat, much less painful than running down electrical issues

Sell or keep is going to be a tough call. Prices are crazy high right now, but selling will leave you without a boat. On the flip side you are looking at some hefty mechanics bills if you want to pay someone. You are looking at impeller, manifolds/risers, power steering cooler, trim tabs, some seals on the outdrive (or bottle), and maybe bellows and steering pin leak. A SWAG on that list is probably $5k.

On the plus side, there are a lot of great folks on this board that can walk you through the work so if you want to put in the time the bill comes down substantially.

wow that is a hefty bill lol. Did you gather that out of my pics or general maintenance that you should do when buying ? I’m guessing from my pics .

 

[Ron1204]

Well another update… not what I wanted. I installed the new temp sender and thermostat. New gaskets. Turned the engine over. Waited a few min, even gave it some gas. Still no reading. Mind you the sender is connected, but the sensor is not. The plastic part is broken and they did not have that piece to connect it to the engine wire harness. Would not having that cause this issue? I’ll post the pic of the parts below.
Number 3 is the sender, which I replaced and connected. Number 6 is sensor which I did not replace and is not connected.

Btw after turning engine on and giving it some gas, I noticed the right manifold cold, left manifold Luke warm and the thermostat housing getting a little hot, if that matters.

 

[ColoSR]

It’s just a long list, you are probably looking at $2500 for risers and manifolds, $800 for bellows, $400 for power steering cooler, $300 for impeller, $300 for outdrive seal, $600 for trim tabs, and there is always something broken

With the exception of the trim tabs and ps cooler this is all consumable/preventative maintenance parts and it doesn’t appear that the PO was a big fan of maintenance.

Everyone makes their own decisions depending on intended use, what they are willing to accept for reliability, and how much time/money they have to spend.

 

[Ron1204]

It’s just a long list, you are probably looking at $2500 for risers and manifolds, $800 for bellows, $400 for power steering cooler, $300 for impeller, $300 for outdrive seal, $600 for trim tabs, and there is always something broken

With the exception of the trim tabs and ps cooler this is all consumable/preventative maintenance parts and it doesn’t appear that the PO was a big fan of maintenance.

Everyone makes their own decisions depending on intended use, what they are willing to accept for reliability, and how much time/money they have to spend.

that's what scares me. if the boat wasn't taken care of, what else is next to break. I am strongly leaning towards just getting rid of it. By any chance do you know anything of my previous posts pertaining to the thermostat/temp gauge not working? if I fix that, I have it sold this Saturday. That list is pretty long and I think I would rather buy a boat later on now that I have more experience and knowledge. I will be more careful and a lot more picky when choosing my next boat.

 

[ColoSR]

I don’t understand your sensor is connected but sender is not statement is not. Can you clarify?

It’s hard to say keep or sell because all of us have different life circumstances. In this market, the mind says sell but the heart says keep if it means time with family/friends.

 

[Ron1204]

Sorry if it’s confusing. Sender is brand new and connected. The sensor is not connected. I had believed that as long as the sender and thermostat was good, I would get a reading on my temp gauge. I’ve also been told that the sensor is only an audible alarm that goes off when the engine over heats . The thermostat was connected with the smaller part facing up.

 

[techmitch]

Sorry if it’s confusing. Sender is brand new and connected. The sensor is not connected. I had believed that as long as the sender and thermostat was good, I would get a reading on my temp gauge. I’ve also been told that the sensor is only an audible alarm that goes off when the engine over heats . The thermostat was connected with the smaller part facing up.

Did you use the correct T/stat gasket with the brass/bronze grounding pins?

 

[Ron1204]

I think I know what you’re talking about, and yes I believe so. But I sent you a message

 

[techmitch]

I think I know what you’re talking about, and yes I believe so. But I sent you a message

"Hey man can you explain a little the t gaskets that you’re talking about"

If you look at your first pic of the T/stat housing with the gasket still on it, you can see the grounding pins/contacts on it.

 

[Ron1204]

Yea I purchased the thermostat kit that included that gasket. It also included the thin gasket that goes between the thermostat and the plastic sleeve.

 

[Ron1204]

As long as the thermostat is placed inside correctly (smaller side up), there is no specific way it has to be turned to right ? If that makes sense ?

 

[Ron1204]

Thermostat first, then the thin gasket, then the sleeve, and then the other circled gasket

 

[WetPleasure]

boss man, with all due respect, sell this boat. Start reading up on boats. most of this stuff should have been checked out before you bought it. if you do keep this boat, do NOT put it in the water anytime soon. One of your earlier pictures i saw a bunch of oil in the bottom of your bilge and i can't believe nobody made mention of it. Then you made mention that your drive lube reservoir is empty and nobody made mention of the fact that if you don't actually have any drive lube in there you are absolutely going to trash your outdrive. We all have a lot to learn and many of us myself included either aren't mechanically inclined or in my case too damn big to get down in that bilge! but some of this shit at best makes for a lousy day on the water getting towed in and at worst is stuff that will sink your boat.

 

[WetPleasure]

These are some pics I took right now. Looks like the hose connection from the trunk goes to that pump thing. From there it goes two different ways. One to that lever and the other to the bottom side of the engine.
I actually still see some water inside that middle pump.

this is the post. you have a picture going top down into the bilge and i see a ton of oil in the bottom of the bilge and then you can see the oily residue all over the float switch and bilge pump.