Port Engine Overheating

[RickieT]

Source of the post Looks like steam to me.My suggestion would be to clean the oil cooler and heat exchanger. You'd be surprised what gets caught and grows.Also,get yourself a temperature scan gun ( Harbor freight $20-$30) and It can help you find where restriction(s) could be.

Will do!! thank you!!

[mjk1040]

OK Rick that looks more like a lot of steam. Your not flowing the raw water well enough. The heat gun will tell which side of the exhaust is restricted the most, but I would open the drains and any other port on the exhaust and clean them out with a wire. U may have a lot of rust and crap built up in them. Barnacle Buster or Sea Flush could be tried too. Also what was mentioned above, exchanger and coolers need to be cleaned and inspected. U may have to pull the exhaust manifolds off to clean and inspect. U should be running about 160 as the starboard is. What about thermostats, when were they changed?

[RickieT]

Source of the post If the exhaust system hasn't been changed between 5 to 7 years, you should seriously consider getting that done.
Also, rod out the Heat Exchanger and replace the U-cooler.
You didn't post much info about your motors so I'm going with what I did on my Mariner.

Thank you sir...

[tomschauer]

As mentioned, it certainly looks like steam. Good news is not a major engine problem. Bad news is it needs fixed before it becomes a major engine problem. Steam means you are not flowing enough raw water through the cooling system.
You said you had the impellers replaced (best place to start). If you did not personally replace the impeller(s) do you know if they were missing any fins? If so was the system back flushed before being put back together? I replaced one this fall, it was missing almost all the fins, hard to believe as it was only 18 years old. I back flushed the system with a hose and all of the fins came out of the oil cooler. This cooler is pretty small, it could easily be your problem and is a very cheap fix. If it is clear, unfortunately you need to keep going, most likely risers and or manifolds. Could be the heat exchanger but I believe the tranny cooler would plug up first. As others have mentioned a temp gun can help you narrow it down.

[Viper]

Source of the post As mentioned, it certainly looks like steam. Good news is not a major engine problem. Bad news is it needs fixed before it becomes a major engine problem. Steam means you are not flowing enough raw water through the cooling system.
You said you had the impellers replaced (best place to start). If you did not personally replace the impeller(s) do you know if they were missing any fins? If so was the system back flushed before being put back together? I replaced one this fall, it was missing almost all the fins, hard to believe as it was only 18 years old. I back flushed the system with a hose and all of the fins came out of the oil cooler. This cooler is pretty small, it could easily be your problem and is a very cheap fix. If it is clear, unfortunately you need to keep going, most likely risers and or manifolds. Could be the heat exchanger but I believe the tranny cooler would plug up first. As others have mentioned a temp gun can help you narrow it down.

I agree with Tom. Regardless of the condition of the old impellers though, the system should be backflushed anyway as you can't tell what happened in previous impeller replacements. Then remove the exhaust hose from the elbows and take a look at the water passages, if they're encrusted with rust, that'll contribute immensely to the symptom. Instead of a good column of water, a restriction there causes a fine stream of water which is easily vaporized by the hot exhaust temps as it leaves the elbow. The result is the appearance of white smoke but it's usually steam. If the elbow water outlets are clogged, you can remedy but in your salt water application, they should simply be replaced.

[SanJuanDreamer]

From my experience of having the same boat as you for 7 years, I think you'll be doing good if you rod out the HE, replace the U cooler(Trans cooler) and exhaust system. I know you're looking to save some cash but doing all that will only be good...
Thats the easy stuff, which is more then likely causing the problem...

[Viper]

The U cooler is a common cause as mentioned above. The nut/plug on the bottom/side of the unit has an anode on the internal end. The anodes tend to deteriorate over time, crumble, and clog the tubes in the cooler. That along with other debris contributes to cooling deficiencies. It's a good practice to check anodes often, and when they show signs that they may fall apart, whether they're half their original size or not, they should be replaced.

[mjk1040]

Rick there is another descaling product called RYDLYME I'm going to try this spring. Check out their videos. I used Barnacle Buster and their Descaler and it improved my steam issue in my port engine. Why does it always seem like its the PORT ENGINE that give us problems? Good Luck!

[RickieT]

Thanks for all the responses!!! Love this forum!!! I purchased Barnacle Buster concentrate and the Sea Flush with the hose attachment. Watched a few YouTube videos and it looks pretty straight forward...
1) Close the seacock, remove impeller, remove basket
2) Mount Sea Flush onto where exchanger cap is
3) Attach hose and place in 5 gl bucket with water and BB solution
4) start engine, turn off engine when BB is emptied from bucket
5) Let sit for a time
6) open seacock and start engine to flush out crap
7) reinstall impeller and basket
Am I missing anything???

Rick

[mjk1040]

I don't think u remove the impeller, otherwise u will not suck the solution into the system unless u r pumping the solution in.