Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

'99 Malibu Wakesetter VLX overheat


Recommended Posts

Hey guys I was out on the lake yesterday when the engine began to overheat. I have been looking around the engine and the belt is good and stuff...

What else is there to check? Where's the thermostat? How do I check that? And do I check transmission fluid hot or cold?

Please help with any info. Thanks

Link to comment

Not the propeller...the impeller. It is responsible for drawing water in to the engine to be circulated for cooling. It's located on the front of the engine (towards the back of your boat if it's a v-drive)

This thing

Edited by rts
Link to comment

It's not in any of those pictures. It's on the front of your engine, which is towards the back of your V-driven boat.

You have a Monsoon. Ignore the exhuast parts, and look for the thng that sticks out the farthest from the engine towards the rear of your boat. That should be it.

This is the raw water pump (which contains your impeller). Note that it likely willbe painted black.

Pump

Edited by rts
Link to comment

The impeller is located inside the raw water pump, or the 'C' pump mounted to the front of your engine (located toward the back of your 'V' drive boat since your engine is setting backwards.) There will be two hoses connecting to it. It has a small cover on the front of the pump that is attached by four small screws. You'll want to take down the detachable "Port Side" locker wall. I've found this to be easier when accessing the cover then laying on top of the engine with your arms stretched down under the exhaust. Be careful when removing the cover that you do not lose one of the brass screws. A magnet will not help. And the dealership is pretty proud of the new ones. When you have the cover removed, just spray some WD-40 in there and crank the engine for a second or so to get the impeller lubed up for easy extraction with a pair of needle nose pliers. make sure you have the coil wire pulled off the distributor so as the spark plugs won't fire and crank the engine on. This is a really easy task. Be sure to check both the intake hose and outtake hose leaving the C pump. also the transmission cooler screen. I had heck getting my boat to hold temp once when an impeller went out and the intake side of the C pump was completely plugged up with old impeller rubber. Once I found it and got it cleared, the Bu was fine. Good Luck.

Edited by Ace18
Link to comment

Lubricate the impeller with dish detergent or glycerin but not oil based products such as WD-40. Mfg claims oil based products will cause premature failure. Pull the hose between the pump and the trans oil cooler completely out of boat to verify there is no debris in it.

Link to comment

Hey man i have a 2000 vlx and i was overheating a couple of weeks ago. Took it to the dealership and they found a clog of sticks and twigs in the lines. Took em 30 mins to find and only cost me 40 bucks. If i knew where to check i could have done it myself. Now i know. You might want to check all of your hoses to make sure your getting adequate water to the engine to cool everything down. Just my .02

Link to comment
Lubricate the impeller with dish detergent or glycerin but not oil based products such as WD-40. Mfg claims oil based products will cause premature failure. Pull the hose between the pump and the trans oil cooler completely out of boat to verify there is no debris in it.

HMMMM....... I was told the exact oposite from this by my dealer. He said dish washing soap would hurt the componants before WD-40 would. Who knows.

Link to comment

Just my opinion on using soap to lube impeller. Manufacturer makes it very clear not to use oil based lubes. They call for glycerin, got it at local drug store.

Link to comment

If your impeller was "shredded" just be sure that you remove any loose pieces from the pump, and hoses that are forward of the raw water pump. Also, when installing the new impeller use water based lubricant (liquid soap or glycerin) to help get it in. Since the impeller is made from rubber and rubber is petroleum based, any petroleum based lubricant will only deteriorate the new impeller and hoses. You can get a clear bottle of glycerin from Home Depot in the "wire isle" as it's also used to pull wire through conduit.

Edited by scfdfireman
Link to comment
  • 4 years later...

If your impeller was "shredded" just be sure that you remove any loose pieces from the pump, and hoses that are forward of the raw water pump. Also, when installing the new impeller use water based lubricant (liquid soap or glycerin) to help get it in. Since the impeller is made from rubber and rubber is petroleum based, any petroleum based lubricant will only deteriorate the new impeller and hoses. You can get a clear bottle of glycerin from Home Depot in the "wire isle" as it's also used to pull wire through conduit.

Hey guys, early this year as I was putting the boat in the water, I noticed that I was bogging down and overheating so I checked the impeller and it was completely shot so i replaced it. I went out on the lake with family for the 4th and while the boat runs fine at high RPMs, with a skier in the water I am not been able to get power. As I throttle up, I hear a couple of backfires and lose power. I get the skier back in the boat and can get it to plane fine. I checked the tubes and found a bunch of pieces of the old impeller. Do you think it's possible that I've got a blockage I can’t locate? Is it possible that while running it without the impeller that I messed up the water pump? I'm wondering if it can get the water it needs without the load of skier. Really perplexed on this. Can anyone help?

Also, does anyone know if the plug on the passenger side block is the temp sensor? I'm thinking mine may be bad as my gauge does not go above 160 degrees but I'm thinking it's probably hotter than that.

Edited by jleahy62
Link to comment

Sounds like you have a blockage at the transmission oil cooler causing the tranny to overheat. You could also have blockage elsewhere. Take the tubes off the water coolant system and check more closely. The plug in the bottom of the block on the passanger side of a VLX is the O2 sensor.

Lastly your temp guage should be able to read higher than 160. Otherwise you would never know if it was overheating until it blew up.

I am a little confused about your comment about running the engine without the impeller. If you are talking about running it while the impeller was shredded then you probably did not hurt the water pump but you could have done other damage to your engine. To check to see if the pump is working properly hook up your boat to a Fake a Lake or similar to see if water is circulating out the exhaust. How long did you run your boat with the shredded impeller?

A general note to any new boat owners. Impellers are cheap and easy to replace. Overheated engines can be extremely costly to replace and it can end your summer badly. Replacing impellers is like replacing your socks. Did you go running in them every day or once a week? If once a week then they might last months. If you take the same pair out every day then not so much. If they sat for 5 years without use then they are toast. How far, how long, and how hard are always the determining factors in everything. Again, no perfect answer but general direction. Cheers

Edited by Awest
Link to comment

Sounds like you have a blockage at the transmission oil cooler causing the tranny to overheat. You could also have blockage elsewhere. Take the tubes off the water coolant system and check more closely. The plug in the bottom of the block on the passanger side of a VLX is the O2 sensor.

Lastly your temp guage should be able to read higher than 160. Otherwise you would never know if it was overheating until it blew up.

I am a little confused about your comment about running the engine without the impeller. If you are talking about running it while the impeller was shredded then you probably did not hurt the water pump but you could have done other damage to your engine. To check to see if the pump is working properly hook up your boat to a Fake a Lake or similar to see if water is circulating out the exhaust. How long did you run your boat with the shredded impeller?

A general note to any new boat owners. Impellers are cheap and easy to replace. Overheated engines can be extremely costly to replace and it can end your summer badly. Replacing impellers is like replacing your socks. Did you go running in them every day or once a week? If once a week then they might last months. If you take the same pair out every day then not so much. If they sat for 5 years without use then they are toast. How far, how long, and how hard are always the determining factors in everything. Again, no perfect answer but general direction. Cheers

Thanks Awest! I didn;t run the boat very long as the loss of power when trying to throttle up let me know there was an issue right away. I was steered to the impeller in a dfferent post re: white smoke. After replacing the impeller I was able to throttle up to 3500 RPMs and plane quickly. I just assumed that since the symptoms were similar when trying to pull a skier that it might be a blockage or ineffective water pump. I'm curious where is the temp sensor located in my 99 Sunsetter VLX?.

Link to comment

As others have already said if you shredded an impeller always pull the hose going to the transmission cooler and clear the hose and the screen. There will always be debris from the old impeller in there. This happened to me when I first got my boat and I found huge chunks in the screen that would have impeded water flow had I not cleaned them out.

Link to comment

As others have already said if you shredded an impeller always pull the hose going to the transmission cooler and clear the hose and the screen. There will always be debris from the old impeller in there. This happened to me when I first got my boat and I found huge chunks in the screen that would have impeded water flow had I not cleaned them out.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I know where the transmission cooler is. Can you steer me in the right direction? Also, where is the temp sensor located on the block?

Link to comment

The engine temperature sender is as you might expect attached to the engine cooling system. It looks like a plug with a wire going to it. Since yours is a v drive it might be on the rear port side intake manifold or the thermostat housing. Check the thermostat housing first for a plug with either a green or tan wire going into it under an insulating boot. If you decide to pull it you will need a deep socket wrench.

My guess is still that you have a blockage at your transmission cooler.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...