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!

Do you replace your thermostat at a set time or do you wait for it to break?


Recommended Posts

I just got done talking to a guy who says that he replaces his thermostat every season when he replaces his impeller. I have never done that. I figured when my engine did not heat up to operating temperature (160) like it normally does, I will replace it. What do you guys do?

Edited by nbeihl
Link to comment

I'm replacing mine this year because of the previous owner's neglect of the rest of the boat. If you are going to wait for it to fail (which I do NOT recommend) make sure it is the style that fails in the OPEN position. Most are NOT that way and you can do major damage.

Depending on hours and water type, I'll be changing mine every 2-3 years or so. It's like $18 for the kit with the gaskets.

Link to comment

Probably not a bad idea to have an extra one laying around since they're not that expensive ($25), but I just don't hear of too many people on here saying that there's failed. I definitely won't change mine until I suspect it has failed.

Please allow me to ask another related question, if you're getting an over heat alarm, what is the order of the troubleshooting steps? Check the impeller, check the trans cooler for debris, then what, when have you narrowed it down to the t-stat without actually pulling it and testing it?

Link to comment

My thermostat and impeller are new, my high temp light is on yet everything seems normal. Possible computer glitch? If it was truly hot, would it not cut cylinders? Any ideas? Thanks

Link to comment

Probably not a bad idea to have an extra one laying around since they're not that expensive ($25), but I just don't hear of too many people on here saying that there's failed. I definitely won't change mine until I suspect it has failed.

Please allow me to ask another related question, if you're getting an over heat alarm, what is the order of the troubleshooting steps? Check for clear raw water intake grate and full port valve in open position. If V-drive, check lines going into and out of V-drive to impeller. Check the impeller, check the trans cooler for debris, then what, when have you narrowed it down to the t-stat without actually pulling it and testing it?

Link to comment

Oh yes, start witht the easiest first, thanks Pete. Would you suggest the t-stat be the next step, any other sensors or anything to test/check first?

OP, do you not have a temp gauge? Should read around 160 when warm. You may to figure what temp you're at somehow.

Edited by Ndawg12
Link to comment

An engine can run hot for various reasons besides starving for raw water circulation. I really don't have time to get into that. But yes, checking the T-stat would be the next obvious thing provided you don't have some sort of catastrophic failure at hand like a blown head gasket.

I have heard someone on this forum (very highly regarded in the Malibu mechanical field and, no NOT me) say that most people change their T-stats unnecessarily and it ultimately causes more problems than it solves. I don't know why this person says that.

I do see a lot of people on this board question why the boats only run at 160* (which is low) and does cause soot on the transom and low fuel economy and other things and these people want to run their boats at 180*. I've also seen the reason why Indmar purposely runs the engines at 160* and after giving it some thought, I decided not to up my T-stat to 180*.

The one and only time I did replace my T-stat was when I replaced my circulation pump. It's common in the automotive field to replace the T-stat with a new water pump and that was the only reason I replaced it.

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...