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Engine Identification & Cooling system


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Hello there,

I just bought a 2001 Malibu Response LX and I was wondering if there is a good way to tell what engine I have in the boat?   I can determine that it's an Indmar 350.  Sorry if this seems like a silly question.

Also I searched around the forum and found some info regarding this but not really a definitive answer: if I use the fake-a-lake, how long should the boat run before I see liquid coming out the exhaust at the rear?   I had the boat running with water supplies to the hull intake up to 180F according to the dash temp gauge and had basically nothing come out the exhaust the whole time.   I removed the impeller cover and verified that impeller is in good condition and turning with the engine.  The manual says the thermostat is a 160F, and it also says that if the engine reaches 200F to turn it off immediately, but I got nervous at 180F.

Thanks in advance.

Gage

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You should always have water coming out of the exhaust with engine running within a minute or so, independant of the thermostat being open or closed based on temp.  It sounds like it was not sucking up from the fake a lake.  That engine when running with proper cooling should run at 160F or below.

  • Like 3
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@idiomkrone:  You might have to prime the raw water pump, burp the throttle (open up to 1,500 RPM) to get better water suction, hopefully that will get it to flow.  You could also take your HIN # and call Malibu, they should be able to tell you.  I would also check the resource section of this site as there are manuals for review.

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Hey All,

Thanks for the input.  

So the engine has the following info on it.

PFI GEN 1 + 1:1 Monsoon#2
Model 417000

Block, 350: 051038N

 

I'll try burping the engine as suggested.     I also ordered a new impeller and thermostat.    I'll replace those when they come in also and see if that makes a difference.

 

Gage

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I believe the block fills with water before the exhaust will have water coming out. The thermostat keeps water from leaving the block, not entering it. So if the block was drained, it might take a minute or 2.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmm.   Ok, so I got a new impeller and a new tstat, replaced both.  Both were actually in terrible shape one i actually removed them and had a look at them.

Once I got it all back together, I got a good flow of water using the fake-a-lake (haven't picked up a perko yet, but i will eventually for sure.)   Started the boat up, and had water coming out the exhaust pretty quick.   Was pretty happy to see that.  :D

We turned on the shower to see if that pump was working and i was getting hot and cold water from the shower head.   Then it started getting weird, the shower head started sputtering like it didn't have much water left in it.  (Well it was actually antifreeze from the winterization)   The water was basically just trickling out, and then the engine temp started shooting up.  When I got to 175 on the guage we killed it.   Using a temp gun, one of the exhaust manifolds was at 150F, the other was at 185F!

So i guess maybe i have a blockage somewhere?   I guess my next course of action is to start pulling all the hoses after the thermostat and see if anything is getting through there?

From what I can tell, the raw water from the lake is run through the impeller, then through the transmission heat exchanger/cooler, then it connectes to the same housing that the tstat is in.  Then to the circulation pump.  But it does seem weird to me that the upper section of the tstat housing was completely dry when i originially removed it.

Is there an easy way to test the circulation pump?   Or is there any other reason that one exhaust manifold would be significantly more hot than the other?

Thanks again for all the info so far.

Gage

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ahopkins22LSV

You may not have had enough water pressure from your fake lake to rub the shower and the engine. 

Also, I’d pull the hose going into the transmission heat exchanger, there is a screen there that can collect debris and cause a blockage. 

  • Like 2
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@ahopkinsVTX is right, probably not enough pressure using a fake a lake to really run the shower for long. Also, find where your shower connects to the block for hot water, that seems to be where my engines have all collected junk, clean that out, and then check the screens at the shower, there should be debris screens at the water input for he shower.

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Ok.  Thanks for the advice.  I'll start pulling the hoses and cleaning out what i can from both of those areas.  The hot water for the shower connects near the bottom of the block so that will be easy to remove and clean out a bit.  

Thanks!

Gage

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Hey,

Ok looks like it may have just been a flow volume issue as you folks suggested, much appreciated.   I picked up a hose attachment that allowed me to connect my hose directly to the input of the raw water pump with a clear tube which allowed me to ensure there water feed was adequate.   She stayed within the 160-165F range.   (I did also check the transmission heat exchanger for debris on the mesh, and the block and they both were clear)

My next question is, what is this for?  There is a bolt on both sides of the boat as in the photo, pretty sturdy looking.  I am only imagine it might have been for some sort of bimini top or something?  Anybody have a photo of what i might be looking for to utilize these?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q7KgceXjtnRfwnNW9

Thanks again to all!!

Gage

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3 minutes ago, idiomkrone said:

Hey,

Ok looks like it may have just been a flow volume issue as you folks suggested, much appreciated.   I picked up a hose attachment that allowed me to connect my hose directly to the input of the raw water pump with a clear tube which allowed me to ensure there water feed was adequate.   She stayed within the 160-165F range.   (I did also check the transmission heat exchanger for debris on the mesh, and the block and they both were clear)

My next question is, what is this for?  There is a bolt on both sides of the boat as in the photo, pretty sturdy looking.  I am only imagine it might have been for some sort of bimini top or something?  Anybody have a photo of what i might be looking for to utilize these?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q7KgceXjtnRfwnNW9

Thanks again to all!!

Gage

Glad to hear that you've got those issues resolved.  

 

The bolt in the picture looks like it's an older tower mount location of some sort.

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Location wise for that bolt, looks like it would be a bimini mount (pretty burly looking one though).  That's why I like my bimini mounted on the tower - don't have to remove it to put the cover on.

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