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!

"Priming" the cooling system before start up?


Recommended Posts

Hey guys! I have a quick question regarding the cooling system on my '94 echelon. il give you the back story first...

 

So last weekend I bought my first boat, took it for a test drive and everything ran beautifully. I took it home, buffed the hall and tidied up some electrical over that week. The following weekend I took it out for my first time as a new boat owner. She was running a little rough (I realize now I wasn't giving the boat enough throttle/ fuel) Anyways took it for a quick loop to warm it up (about 1-2 minutes) and a alarm started going off, turns out the impeller went and no water was circulating through the system. Temps got to about 230+ before I released. (again new boat owner so this was all new to me). I shut the motor off to let the motor cool down and slowly limped the boat back in in short intervals to let it cool down.

When I got back to the house I took most of the cooling system apart (hoses) and found what I think is 98% of the grenaded impeller packed in on the cooled side of the heat exchanger. Well I'm at it i'm going to change out the thermostat as a maintenance routine so I know when it was last done (this is where one of my questions comes in below).

 

So thats the back story of all this. here's the question!

- First do you guys thing I should be worried about anything running the motor that hot? (please say no so I can sleep at night)

- I changed to the thermostat well replacing the impeller and noticed under the T-stat was bone dry, Should I dump a bucket of water down there to "prime" the system before testing the system?

 

Any other tips/ tricks you might has i'm all ears!

Thanks so much for the help!

Link to comment

I had a similar problem, but mine ran hot for a couple of minutes (wife and young son were driving it).  I let it cool, replaced the impeller, and all seemed fine but later on heard an occasional misfire.  I didn't pay too much attention to it, but should have because the head gasket was failing between cylinders 3 and 5, and eventually it completely failed and I detonated a piston, prompting an engine rebuild.  So hopefully you are OK, but if you hear something not normal it might be best to further investigate before something happens like mine did.

No, you should not need to prime the system with water.

Congratulations on the new boat!

Link to comment

I always run my engine in the driveway with a fake a lake before dropping it into the lake each year.  Had a minor priming problem when boat was young. It might have been related to the fact that there is a large no wake zone by the ramp. Putting the boat in neutral and goosing the throttle got the water flowing though. Monitor your gauges.

Link to comment
13 hours ago, electricjohn said:

I always run my engine in the driveway with a fake a lake before dropping it into the lake each year.  Had a minor priming problem when boat was young. It might have been related to the fact that there is a large no wake zone by the ramp. Putting the boat in neutral and goosing the throttle got the water flowing though. Monitor your gauges.

Had to goose mine one time to get prime on first dunk of the year. Always check that if I ever drop her in with a dry impeller housing. 2012 VLX.

 

Edited by dalt1
Link to comment
21 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

I had a similar problem, but mine ran hot for a couple of minutes (wife and young son were driving it).  I let it cool, replaced the impeller, and all seemed fine but later on heard an occasional misfire.  I didn't pay too much attention to it, but should have because the head gasket was failing between cylinders 3 and 5, and eventually it completely failed and I detonated a piston, prompting an engine rebuild.  So hopefully you are OK, but if you hear something not normal it might be best to further investigate before something happens like mine did.

No, you should not need to prime the system with water.

Congratulations on the new boat!

Thanks for that advice! I will definitely keep that on my radar when taking it out!

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...