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Old 05-07-2018, 05:22 PM
chrisoelder chrisoelder is offline
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Smile '78 Ericson27 Atomic 4 Universal Overheating

I bought my boat 2.5 weeks ago and it was running great the first weekend. I took her out last Saturday (5/5), she warmed up for about 15-20 mins. While warming up I had it in neutral and little to no throttle, the exhaust looked normal and the raw water flow was going not a lot but more than drops. After pulling out of the slip and motoring down the channel I noted some smoke coming from the engine compartment. I removed the cover and turned off the engine. The exhaust raw water flow was very little at this point. After sailing around the marina for about 30-45 mins I restarted the engine. Let her warm up for a few minutes, then threw her into gear to get us out of the channel, raw water flow seemed normal to what I was used to with the boat. While out in the Santa Monica Bay I used the engine for about 15 mins and again she was running fine with normal raw water flow. When coming back into the marina we decided to do a little harbor cruise. We were motor sailing and the engine started to overheat again. The engine was in neutral for the most part during the harbor cruise and the water flow became very little.

After getting back into the slip I concluded it was most likely the impeller was old and not creating enough suction at the lower RPMs to cool the engine. Sunday (5/6) I took the impeller out and went to West Marine. I had their expert take a look at the impeller and he believes that isn't the issue. The impeller is in good shape, a lot of movement with the arms and not a lot of corrosion. He suggested I take a look at raw water filters, thermostat, the exhaust line, and any possible clogs or blockages. After returning to the boat I looked for a raw water filter but couldn't find one in the line. So I took the housing off the thermostat and there was nothing there, no thermostat, nothing. I took some photos and videos, please use these links to view them.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t7c...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m7a...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cM...g_uXcBwNb52_R_
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eRP...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yw...HiJc8x5AfdGQ0n

I am assuming this is not normal and after doing some research I am noticing that I should have a valve on the cooling line (which I don't, at least between the thermostat and the nameplate - see the images and video above). Could this be the issue of my A4 Universal overheating while idling for a while?

I am looking for any and all suggestions to what is causing this issue. Also is there a way I could "flush out" the system to see if there is a blockage somewhere down the line?

Thanks!
Chris

Location: Marina Del Rey, CA
Boat: Meru - 1978 Ericson 27
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