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Good News/Bad News!!
It's been a while since my last post. I have had issues with the cooling system on and off since I purchased my boat a year ago April w/ a newer A4. After reading a lot of posts and the Moyer manual, I have pretty much been able to keep ahead of things (thanks Don!).
Good News: When I purchased the boat about 3 knots was all she would do. Cleaned hull and it went a little faster. Traded out prop for an Indigo prop and that helped a lot. Today I changed out plugs (not the first time) but did change the rotor and distributor cap (have the Ignitor electronic ignition intalled) and added a little mystery oil to the cylinders while the plugs were out...She flew today and I got the engine up to 2400 rpm underway (when first purchased could not get over 1600 rpm).
Bad News: The motor overheated within a minute or so after this burst of performance and speed. Thermostat shot up to around 240 degrees...slowed rpm to around 1000 and limped back to the dock. It was a bit spooky there for a minute as I thought the motor might acutally catch on fire! (I had problems in the old days with the engine running too cool! How ironic...)
Exhaust discharge appears normal...pinched off the by-pass cooling hose and no noticeable difference. Going to pull the thermostat and take a look to see if I sucked in some debris. Didn't see anything in the manual about checking the impeller...could a damaged or blocked impeller cause this same symptom? Also, could over-revving the engine be the culprit? (I would think that is not the problem as the engine is rated for 3500 rpm...)
Wish me luck...it was 94-96 degrees on the boat with heat index over 100 degrees today with same forecast for tomorrow! (South Florida...so what else is new?)
Good News: When I purchased the boat about 3 knots was all she would do. Cleaned hull and it went a little faster. Traded out prop for an Indigo prop and that helped a lot. Today I changed out plugs (not the first time) but did change the rotor and distributor cap (have the Ignitor electronic ignition intalled) and added a little mystery oil to the cylinders while the plugs were out...She flew today and I got the engine up to 2400 rpm underway (when first purchased could not get over 1600 rpm).
Bad News: The motor overheated within a minute or so after this burst of performance and speed. Thermostat shot up to around 240 degrees...slowed rpm to around 1000 and limped back to the dock. It was a bit spooky there for a minute as I thought the motor might acutally catch on fire! (I had problems in the old days with the engine running too cool! How ironic...)
Exhaust discharge appears normal...pinched off the by-pass cooling hose and no noticeable difference. Going to pull the thermostat and take a look to see if I sucked in some debris. Didn't see anything in the manual about checking the impeller...could a damaged or blocked impeller cause this same symptom? Also, could over-revving the engine be the culprit? (I would think that is not the problem as the engine is rated for 3500 rpm...)
Wish me luck...it was 94-96 degrees on the boat with heat index over 100 degrees today with same forecast for tomorrow! (South Florida...so what else is new?)
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