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Please listen to my story, as the lesson learned may help someone someday.
So, I was observing a very small leak coming from the freeze plug on the top of the engine. Water was seeping out, boiling to dryness, and leaving crud behind.
I took some JB-Weld epoxy and tried to block the leak. After several good applications, the water was still seeping out from that darn plug, under the epoxy bond.
So I started thinking, maybe it is a high back-pressure forcing the water through, rather than simply a rotted out plug.
I removed the furthest downstream water hose, the one that attaches to the exhaust riser. Running the engine, no water was coming out!
Then I removed the short water hose from the thermostat to the exhaust manifold. No water coming out!
I removed the thermostat housing, and while I was looking at it, I noticed a small rubber/plastic object (not an impeller blade piece, but something more foreign) stuck in the out-bound fitting side. What?
So, I used tweasers and removed the debris, reassembled the thermostat, and voila', no leak,and suddenly my aft exhaust was putting out more cooling water that I have EVER seen it do before!
I rigged a small bucket (water intake to pump, discharge to bucket) with some of that cheesy "radiator leak fix" stuff (really cellulose fibers with a heat bonding agent) and circulated that through the cooling system round and round until the engine was hot enough to bond it to any tiny pin-hole leaks. Worked great.
Now, I can watch the engine heat to 180 degrees, then the thermostat opens, cools to 160 degrees, and back and forth. The cooling system is now working properly.
Lesson learned:
When in doubt, check for obstructions. Things always leak for a reason
So, I was observing a very small leak coming from the freeze plug on the top of the engine. Water was seeping out, boiling to dryness, and leaving crud behind.
I took some JB-Weld epoxy and tried to block the leak. After several good applications, the water was still seeping out from that darn plug, under the epoxy bond.
So I started thinking, maybe it is a high back-pressure forcing the water through, rather than simply a rotted out plug.
I removed the furthest downstream water hose, the one that attaches to the exhaust riser. Running the engine, no water was coming out!
Then I removed the short water hose from the thermostat to the exhaust manifold. No water coming out!
I removed the thermostat housing, and while I was looking at it, I noticed a small rubber/plastic object (not an impeller blade piece, but something more foreign) stuck in the out-bound fitting side. What?
So, I used tweasers and removed the debris, reassembled the thermostat, and voila', no leak,and suddenly my aft exhaust was putting out more cooling water that I have EVER seen it do before!
I rigged a small bucket (water intake to pump, discharge to bucket) with some of that cheesy "radiator leak fix" stuff (really cellulose fibers with a heat bonding agent) and circulated that through the cooling system round and round until the engine was hot enough to bond it to any tiny pin-hole leaks. Worked great.
Now, I can watch the engine heat to 180 degrees, then the thermostat opens, cools to 160 degrees, and back and forth. The cooling system is now working properly.
Lesson learned:
When in doubt, check for obstructions. Things always leak for a reason
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