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Alpha 1 heating up 350 mag

S

scarab_excell

Contributing Member
"Took boat out today and now p

"Took boat out today and now problems. ( post 1 of 1)
well I took the boat out today after it sit all winter. We drove about 60 miles and it ran great, crusied at 45 mph most of the day and covered alot of water. This was all fresh water lake, no salt...... Parked at the sand bar up river and just bumped the bottom going real slow and shut engine off as soon as I heard the motor change sounds. I went back and spun the prop and a little sand was in it, I spun it around until it was washed out.

Got ready to leave sand bar and started boat up and headed back down river, about 15 miles, Boat ran 140 degree's like all ways. Got to the boat ramp and had to idle for a no wake zone. I nothiced the engine heating up. I put it in "N" and rev'ed the engine up to 1500 and the temp went back down to 140, let it idle and it rose back up to 230......again rev'ed it up and down came the temp.

I took it out of the water and seen no sign of sand or anything wrong with the out drive. I even checked the water hose to see if it kinked because I just replaced all the hoses and bellows on the out drive....nothing wrong.

My questions are:

do I go straight to the impeller since I dont know when it was changed

or do I need to look at the thermostat?

I was thinking that because it cooled down as soon as I rev'ed up the engine that the impeller must be coming apart.... What do you all think??? Am I thinking correctly???

This is a 350 mag with a Alpha 1 drive, 1989 model, impeller is in the foot.

Thanks

Jeff"
 
"[b]"do I go straight to t

""do I go straight to the impeller since I dont know when it was changed "

Ayuh,....... That's Always the 1st place to Look....."
 
"It really shocks me how much

"It really shocks me how much the marine shops charge for a Job like this, Replacing this water pump is one of the simplest jobs I have ever dont on a boat. I dont thin they should charge more that 50 bucks to do it plus parts. Anyhow Bondo do you think this made it heat up at idle?


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"<a href="http://img223.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture544pf0.jpg"" target="_blank"><img src="http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2144/picture544pf0.th.jpg"" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://img604.imageshack.us/content.php?page=blogpost&files=img223/2144/picture5 44pf0.jpg"" title="QuickPost"><img src="http://imageshack.us/img/butansn.png" alt="QuickPost" border="0"></a> Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!"
 
"Jeff,
I would change impe

"Jeff,
I would change impellar and thermostat as you mentioned you are not sure when last change was.Sure the belts are tight?Could also be circulating pump giving up at idle.Surely a no water issue to reach 230,but drop after increased rpm.My guess is the impellar gave up but not totally and pieces are restricting flow up ahead...Let us know how you make out....Todd"
 
"Jeff;

Do you know if the i

"Jeff;

Do you know if the impeller has ever been replaced?
That one looks ancient judging by all the cracking in the back side of each blade, and the scuffing on the face sides.
No doubt is has been doing a minimal job of pumping water considering the "set" the blades have taken, not even considering one missing blade altogether.
My guess is that unit is at least 10 years old, and it looks like it could be original.
Wonder where the missing blade is? Hopefully it has settled in a quiet part of the block water jacket where it won't do any harm.

Rod"
 
"I am hoping it is at the cool

"I am hoping it is at the cooler, I am going to pull the hose and check it. I may even pull the hose off the thermostat and back flush it using a garden hose....I hope to see it come out. I dont think it can get by the cooler to get into a water jacket.

And yes I think that is the orignal one also, the boat is a 89 and used in fresh clean water all of it's life so that could be a factory one."
 
"Jeff:

"...It really sh

"Jeff:

"...It really shocks me how much the marine shops charge for a Job like this..."

I paid a dealer $250 to change it in my 115 HP outboard in 1984 before I knew anything about engines. Dealers are in business to serve their customers with products and to make a profit.

To all non-mechanic boaters:

If you find a quality marine dealer or independent shop w/a good service center, build your relationships w/the owner and the shop manager and they'll take care of your boat. Ask them what they recommend, advise, etc. They want your business and you want it done right. Every now and then when their is any doubt or the warranty for some work expired last week, they will go to bat for you w/the mfg. and/or help you out at reduced or no cost for your customer loyalty.
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"Jeff;
If you do the backflus

"Jeff;
If you do the backflush and don't see it come out, and it is not in the T'stat housing, then it has most likely settled in the block somewhere, and it won't cause any problem in that case.

Amazing to me that an impeller could have made it 19 years and still have most of its parts fairly intact.

Rod"
 
"why do you think it was the o

"why do you think it was the orignal water pump?

and for the last poster, I am a certified Diesel mechanic for 24 years now, and run a shop with over 500 units.

Back to Rod, I think it is orignal also but I was wondering if you could tell something I dont see.

Also I got the water pump kit direct from a OEM supplier for 17.95 cents, That is correct, I got the new impeller, new upper housing, new orings, gaskets in a complete set for 17.95 cents!!!

and only a few companys make the kits for Serria, GLM ect...and including Mercury. so I know the kit is good!"
 
""it really shocks me how

""it really shocks me how much the marine shops charge for a job like this"
take off the drive.
drain, and split the drive.
inspect/ replace the pump.
put drive back together.
fill drive.
inspect bellows.
inspect gimbal bearing.
check alignment.
inspect coupler.
inspect, and grease u-joints, and splines.
grease gimbal bearing.
remove, inspect, and grease prop. reinstall and torque.
reinstall drive.
test run, check cooling, and shifting.
while you're at it,
look for water in drive. pressure, and vacuum test if necessary.
check for seal damage.
2 hours at $85 an hour at my shop. plus parts.
$95 an hour in your driveway. (no charge for travel within 20 miles)
1. am I ripping someone off?
2. a water pump repair varies. some need an impeller kit, some need a kit including upper housing, some need a complete pump.
3. please post a source for $17 water pumps. I pay much more than that wholesale and could save my customers some money.
4. if you can do it yourself, great! that's the point of this site. I don't have a problem with helping anyway I can. that's why I'm here. I do take exception to being called a thief."
 
"Jeff; No, I have no way of kn

"Jeff; No, I have no way of knowing how old that impeller is at all. I just see lots of stress cracks on the backside of the remaining blades, which is unusual, even for an impeller that has lost a blade or two. And I don't think I have seen one with that severe of a set. But what do I know?

Scott; I think you are right on, and that is quite reasonable for all of the items performed on your checklist. It's the $85+ an hour shop rates these days that makes people somewhat upset, but hey, thats life. If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen, right?

Anyway, happy boating all.
Rod"
 
"I did not call you a thief, b

"I did not call you a thief, boat I am finding that the marine industry is like the auto transmission industry, you pay extra for what you dont know.

Again I was not talking about you, so please dont take it personaly"
 
"Like Jeff said, there are sho

"Like Jeff said, there are shops like Scott's that actually do all the work that ends up on the bill, and there are those that you've really got to wonder."
 
"Yes Troy, you are 100% correc

"Yes Troy, you are 100% correct, and I am very happy for the info we get on here from shop owners. You guys face this kind of work every day and are very helpful. You are NOT the shop owners that rip folks off, there are 1000's of boat repair shops in this country and the ones on here are not the ones I was talking about. You guys help us for free everyday and I thank you for it. Glad to have ones like you, to bad none of you are close enough to me. I hate hard work the older I get...lol

Again Thanks to all the guys on here that help us out.

Jeff"
 
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