Over heated twice on first start and idle

I guess its time check the ten

I guess its time check the tension of my belts.
What is the rule of thumb for testing without buying a new tool?

Push down in the center of the

Push down in the center of the belt's span; should move about a 1/2 inch.

Jeff

"And if they are new belts, do

"And if they are new belts, don't forget to recheck the tension after their first run."

When do I know its time to rep

When do I know its time to replace them?
What to look for?
They are not dry and last year I had someone show me how to replace the impeller. I had new ones but he didnt think they were needed...

"belts:

Cracks, glazing on

"belts:

Cracks, glazing on the faces of the V, strings hanging, chunks missing - the normal stuff. the first few I changed were due to the fact that they wouldn't 'tighten up' anymore. Found it was due to the surface rust on the pulleys eroding away the face s of the V. Essentially, through many hours of use, the pulleys were sanding the belts, they got thinner, and 'dropped' deeper into the pulleys.

On the impellers - every two years or when any physical damage is visible, whichever comes first. Also check the wear plate and cam for excessive wear or grooving."

"They maybe glazed. I have to

"They maybe glazed. I have to check again.
Implellers taken out every two years for a visual... uggh... they are so hard to get to...

Man, I just had one of my engine hatches off the boat when glassed in some plywood... would have been much easyer then... duhhh... figures it crossed my mind and i was soooo overhelmed with getting it together for bass in NE!"

"I sound like a broken record

"I sound like a broken record but, have you checked your u-cooler?

I had the same issue at the start of the season and the first thing I did was replace the impeller and check the belt. Guess what, same problem. Tracked it down at the clogged u-cooler. My old impeller would have easily made it another season as all of the veins were in good shape.

BTW, a belt is either working properly or slipping or broke. If it's not slipping or broke then it's working. Now if it's dry and cracked then it needs to be replaced so it doesn't break while your out. And another BTW (always good to have a spare on board).

Good luck on the fix....."

What is the u-cooler? What ab

What is the u-cooler? What about heat exchanger?

Could belts be slipping without making sound and i dont know it?

TIA

"U-cooler - the combined oil/t

"U-cooler - the combined oil/transmission fluid cooler on the front of the engine. The oil lines will be close to the raw water pump's belt.

The cooler, being upstream in the raw water system, has been known to 'catch' anything that may pass the strainer and the pump.

If the belt has enough tension on it and is riding at the "top" of its pulley, it shouldn't slip unless it has a bunch of lube (oil, grease, etc) on it"

"Scott, check this thread and

"Scott, check this thread and do a search on oil cooler in the Crusader forum. Lotsa of great info including pictures. As Mark said, the heat exchanger/ trans cooler aka u-cooler is usually located just aft of the fresh water water pump on the front of the motor. Now my last 454 on the Baja had it located down low running close and parallel to the oil pan on the starboard side making it a real mutha to get to.http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12489/287897.shtml"