82 454bs get hot at idle

"Fresh water cooled with clear

"Fresh water cooled with clear h/exchangers and elbows
Engines run fine at speed, dropping back to idle they are fine,if they idle for 5-10 minutes, starboard fine- port starts to get hot 190-200F (new thermstats in both) - I am guessing impellor?"

"Could be plugged water passag

"Could be plugged water passages in the risers. If one side is plugged, then most of the water goes to the other side.

Jeff"

"Hi Jeff
thanks - have run a

"Hi Jeff
thanks - have run a flush through the cooling system -clean as a whistle, but they dont always dislodge a large blockage-will pull the risers off this weekend -(am going to replace the impellor anyway)- i live in W/Australia we dont have an agent for these motors here so when i order parts from US I usually try an order as many bits an pieces as possible.
I recently changed elbows and obviously replaced all gaskets each side of the stainless plate between elbow and riser - I noticed last night there is coolant leaking very very slowly from where the riser/gasket/stainless plate "sandwich", i bought a manual for the engine but it does not specify torque settings for the elbow bolts, the mating surfaces are clean and i did these up pretty tight - i dont want to over tighten them - are they too loose? or should i be using a high temp gasket seal?
Thanks
Clinton"

"G-day, mate! (Love Aussi

"G-day, mate! (Love Aussies! Some of the best people on earth.)

I re-installed a riser elbow on mine--new gaskets and nice and clean--and the thing leaked a bit. Re-tightened the bolts as it warmed up and hte leaking finally stopped. That time i did not use a sealant--as OSCO recommends--but next time I sure as hell will!

Not sure that helps...

Jeff"

"HI Jeff
thanks for the kind

"HI Jeff
thanks for the kind words - having had the good fortune to travel to most parts of the world it certainly is a great place to live -always love coming home!
I will use a sealant - i ordered a heap of gaskets so I think to be safe i will pull it down and re-do.
Cant believe these motors (Crusader) were never introduced here - having had previous boats which have had a pair of both petrol and diesel Mercruisers of which both pairs were nearly new -I could not believe how problem prone they were -everything was maintained to above spec, yet everything manage to last until just outside warranty period! - no guessing what they spend their research dollars on!
thanks again

Clinton"