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3 trips to the mechanic... need some info please

chrisjaddis

New member
i have an 85 harris 240 with a 2.5 engine and omc outdrive. original problem was: engine would run hot at idle but cool off when moving. took it to a mechanic. got it back, got to the lake and it was running hot and would not cool off while moving. took it back, he resealed the "housing" with lots of black silicon. boat will run cool now until u shut if off and crank it back. at idle, it gets up to 240+ after 3 trips back to the mechanic, he brings the boat to my house, drops it off and doesnt charge me anything... i need some advise on whether to change the thermostat, or is their some other problem? old impeller had one broke fin and another was cracked. i dont see why it went from bad to worse by puttin in a new impeller. thanks for any info.
 
Ok ready to do some trouble shooting ?

Got a manual ? You will have a private message in a minute after i post this.

First remove the hose at the t-stat housing that comes in from the transom, put water to the drive and start the motor make sure the drive is fully down, and hold the hose straight up, you want to see if you got good water to the t-stat understand, you need to see water shooting up 8-10" 2-3 seconds shut off the motor.

Say you got good water to the t-stat then open the t-stat housing and replace the t-stat or test it in boiling water to see if it opens all the way. Maybe the pieces are clogging up the t-stat housing.

Say you do not have good water at the t-stat then the pieces of the old impeller is blocking the fitting that enters thru the transom to the long hose that runs to the t-stat.

Understand ?

Now you want to know what to do ? And your idiot mechanic didn't understand stringers or how they work, did he ?

Your going to have to backflush the long hose that enters the t-stat.

I'm typing with 2 fingers and will take me about 20 minutes to type this hope you apreciate this.

Crank the bow of the boat down, place a flat that is the very piece of wood under the skeg,
it is the fin on the bottom of the drive , drive fully down.

Now crank the bow up till the skeg touchs the wood. Bow look at the rubber bumpers pry them off gently, and mark exactly how they came off, i use red nail polish and run a line on the side before removal.

See the caps on the trunion mark them they have to go back on exactly how they came off the same side capiche?

Remove them, see the bushing on both sides, Ok now you need a helper to crank the bow up another 1-2 inch's and the drive will be free drag the drive over 6 inch's port " left "
And tie it to the boat, DO NOT PULL ON THE CABLE YOU F THAT CABLE UP WILL BE 600 DOLLARS AND A WORLD OF HURT REPLACING IT, capiche?

Now backflush the long hose and see if the pieces come out the intermediate.

Post back at that point with the drive off and keep us informed, we will go from there i have a feeling this ain't over yet but with our help you will get thru this if you listen, don;t listen then it's your fault not ours.
 
Chief, PM's are OK, but this prevents on-lookers from being able to share the same information. Just an FYI on that!

Yes, ditto getting a manual for your particular engine/drive.

I'm not an OMC guy, however, as with any Marine Stern Drive, I don't view the use of silicone as a good choice for repair work! Particularly bellow the water line.

Has anyone found and retrieved the missing impeller pieces? As Chief mentions, these must be found and retrieved as to prevent blockage. Blockage may be all or a portion of your problem.

Have you or the mechanic looked for Crustaceans that may be blocking incoming sea water?

Has anyone looked at the exhaust manifold as being the suspect area? More specifically, the sea water transfer ports (if this is applicable).
Often rust scale right here will prevent the exiting of the spent sea water.
If the spent sea water cannot exit the exhaust manifold....., then you will not have the cooling capacity needed....... new impeller/new T stat or NOT!

IOW, I'd not necessarily make the thermostat the main focus point........ not until you have eliminated other potentials.
You do mention that during certain conditions, temp is OK!

Use the good ole P of E .... (process of elimination) .... one item, and one item only at a time, systematically, and you will find the problem.

.
 
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some sites do not like a the free manual d/l being posted in the open forum that's the pm.

As everyone knows your the volvo expert, well i'm the stringer expert.

This site is partners with the seller of the manual in print form

That's all i sent him in the pm.
 
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The silly cone has to be used in the water pump and around the pump and on the thru bolts located in the upper drive of the stringer to seal it. It is a different system compared on all other drives.

Notice i never respond to volvo drive questions, its because i know nothing about them motors yes drives no.

Stringers are a breed apart. Nuff said.
 
i pulled the hose off today. i didnt get 8-10" of water shootin up but its gushing on up there maybe 3 or 4. i saw the old impeller and as far as i know, all the pieces were recovered. i ran it on muffs for about 15 min today and it stayed around 140 deg. thanks for the info, im workin night shift 7pm-730am so i dont have a lot of time to devote right now. im gonna peck at it everyday til i get it tho. i would scrap the whole boat but i just redid the floor and carpet and rigged it up with a 800.00 trollin motor, 300 graph, rod holders and the whole gammet.
 
backwash the hose don;t remove the drive see what happens. Me i would yank the elbow i found mine rusted closed when i got the boat.

pull the t-stat and replace it. check to see if the flapper fell down. You can also check by raising the drive all the way and shine a light into the exhaust tube, i had my kid stick his hand all the way up to his elbow.

Turns out my boat never had a flapper, or a place for one. I bought the boat from the original owner who is a good friend of mine.
 
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Buy a manual use # 3400 upper right hand corner seloc omc stern drives 1964-86 repair manual.

The elbow is on the port side of the motor in the back connects the mani' with the exhaust tube it has a big rubber hose with clamps on both sides.

You know plumbing you will figure it out.
 
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