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Johson 15hp running hot?

R

rohan2

Member
I have an 81 Johnson 15 hp. Runs like a champ. But... I noticed quite am bit of steam coming out of the motor when I last loaded it up. I have never seen steam before. I also noticed it was not spraying the amount of water out as it usually does. Since the boat was loaded. I decided to check it out at home. I removed the foot and connected a tight fitting hose to the water tube and blew it out. (There was debris in the pee hole tube, had to remove the tube to clean it thoroughly). Checked the water pump since it was recently installed. Looks and acts like new. Reinstalled the foot. Motor fired right up as usual. And had an excellent stream. Let the motor run at high idle for about 10 minute. Ran great, and the spray(out the pee hole) was warm, and had a good stream. The temp of the motor was where I could not hold my hand on it very long. It just felt hot to me. I see in the parts manual where there is a thermostat. Will my motor still spray if the thermostat is working correctly? I was also getting a very lite misting spray out of the little exhaust hole above the foot on the back side. Is that OK..?
Motor is working good, I just do not want to cause any damage if it is to hot.
Thanks,
Don
 
The engine does run at approximately 150 degrees so it gets pretty warm... too warm to hold your hand on it for any length of time. However, you say that you installed a new water pump recently BUT you've said nothing about a new thermostat being installed.

It's time to change the thermostat if for no other reason.... peace of mind.

Unfortunately you'll find that the cylinder head must be removed in order to get at the thermostat which is located under the cylinder head cover BUT it's really no big job. Just be sure to use a hand held propane torch to heat the aluminum that surrounds any bolt that appears to be extremely tight.... breaking bolts really puts a damper on a small job like that.
 
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