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Proper operating temperature for 12 fresh water cool bb V8

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briang0

Regular Contributor
Does anyone know what the corr

Does anyone know what the correct operating temperature for a 1/2 fresh water cool BB V8 my CS280 "Chevy 409" runs around 180 - 200f at around 3000 rpms. How much is too high? I'm wonder is this is too high or OK. I have had so much trouble with it this season and it's new to me so I have nothing to base line it with. My heat exchanger is 4" in diameter and 18.5 inches long. I have 1.25" hoses feeding the manifolds with raw water and the suction side of the fresh water pump is 2". The hose from the fresh water pump to the tranny cooler is about .75" When she gets up around 200f I start wondering if its too hot. It will cool down pretty quickly when I bring it down to 2000 rpms. Any ideas?
 
"200 is too high, it should ru

"200 is too high, it should run around 165-175. It sounds like you may have a weak pump or a restriction. If the pump checks out, the most likely suspects are the exhaust elbows and the coolers."
 
I checked the raw water pump a

I checked the raw water pump and the impella looks new. How do you check the engine water pump? I had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago and it turned out to be seaweed in the heat exchanger. I am in the process of getting a raw water strainer so it doesn't happen again. Does a strainer have to be horizontal or can I just stick in inline at any angle? Thanks
 
"What happened to the seaweed

"What happened to the seaweed that made it through the exchanger?

How do you check the engine pump? If it is not leaking and now growling, it's good. I have seen RWC engines where the pump shaft rotted off, but never a FWC. When the pump fails completely it won't do what yours is doing.

Most strainers I have used (Perko, Buck/Algonquin and Groco) mount vertically, but I don't suppose it really matters as long as you can service it and the hoses aren't kinked."
 
The seaweed got bunched up on

The seaweed got bunched up on one side of the exchanger. I cleaned it out. The other side had just a bit. I flushed the exchangers just to make sure. I'm going to check again this morning. I am going to flush the line from the pump to the exchanger and also back flush the line from the raw water scoop to the pump.
 
"It was seaweed again. I inst

"It was seaweed again. I installed a Groco strainer so at least it will be a little easier to clean out the weed. The river up here has a lot of seaweed floating around in it. Sometimes it is hard to avoid. I finally found a new set of exhaust manifold in Arizona of all places. Going to call the shop that has them today
happy.gif
hopefully it will only be an arm and not a leg too. Thanks again for the help love this site."
 
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