Two engine temp question
- Thread starter Chillin
- Start date
toofast
Active member
First of all, welcome to the Formula Family.....
Then just to clarify, does this model use "fresh water" i.e. from the tanks to flush or is it using raw water from the lake/bay/ocean, etc.
You may need to pump out and flush the tank a few times, and then use a cup or so of Tide Detergent and fill the holding tank about 1/3 full and give it a good sloshing around....then let sit for about 24 hours and slosh around a bit more than pump out....that might be a good starting point.
Could also be your hoses are "permeated" - if you can find a waste hose, take a damp cloth and wipe the hose, if you lift the rag and it smells after you remove it, you may need to replace the hoses.
Then just to clarify, does this model use "fresh water" i.e. from the tanks to flush or is it using raw water from the lake/bay/ocean, etc.
You may need to pump out and flush the tank a few times, and then use a cup or so of Tide Detergent and fill the holding tank about 1/3 full and give it a good sloshing around....then let sit for about 24 hours and slosh around a bit more than pump out....that might be a good starting point.
Could also be your hoses are "permeated" - if you can find a waste hose, take a damp cloth and wipe the hose, if you lift the rag and it smells after you remove it, you may need to replace the hoses.
Last edited:
toofast
Active member
Ok, glad you are getting improvements...
Last thought for the moment is you MIGHT want to try a NON PERFUME type treatment....meaning bacteria breeding causes smells, because you have lake water you will have more bacteria than normal....something like below tends to help control that root cause vs. perfume treatment to cover it up.
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/odorlos--odorlos-head-chemical--P011_334_004_503
Last thought for the moment is you MIGHT want to try a NON PERFUME type treatment....meaning bacteria breeding causes smells, because you have lake water you will have more bacteria than normal....something like below tends to help control that root cause vs. perfume treatment to cover it up.
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/odorlos--odorlos-head-chemical--P011_334_004_503
Two Engine Temp Qiestions
Hi everyone. I have a 2000, 280 SS with twin Mercury 350 mag MPI Motors. They have about 500 hours and I've always been great.
I just put her back in the water after offseason maintenance, which included fairly extensive work on the port motor to include a tune-up, impellers, wires, plugs, Etc.
Prior to this work that engine always ran around 168 while cruising. Now it's closer to 175, and I think hit 178 at one point yesterday while cruising. Also, interestingly, the temperature would move back and forth between 174 and 178 throughout the day. There were no performance issues.
The starboard motor hovers around 165 very religiously.
So my two questions are this. Is 175 to hot? And is that fluctuation sign that the mechanic screwed something up? This all started after he did his work so I assume somehow he has affected it. Thanks so much.
Hi everyone. I have a 2000, 280 SS with twin Mercury 350 mag MPI Motors. They have about 500 hours and I've always been great.
I just put her back in the water after offseason maintenance, which included fairly extensive work on the port motor to include a tune-up, impellers, wires, plugs, Etc.
Prior to this work that engine always ran around 168 while cruising. Now it's closer to 175, and I think hit 178 at one point yesterday while cruising. Also, interestingly, the temperature would move back and forth between 174 and 178 throughout the day. There were no performance issues.
The starboard motor hovers around 165 very religiously.
So my two questions are this. Is 175 to hot? And is that fluctuation sign that the mechanic screwed something up? This all started after he did his work so I assume somehow he has affected it. Thanks so much.
My thoughts . . .
175 ish is not too hot, the more significant issue is the change before/after.
Tune-up and impeller is not that extensive of work. Could be more extensive on the check book though . . . Was there an issue with the prior impeller? If so, maybe the remnants were not flushed out.
The 'he who touched it last' rule should apply here. I'd check the see if the temp sender was replaced, or if the thermostat was replaced. . . or even see if the wiring to the sender needs the connection cleaned. Maybe have a conversation with the mechanic.
175 ish is not too hot, the more significant issue is the change before/after.
Tune-up and impeller is not that extensive of work. Could be more extensive on the check book though . . . Was there an issue with the prior impeller? If so, maybe the remnants were not flushed out.
The 'he who touched it last' rule should apply here. I'd check the see if the temp sender was replaced, or if the thermostat was replaced. . . or even see if the wiring to the sender needs the connection cleaned. Maybe have a conversation with the mechanic.
SabrToothSqrl
Well-known member
I have twin 2001 350s in my 292. Given that little bit of temp fluctuation, I don't think you have a problem to worry about... these use analog senders/wires/and gauges for this era. They aren't the world's most accurate. If you end up overheating or getting wider changes then I'd look into it...
Are they mechanical or digital gauges - reason being I recently put a NEMA 2000 backbone in my 2000 41PC and have in addition to my mechanical gauges I have access to Digital readings from the ECU and the readings are not the same. My Mechanical gauges read my temperature at a high of 180 no matter how I push her yet my Digital gauges fluctuate - when I have her under load and pushing her the temp gauge on my starboard engine goes to 195 degrees while at the same time the mechanical gauge is still reading 180. This season I will go in the bilge while she is running to triple check temp with an infra red temp reader.