Keeping Your Engine Cool
If you think all that keeps your motor cool is the water pump, then
read on.
I've seen a lot of severely damaged engines with owners who said "the
pump was shooting a steady stream out the tell-tale hose when it just
stopped running".
The first thing you want to be sure of is that the over-heat buzzer
or horn is functioning properly.
A good quick check is find the tan wire going to heat sensor on
cylinder head(s).
With the switch in on position touch the wire to ground and you
should hear a horn or buzzer.
If it doesn't work, fix it now, cause seeing a stream of water ain't
enough for peace of mind.
Your motor most likely has thermostat(s) and they can stick of
become fouled and let your engine run HOT.
Water jackets and cooling water passages can get stopped up
especially after running in some mud, weeds, or sand etc.
Again, your motor could run hot enough to cause major damage and still
be pumping plenty of water.
Forgetting about the water for a minute; there's plenty of
areas that can run your motor hot and self destruct.
A motor running too lean on gas is, in the case of 2 strokers;
running too little oil to lube the engine.
A broken or incorrectly adjusted timing advance can wipe out your
motor also, too, now,sorta quick!
THE GOOD THING is that a properly operating over-heat sensor or two
and a warning horn or buzzer will usually tell you to stop in time!
If you are not seeing a water stream out of the tell-tale hole then it is possible it is stopped up but motor is still pumping water.
Look under cover and remove the hose connected to the tell-tale nozzle/fitting and see if water comes out while motor is running then.
If so, then the little fitting may simply be obstructed or stopped up and you can clear it with a small wire or air pressure.
A warning light and/or alarm could indicate a problem in different areas such as water pump weak, bad thermostat, low oil level, and/or too little oil delivery or fuel-oil ratio.
I guess if you see plenty of water coming out of the overboard indicator so the pump is probably okay. You could check the cylinder heads and notice if one/or both seem to be getting too hot. Most outboard motors are designed to operate most efficiently at 125-163 degrees F at the cylinder head. Thermostat/s open when head temp reaches 125 degrees F, so if you have an accurate surface thermometer or infrared temp probe, you can check head tempature........or....... most hot tap water is usually around/between 110-140 degrees F to give you a general idea by touch.
Thermostats open at 125° and motor is hot at 163° and warning horn should be sounding shortly after that.
Look right here...... This Pump
ran Dry
How to replace your water
pump impeller
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