Good point about the impeller. I am quickly findig out that in boating
one should not take anything for granted (except that it will cost us
a lot of money!). Today, along with a proper gasket for the
thermostat housing, I also bought a new impeller (just in case, if
fine then I'll have one as a spare for next year).

I'll be back at the marina after work tomorrow night to see if putting
a proper gasket on the thermostat housing makes a difference (ie was
that enough to cause the new thermostat not to work yesterday when I
replaced it). A.




On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:40:50 -0400, "Woodchuck"
wrote:

Just because the impeller was replaced 2 months ago doesn't mean it's OK.
Put the boat in the water and pull the hose from the outdrive and briefly
start the engine. It should pump a lot of water. You should know in under 1
minute. Also since you have run the engine HOT you may have done other
damage such as headgasket, etc.


"Melandre" wrote in message
.. .
I am suspecting my boat's (1990 Ford OMC Cobra 2.3L) overheating
problem comes from a defective thermostat. Today, I replaced the
thermostat but the gasket that I was given does not fit the housing at
all so I had to reuse the old worn gasket for now. I started the
boat and it gradually went to over 200 degrees which means the problem
is not fixed. I also noticed that steam was coming out of the
thermostat housing around the old gasket. So obviously I don't have a
100% seal and I will need to find the proper gasket.

However, I am wondering if the leaking gasket would be enough to
cause the new thermostat not to work or if I simply misdiagnosed the
problem in the first place and will have to look somewhere else?

Impeller and water pump was replaced 2 months ago so I don't think
this is the cause. Will have to also check the hoses and the water
intake I suppose.

Andre