Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

[jollymon]

I have a 1987 Regal 277XL with twin Mercruisers and Alpha I drives. Ithink they are Gen one, but I am not sure.

When I idle the port engine, get hot, not to the point of over heating, but the temp gauge goes to about 3/4. When I bought the boat the seller told me the should hold steady at slightly under half way.

When I run it, it cools right down. My guess is the impeller is going, but I would like a second opinion. Also how do I confirm that the drives are Alpha I gen 1?

And most importantly, can any one give me any tips, on replace the impeller, I will most likely be doiing this at the ramp, on a borrowed trailer.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

Sounds like an impeller to me.
Impellers should be replaced every couple of years.
You have a Gen I Alpha, the Gen II's didn't come out till 91

 

[jollymon]

Re: Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

Thanks Don,

Any words of wisdom when I replace it, Is there anything else in there I should replace?

I am going to get a manual, before I tackle it, but there is nothing like a little knowledge, before I start.

I know I should have replaced it, before I launched, but there was a million and one things to replace, and the old one was only 18 months old!


Scotgt

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

What motors do you have??? I have been experiencing similar with 230 mercruisers with alpha drives.Impellers did not change a thing with mine.Charlie

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

How about Back-Flushing from the T-Stat Charlie,..??..??....

Ya might have some Crud between the Impeller,+ the T-Stat Housing,..??........

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Mercruiser w/ Alpha one idling hot

I tried that last spring but not too aggressively.I had done a handful of other things that I assumed would fix it.New impeller,housing,base,t-stst.Cleaned up the inside of the stat housing.Cleaned and lubed the flow balls.I just replaced the mani and risers since I was running out of options.They didnt look too bad at all.The idle was a touch low and all it took to get the temp headed down was a slight increase in the throttle when I was canal idling.I will soon see if this has made a difference.I cant see what else is left..??