floatingwoody2006
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 500
Hello again.. Have aquired a force outboard by US Marine serial # is 357r88 or 357r8B and i have a couple of questions..I cannot be sure, but looking it up on boats.net, it states if the serial # is 357r8B, then it's a merc and merc parts should fit it..Condition is unknown yet, but i believe it overheated. Any help with year, and if it's a merc would be greatly appreciated. I do have an 86 25XD merc around..It's a longshot, but maybe.. Just maybe something will be swappable. Thanks in advance
they started going downhill after mercury bought 'em. As far as cause of overheating, most often it's a bad water pump impeller/ housing or plugged passages. So that would be my first change. Just drop the lower unit and change out the impeller and housing. It's an inexpensive and fairly easy job, but always change the housing too. It can be worn just enough to let the water bypass but not really be evident that it;s worn. Also make sure all of the water passage ways are clear. While your at it might as well change the thermostat and overheat sensor too. They might be good but no more than they cost I'd rather be sure they're good. Lean mixture can also cause overheating but that usually results in scored cylinder walls and pitted pistons, or locked up engines. What size boat do you have, those engines really aren't that heavy. If it's a horse power thing I shouldn't comment, where I come from we consider those H.P. ratings as minimum starting points, as in take the rating multiply by 50% and see if it goes fast enough yet