in a pinch with a 5.7 Volvo Penta

[boataway]

with a rough start to the season, I set out to get the boat hauled to diagnose a slow power steering leak, the engine (5.7 GX I – D) over heated. Quick. I pulled the temperature sending unit and it seemed dry. I think the thermostat is not opening and am looking for a quick replacement so that I can get to that dry dock before they release it to someone else. I also may have fried the starter in the drama I faced today.

Question 1: Is there an auto parts equivalent of a thermostat I can buy to get me going again?
Question 2: Same as above, but for a starter? just in case

The ideal would be for me to swing by an auto parts store to quickly get going again. I can put in the proper part after taking advantage of the dry dock situation. I've waited for almost a month to get it.

 

[kenny nunez]

I think your heating was caused by the raw water pump, the thermostat may still be good. Overheating very rarely hurts this starter, check the cables that they did not get burned from the manifold if they were too close. Are you sure the battery is charged?

 

[ESGWheel]

Overheating an engine is one of the most surefire and quick ways to destroy it. Not trying to alarm you but you may have more then a leaking steering gear to address.

Can you provide more detail about the overheat condition. Like how long the engine was running prior to shutting it down, how did you know it was overheating, what was the max temp you noticed?

And the idea of “quick, I pulled the temp sending unit” is confusing to me. You want to quicky shut down the engine on overheat. Did you pull this temp sending unit within a couple of minutes after shutting down? If so and you were not burning yourself, perhaps the engine did not get too hot > this is what I am trying to gauge.

More: why do you think the starter is toast?

Back to the root cause > as Kenny says most likely your RWP. However, if you are convinced that the T-stat is also an issue, forgot about replacing it for now, simply take it out for the short trip to the dry dock.

Also, can you take advantage of getting a tow to the dry dock from a friend or a professional service? Outfits like TowBoatUS operate in a lot of areas and I have found their pricing to be stupid cheap for the service they offer. Trying calling them or one of the other services in your area, tell them you want to become a member and be up front need a tow now and see if they will agree.

 

[boataway]

It overheated really quickly. Like in half the time it takes to get to normal temp (160), it was way above that with the alarm sounding. Max temp was almost 200. When I pulled the two hoses that lead to/from the RWP, coolant from the winterization poured out, but seawater did not. I think something might be clogged. I sat and waited for it to cool down to get back closer to the marina and feel like it cooled off quicker than normal too. I replaced the impeller at winterization and had not started the boat since. Any thoughts? My boat does not have a valve for the seawater, only AC and head.

Starter: the mechanic that helped tow my boat into the slip did some quick trouble shooting and offered that up. I'm skeptical and think the battery was just so weak he only got clicks out of it. The thought is that the starter fried from the chaos, not from the heating. I agree with you, Kenny, I don't think they are related.

 

[ESGWheel]

If you got antifreeze out of the RWP hoses after running for what I will guess is 5 to 15 min, it means there was no water circulating whatsoever. Do you recall how long it was running before you shut it down?

For the reason of no flow but had a new impeller > do you think possible the inlet and outlet hoses for the RWP got reversed? I have never purposely tied to do it on my 5.0 GXi to see how hard it is, but I understand it’s easy to do especially if that plastic double ring is missing. See pic > it is item no. 9 in red box.

I get that this is frustrating, you were going go into dry dock to get a long-standing irritant resolved, but my suggestion is your priorities are now (1) solving the coolant issue and (2) evaluating if you have any damage due to overheat.

 

[boataway]

If you got antifreeze out of the RWP hoses after running for what I will guess is 5 to 15 min, it means there was no water circulating whatsoever. Do you recall how long it was running before you shut it down?

For the reason of no flow but had a new impeller > do you think possible the inlet and outlet hoses for the RWP got reversed? I have never purposely tied to do it on my 5.0 GXi to see how hard it is, but I understand it’s easy to do especially if that plastic double ring is missing. See pic > it is item no. 9 in red box.

I get that this is frustrating, you were going go into dry dock to get a long-standing irritant resolved, but my suggestion is your priorities are now (1) solving the coolant issue and (2) evaluating if you have any damage due to overheat.

View attachment 407362

it might very well be that. I will inspect it today and report back. Thank you for the diagram; very helpful reference!

 

[ESGWheel]

That was just a portion of the diagram
These are readily available on this forum and other places

There are two for the cooling system
Raw water side
Circulation side

As a suggestion download both and use for a reference and even the part numbers for when u need to get an item

When I’m back at my pc I’ll upload an example file that has served me well over the years

Who replaced the impeller? A shop?

 

[boataway]

"I am the warranty"

 

[Lou C]

with a rough start to the season, I set out to get the boat hauled to diagnose a slow power steering leak, the engine (5.7 GX I – D) over heated. Quick. I pulled the temperature sending unit and it seemed dry. I think the thermostat is not opening and am looking for a quick replacement so that I can get to that dry dock before they release it to someone else. I also may have fried the starter in the drama I faced today.

Question 1: Is there an auto parts equivalent of a thermostat I can buy to get me going again?
Question 2: Same as above, but for a starter? just in case

The ideal would be for me to swing by an auto parts store to quickly get going again. I can put in the proper part after taking advantage of the dry dock situation. I've waited for almost a month to get it.

Just in case you're considering this, the answers are no and no
you need a marine OMC/Volvo style thermostat, 160*, an automotive stat might not fit and uses an opening temp much too high (195*)
An auto starter is not ignition protected and is very dangerous in a boat, explosion risk. Only marine certified starters in inboard gas boats.

 

[ESGWheel]

Boataway,
Here is an example of the file I was talking about. While mine is an excel format with the embedded pics dan listing of PNs, etc. it is easier to just print out the diagrams and keep them in a file folder for reference. Also here are 3 good places to get VP OEM parts, each one is very helpful on the phone, and I have never had an issue buying fm any of them. You can download diagrams off their sites as well.

• Doug Russel Marine link
• Leaders RPM link
• Cecil Marine link

Let us know how it goes or other help needed, like how to determine if still have a good engine after an overheating it.

Edit: forgot i cannot uplaod an excel file... i will try to PM it to you.

 

[boataway]

View attachment IMG_2613.jpeg
Looks right, doesn't it?

 

[ESGWheel]

i cannot tell fm the picture, others may be able to. As i recall the top connection is the intake so need to follow it to ensure that is what it is.....

@kenny nunez
@Lou C
can u tell fm the pic is hose connection (inlet / outlet) correct?
thx

 

[Scott Danforth]

The thermostat is a stainless stant unit. Yeah most at an auto parts store will be fine. 160 for the EFI.

However you have a lack of water issue.

Raw water pump, inlet casting, etc. Need to fix what is broken

Pump cover is stamped which bung is inlet or outlet based on rotation