Re: 1998 Ficht - one for the expert out there
Well here I am 3 years later, I have run the boat without the thermostats since my last posting. This year I decided to tackle the problem again and started with the basics. I replaced the water pump myself (the mechanic at the parts store assured me I needed the water pump with the bleed hole). I also removed the exhaust housing and discovered the gasket at the top of the housing was melted beyond recognition, I replaced both upper and lower gaskets. Got the motor up and running and the water is shooting out with more pressure than I have ever seen. I have had the boat out for about 20 hours since and it has not overheated, in fact it has been running like it always has, and that is excellent. Can someone confirm that this exhaust housing gasket stops the exhaust from mixing with cool water? When I originally had the overheating problem one of the symptoms was a choking sound, like sucking in exhaust.
However, I still have a temperature gauge that max's out when in fulll throttle. The air coming out the engine is cool and the water shooting out of the engine is cool. What do you think?
