81 mercruiser 120 overheat issue

mhirsch05

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
37
hey all i have one for you. i have an 81 mercruiser 120 with a prealpha outdrive. last year i was having an overheating issue. on a hot day my engine will overheat but never really get to full hot. it gets to about 3/4 hot maybe a hair over that. i changed the impeller after this happened and it made no difference however when i run it on muffs at home, it can run for hours without even getting to the middle of the guage. i figured maybe it was because of the 110 degree wether being that i live in phoenix and the water temp is usually pretty high. i also noticed on a lot of other posts about overheating people mention a heat exchanger. does every sterndrive have one and if so how is it tested?
 

mhirsch05

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
37
Re: 81 mercruiser 120 overheat issue

nobody. cmon theres gotta be somebody from hot weather that can chime in.
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
71,084
Re: 81 mercruiser 120 overheat issue

i also noticed on a lot of other posts about overheating people mention a heat exchanger. does every sterndrive have one and if so how is it tested?

Nope,... Heat exchangers are rather Rare around sweetwater boat motors...
Although there are exceptions...
They're mostly intended for Saltwater boat motors...

If ya don't see a radiator cap around yer motor,...
Ya ain't got 1...
The water outside the boat, is the water in yer motor...
 
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