motor overheating

[john0185]

  I have a 1996 johnson 130 outboard. Last year I replaced the the vro.  This year i put in a new impeller, plugs and wires. No thermostats yet. The problem I'm having is when in first head out the motor overheats. The faster I'm running the sooner it will overheat. Once it does I'll shut it down and let it cool down. After that it runs fine. Ordering new thermostats. Just wondering if I should be looking a anything else? It doesn't have a temp gauge. Just idiot light and alarm. And the pee hole does squirt water as strong as ever. Any other ideas?

[Reckless]

Do you have poppet valves? I had a 93 Evinrude that use to do that. What I found out air was getting trapped on one side of the T stats. It stopped water from getting to the Tstats and they wouldn't open. My fix was drilled small hole in poppet valve so the air could escape. Fixed my problem. Hope this helps.

[john0185]

  Not 100% sure about the poppet values. Don't think it does. I'm thinking about flushing the cooling system with vinegar and clr. Won't be surprised if things were pretty blocked up in there.

[Hunter 2]

If you need any other advice, Matt at Task Marine is a pro mechanic. A phone call might save you a bunch of time.  Good Luck. 

[john0185]

  Thanks for the referral. I'm in New Gretna, so he is a easy drive.