Trojan Boat Forum

Does anyone know what the acceptable operating temperature is for Crusaders 454/350 FWC. I changed the impellers and put in 142 deg. thermostats in both engines: port runs 160 starboard runs 180. Is 180 acceptable for these blocks? Odds are it's the heat exchangers??

Thanks
Lumpy

Not sure about the 454 but my FWC 350 ran at 150......180 seems on the high side. Any vanes missing from the impleller?, could be stuck in the head exchanger reducing flow.....

They should be 160 degree stats, not 142. 160 is a little low, 180 is ok but suspect it'll go up higher if you go to 160 thermostats.

Bob

The impellers had all their veins, there was one split on the Port and 3 split on the Starboard. The specs showed both the 142 &160 options. They only had one 160 left so I went with the 142. The heat exchangers look easly to work on. Saw a post where someone took them out and had them cleaned by a radiator repair shop just like you would do for your cars radiator. Any thoughts on this, sounds like a good idea depending on the condition of the heat exchangers.

Lumpy

That was me about the heat exchanger going to a radiator shop. Check with a marina or mechanic to find a good one....radiator work is becoming a lost art with plastic throw away radiators not to mention environmental issues.....John

I ran 180's in mine.

warmer equals more efficient (to a point)

RWS

You deffinately could and should run hotter than 140 on FWC application. 140 are usually for RWC applications for a few reasons; your application doesn't apply. The engines will be happier with the 160 stats.

Since I have the 142's in there and the run at 150/180 should I just leave them in there? I haven't taken her out and run her hard yet. These temps are just sitting idle.

take her out and run her at WOT for a few min. then down to your normal speed and see what the temps are, My Merc's (454's) run at 160 to 165 and seem happy.

Yes, take it out and run it. It's gonna run warmer under load at higher RPM.

Took her out and the starboard was running at 190-200 where as the Port was at 170. Steam comes out the exhaust on the starboard but not the port. Any thoughts? Should I focus next on the Heat Exchanger? I know that it was said 180 is fine but what bothers me is the fact that the 180 mark is all the way to the right which make it look like it's to hot. I'm use to having the operating temp be close to the middle of the gauge. Just my mental block.

Thanks
Chris

180 might be acceptable but IMO 190-200 is too high. Take a good look at all the hoses, sometime they make some sharp bends and can collapse or kink. If you have an IR temp gauge or another temp gauge you could verify the accuracy of your gauges...and compare engine temps at various places. Do the ends come of your heat exchangers? They do on my mecrs, if so, that would be a good place to start. With the ends off the tubes are exposed and you could check for any blockage................John

I pulled the heat exchanger today, it had some build-up and a few tubes were blocked. I also back washed the oil cooler and some junk came out. I cleaned the H.E. with mercuric acid. first time with a H.E. so I really don't have anything to compare it to. I'm putting it back in tomorrow and hopefully it does the trick. BTW the main intake off the haul has a 90 deg. elbow and then the hose does a 180 into the strainer. Would this restrict the water flow enough to cause a cooling problem?

Thanks
Chris

I think you're on the right track. Several things will cause the issue; bad impeller, loose clamps (sucking air), clogged intake, clogged cooler, kinked hoses, etc etc. Given that you're in salt water (right?), you may also have mani/elbow restrictions. They don't last very lonk in salt water. Elbows (plumbing) are OK at intakes but they should be the smooth/gradual 90 deg ones, not the ones that make a sudden 90 deg turn.

I had the same heat problem on my FWC 454 crusaders used in lake Michigan-fresh water. I replaced the risers and elbows, took off heat exchanger and oil cooler and sent to radiator shop (they looked pretty good though). Heat is good now. i also found the starboard side water temp sender is reading cooler than it should by using IR gun. Which made me think other side was too hot, but both are 166-170 degrees at the sender with IR gun. Port always seems to have a little steam and other side doesn't. i was down there staring at the hoses and noticed a drip of water fall from the Groco 90 degree brass piece off the strainer. Took it apart and found a stiff plastic washer that may need to be replaced.

If water drips out, air can definitely be sucked in. I'm going to replace the washer (they sell them as repair packs with all the washers for the strainer) and see what happens.