2004 Fiesta Vie 270 - Alarm Sounding at 200 degrees

julie0331julie0331 Member Posts: 5 ✭
edited July 2019 in Engine Discussions

We recently had an issue in which the alarm kept sounding (and staying on) once the temp gauge hit 200 degrees.  Mechanic at our marina said it was the water pump - had the water pump replaced but it did not resolve problem.  Has anyone had this same issue and if so, can you share what resolved the problem.  I don't want the mechanic "fixing" anything else until we have a better sense of what may be causing this.  I thought this community would be the best to ask, so appreciate any input from those that have encountered the same issue.  Hopefully it will save us from any additiional unnecessary and costly repairs.  Everyone have a great day and thank you in advance for your help.

Boat is used on River/Lakes   this is not in salt water

2004 Fiesta Vie 270 Mercruiser MX 6.2 MPI Horizon 320-HP Bravo 3

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  • LaReaLaRea Member, Moderator Posts: 7,757 mod
    edited July 2019
    Welcome to the forum!

    Do you have a Bravo 3 outdrive?  There's a common problem with the hose that pulls cooling water up through the outdrive to the engine.  The fitting where the hose passes through the transom can get corroded on the inside, especially when used in salt water.  The corrosion reduces the amount of water that comes through.  Once that happens, even a brand-new pump can't pull enough water.  

    Unfortunately, the only solution is to haul the boat, remove the drive and replace the hose.  It can't be done from inside the boat. 

    To diagnose:  On the back of the water pump, temporarily disconnect the water supply hose.  Water should come gushing out.  If the flow is weak, there's your problem.  
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  • GMSLITHOGMSLITHO Member Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭✭
    I agree with LaRea that happened to mine 
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  • julie0331julie0331 Member Posts: 5 ✭

    I can't thank you both enough!  Although the boat has never been in salt water, it still sounds like this could be the issue.  I will share this information with our Marina mechanic


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  • Black_DiamondBlack_Diamond Member Posts: 5,439 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That same hose can kink, happened with mine. Fresh water. The replacement now has a hard plastic end to prevent that problem.  

    Past owner of a 2003 342FV
    PC BYC, Holland, MI
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  • julie0331julie0331 Member Posts: 5 ✭

    LaRea and GMSLITHO - from your experience with this issue - what does a repair like this cost - estimate?


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  • Dream_InnDream_Inn Member, Moderator Posts: 7,667 mod
    @julie0331 - welcome to the forum.  Sounds like you are already well taken care of.  Please let us know the results, so we can all continue learning.

    Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express

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  • GMSLITHOGMSLITHO Member Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭✭
    I did mine myself when I replaced the swivel pin and yes the new hose has a plastic end if you look on top of the transom assembly you can see where the hose comes in you can disconnect the steering to make it a little easier to get to it 

    If you do it yourself make sure you clean it out real good get all the corrosion off down to the metal before you try to reinstall the hose
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  • rasburyrasbury Member Posts: 8,419 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It is a "bad" design for sure and when I pulled my motor and drive it was pretty cruded up. You did not mention however if yours is fresh or raw water cooled. Mine is a closed system and I have both the out drive pulling water and a thru hull which basically just cools the heat exchanger and the risers. So the test mentioned is good for the outdrive only but not so much if you have a thru hull- you can shut off the thru hull. I wondered if mine would be ok even of the drive was plugged as it can still pull through the thru hull? Another thing that has been mentioned although I never experienced it, if you have air trapped in the system somewhere it can still run hot also. Pulling the out drive is a pretty easy job if the boat is out of the water...what 150 bucks to pull it out of the water and and hour and a half labor to pull and re install the drive? But, once your there....the bellows need to be looked at, the gimbal checked out...is the steering pin leaking any at all? Is is shifting easily, might be a good time for a new shift cable.....I had a leak around the transom ring so I just rebuilt everything, can't imagine what a shop would have charged me....would have been cheaper to replace the asy. I'm sure than pay a shop to do what I did....the parts for the thru transom water hose are less than 50 bucks so if you do just that, I'd think your easily under 500 bucks? About as cheap a boat repair as you can hope for...a lot cheaper than that water pump was I'm sure!

    Oh, and welcome to the forum, good luck and everyone here will help you as best we can- might get you into more trouble but we always think we are helping!
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