Running the engine on muffs....its getting too hot!

I just brought the boat back to get it ready. It's been in winter storage for 7-8 months. The engine is bone dry as I winterized it. I put it on muffs and fired it up. I get it warmed up and go to take a look at the engine and then I come back and the temperature gauge is almost to "H" so I shut it down. Before I did the engine shook and almost died. I'm not sure what that was all about. I hope I didn't cause any damage. Oil pressure was fine though. I let it cool down and go a turn up the pressure on the garden hose to make sure its getting plenty of water. I fire it up and the temp is climbing. I rev it up and I see the thermostat must have opened as the temperature went back down. Then after that it seemed to run fine but the temp is running higher than usual and starting to climb again. Any ideas?....air in the system? I have run the boat on muffs before with no problems but the engine already had water in it from the lake. This was the first time when it was bone dry. I put a new thermostat in and the impeller in the lower unit was replaced a few years ago. The prior owner said it started to run hot so he had a new one installed. I was thinking of getting a large bucket and filling it with water and then lowering the lower unit in it. I have a 50gal plastic bin/tote that would work. Good idea or bad idea?

Re: Running the engine on muffs....its getting too hot!

Replace the impeller......JK

Re: Running the engine on muffs....its getting too hot!

One of the unique things that Stringer drives have is a a pee hole (mine has two) that shoot water on the ball gears. A side benefit is that if the stream is good steady, you know the impeller is good and look for your problem beyond that point.

Re: Running the engine on muffs....its getting too hot!

When the engine is off the muffs shoot water out (like the water is blocked by something). When I run the engine it doesn't do that so I would imagine the impeller is working. Also, water finally did make it into the engine so would that also mean the impeller is working? Kagee, I will have to take a look at the ball gears to see if water is sraying on them. What about the bucket idea?<br /><br />Let say the impellar is toast. Is this a job I can do? Or is a a pain in the you know what?

Re: Running the engine on muffs....its getting too hot!

I dropped the drive in a large tub of water. I fired it up and the engine temp never went beyond normal. The hose I was using with the muffs is one of those coil hoses. False alarm, I guess the hose was too small and didn't supply enough water to the engine. Dumb mistake on my part. Runs great now.