Temperature Uniformity on a 3.0L Mercruiser

[eavega]

So, I posted a thread a while back about concern that my 1988 Mercruiser 3.0L might be getting warmer than normal. In the end I think I attributed it to the lake being unusually warm this year. Well, I finally remembered to take my non-contact thermometer this weekend when I went out. What I found is that if I take the temperature on the port side of the engine (Manifold/riser) I'm pretty consistently around the 150 degree mark. If I go to the starboard side of the engine (plugs, coil, oil filter) I vary anywhere from 130 degrees to up to 180 degrees. I understand my temp sender is right on the t-stat housing, so I guess the gauge showing the temperature somewhere between 140 and 160 degrees is accurate, but should there be some kind of uniformity to the temperature, or should I expect one side to stay warmer than the other? What would be the temperature on the warmer side of the engine that would indicate a problem? What would be the most likely suspect if the one side is getting much warmer? My limited experience with this engine would lead me to a faulty thermostat, but I did replace the thermostat less than two years ago. In any case I would think that had the thermostat stuck closed, the engine would overheat in short order. If it was stuck open, it wouldn't overheat in any case, just not run at optimal temperature. Any further insight would be appreciated.

Rgds

-Eric

 

[Bt Doctur]

You sound like an engineer trying to find a problem that doesnt exist, the temp gauge should correspond to the therm degree rating .give or take a few degrees

 

[eavega]

You sound like an engineer trying to find a problem that doesnt exist

Message recieved.

-E