Thermostat Removal and Testing | Mercury Optimax 200

[@eFishin]

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[@jimdunn772]

Got it done! After watching your video it made the job simple. I wasn't sure what I was getting into taking the fuel rail loose. Bonus, no leaks 😁

[@eFishin]

Glad it helped

[@ronhimmelreich238]

I have cleaned my thermostats so many times, I can do it with my eyes closed. I had to do it on the water several times. A couple of hints for you. (1) I always kept a set of gaskets in the boat and another set at home. They are cheap insurance. (2) I carried a 8mm ratchet wrench from Harbor Freight for the thermostat housing and an adjustable for the fuel rail nuts.

[@eFishin]

This is the first time I have ever had to clean them out. I can see the value of having a set on the boat. I'm going to get one of those ratchet wrenches. Have any tips on doing this on the water?

[@danconn2065]

@@eFishin Hint 1- Tie a string up to the rachet and connect other end to the Boat! haha

[@eFishin]

@@danconn2065 It would suck to loose that thing.

[@CoastalBendFishNinja]

So very helpful...almost identical on our 2014 Optimax XS Pro 225. Found the tiniest snail shell lodged in one of them...removed, cleaned and boiled to make sure working properly....running like a champ! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!🙏🏻🍻🤙🏻

[@eFishin]

Glad it helped!! Thanks for the sub.

[@SteveGriner-n6x]

How did I get shell out your engine

[@CoastalBendFishNinja]

@@SteveGriner-n6x As it says, We removed the thermostats, boiled them to make sure they would open…found a micro snail shell in one of them. Removed it once boiled open. Put them back in and it’s running like a champ. Had been overheating presumably due to the snail shell 🐚 Yes, it’s as insane as it sounds lol.

[@SteveGriner-n6x]

@@CoastalBendFishNinja yes my Mercury has a problem. Mechanic put new Poppy valve with head gaskets new water pump and still have heating issues

[@SteveGriner-n6x]

Was the shell in water tube , or engine. Mine has the same problem but how to clear it out ?

[@soktheaseng6974]

Thank you so much awesome video. Similar to my 98 135hp mercury

[@eFishin]

Glad it helped and Thanks for watching!!

[@barbozasilva5083]

Excelente ..depois fala mais sobre a temperatura que ela se abre

[@eFishin]

Thanks!!

[@morganboyd581]

Thank you sir, well done! Works the same on my 2016 225 Optimax.

[@eFishin]

Glad it helped! Thanks for stopping by.

[@timevans6815]

My 2005 optimax done this today. I’m going to try it

[@eFishin]

good luck

[@timevans6815]

Starboard side had a rock stuck in it replaced all new stats and gaskets

[@eFishin]

@@timevans6815 good job getting that out

[@SteveGriner-n6x]

Have a Mercury 1994 have over heating,,, my boat guy has put thermostat, poop Valve,water pump. And head gaskets ,,,still running hot.

[@eFishin]

That’s frustrating when you put all that work in and still have a problem. You might get on the Mercury forum on bassboatcentral.com and ask those guys over there.

[@jbello100]

Great how to! Thanks!

[@eFishin]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the sub!!

[@MikeFosterOutdoors]

My boat has a constant beep for one minute sometimes when I idle. Do you thing it is also a thermostat issue? Also did this fix your problem?

[@eFishin]

Do you have a smartcraft gauge? So you can see what the engine temperature is? My issue was the debris was holding the thermostat open causing the engine to not come up to operating temperature. The engine only reached 88 degrees. That constant beep means something needs to be addressed immediately. You could have an over heat situation. I’ve had that too where I needed to have the water pump replaced. My engine temperature climbed to 160+ degrees. Without the smartcraft it’s hard to diagnose without the engine data. You could pull the thermostats and see if they are operating correctly or have anything lodged in them. I would take it to someone and have them check it out. That constant beep can mean one of several things. Google Mercury warning horn. But to answer the second question, yes cleaning out the thermostats fixed this problem. Thanks for watching.

[@frankdecker5204]

The orange wire on the starboard side, with the green connector, by the ecu, what is that for because mine is not connected??? Thanks for any info.

[@eFishin]

Sorry I'm not sure what that wire is. Try searching for orange wire mercury optimax.

[@martinfromseacity2010]

Thanks, remember the poppit valve

[@eFishin]

That was my next stop, but when that piece of wood fell out of the thermostat I found my issue. Thanks for stopping by and watching!!

[@barbozasilva5083]

Excelente

[@eFishin]

Thank You!!

[@jumpinggulley]

We've got a 2015 250 optimax. Do you think these could possibly keep the motor from idling. You can hold the throttle down and it will run but not very high rpms. Shuts off when you left off the gas instantly.

[@eFishin]

I don't thing thermostats would cause the problems that you described, but I could be wrong. Sounds like you could have a fuel delivery problem or an ignition problem. It could be something as simple as a bad primer bulb or bad spark plugs, but it could be something more complex like bad fuel injectors, a bad TPS, a bad fuel rail, a bad fuel pump or a number of other things. I've not had that problem with an OptiMax, so I'm not sure what's going on. I would get it into a service center and have them look at it. It might have to go on the computer to figure it out. Good luck.

[@jumpinggulley]

Well I think we found the problem. Thermostats looked good. On the port side fuel rail there looks to be a fuel/air regulator. It's blowing fuel and air out of a small hole in the top. Hopefully that diaphram has gone bad and we can replace and that's the problem. We noticed it with the cowling off trying to start it at home

[@eFishin]

@@jumpinggulley hopefully that takes care of it.

[@jackorourke502]

Just changed mine now I have an issue where motor is stuttering and down on power. I was bleeding rails to get air out after and port won’t stop purging air. Any ideas?

[@eFishin]

Not sure what's going on. You should not need to purge any air after putting everything back together. Check your primer bulb to make sure it is hard.

[@stevenferraro7896]

Did this happen AFTER you did the thermostat cleaning? If so, check all your fuel and air hoses and make sure the fuel rail bolts and allen screws are tight. If they're tight, you might have an O-ring that's leaking air or fuel in the rails.

[@williamsanders1032]

One of my feul rail want side back?

[@eFishin]

off or back on? which one?

[@williamsanders1032]

@@eFishin off

[@eFishin]

Did you relieve air pressure at the PORT SIDE rail Schrader valve? Check around the rail to see if there is anything that might hold it back. Also check the Thermostat Cleaning Question on BBC board. The link is in the video description.

[@jimdunn772]

Here goes nothing. I'm going after the starboard side in a few minutes. Already cleaned the port side, it was full of crap.

[@eFishin]

good luck.

[@germancarfan360]

Im confused, I thought you had an overheat issue? so it not going closed fully because of the debris doesnt compute? as in surely it would be over cooling with it ot going fully closed due to the debris?

[@eFishin]

No the motor was not warming up to operating temperatures. It was only getting to 85 degrees, the normal operating temperature is 120 to 125 degrees. The debris in the thermostat was keeping it from warming up.

[@eFishin]

Thanks for watching.

[@germancarfan360]

@@eFishin I wish you could solve my issue 😄. I have an Optimax 150 2003. I ve just developed an issue where the engine temp is ok at idle, seems to idle at 163'f. But start making way, at 1500 rpm to 2000rpm and temp starts to climb, then have a " reduce throttle, with long beep" fault come up. It got to 199'f and engine temp fault came in. I switched it off. Replaced the impeller, housing etc. but think possibly it could be a poppet valve not going open? do tou know location of poppet on these Opti 150's?

[@eFishin]

Those temperatures seem hot to me. Has it always run that hot? The poppet valve on the 200 is in the exhaust plate. The best thing you can do is get a Service Manual for your engine and follow the instructions in there or take it to a service center. When you changed the impeller, was it all in one piece or were there pieces broken off? If there were pieces broken off you could have an obstruction somewhere in the cooling system too. Did you replace all the seals and wear plate too or just the impeller? There's also a cooling water strainer in there that can be clogged up too.

[@germancarfan360]

@@eFishin So mine is the 150, I changed the 3 gaskets ( 2 soft and the wear plate ) so thats all new including the housing. The impeller was completely intact however it did have a fault, the centre shaft had separated from the rubber impeller, so chances are it was spinning independantly of the vanes more often than not. However, fault still present. Ive not long owned the boat, would you suggest thermostats also changed? so you think 163'f is high for idling purposes? Where is this strainer? and where could I get hold of a service manual from online? thanks so much for reply, wife and kids desperate to be out on the boat and sadly its not happening currently