TheFridge189

Hi all. I have an all stock zenoah 260. I have a clutch and pump. I had my boat idling for about 20 minutes today, however I took 2-3 minutes breaks every 5 or so minutes. This was all idling in my pool. I have a waterpump of course. I had one pickup run directly to the head of the zenoah, then directly out the transom. By the end, the water coming out of the outlet was hot to touch. Like, really hot. I couldn't comfortably keep my hand under the water spitting out for more then 6-7 seconds. Any idea's? My pool was 77 degrees when I did this and it was 83 degrees outside... Could that be it? Or should I look into getting a different cooling jacket? Or is it because I am straight up idling, and no substantial throttle inputs? Or is this normal? The water spitting out of the other outlet was quite cool.

tapkoote

good idea to get an infered temp gauge, to measure head temp, they're about $25.
you want to run around 180-200, any thing over 220 ,when you bring your boat in
is harmfull. I never test my boat past the point I can't hold my hand on the head.
On a new Zen, I've seen the holes drilled in the cooling jacket too restrictive, and have cleaned them up.
tap

glennb2006

Idling for any period is a bad idea, does you no good and only damges engines - and wastes fuel.

If the water coming out of the engine after cooling was liquid then you do not have a problem (IE it was not steam)

Better off when you get it out of your pool and on the water where it belongs run it for 5, bring it in, touch the head carefully, if you can keep a finger touching the head for about 4 seconds then you are laughing fishcakes, all is well and the engine is about 70centigrade.

Don't overcool an engine.

Glenn

TheFridge189

Just had it in the pool for tuning.....
Care to elaborate why idling damages engines and does no good?

danielplace

Why would you want or need to idle it so long. 20 minutes? Because it is yours and you wanted too. Good answer. LOL

You can't do much tuning safely in a pool and extended idling isn't part of tuning. You need to have the boat in open water where it can move out when you hit the gas where you can get a good transition and top speed. It probably isn't hurting it if it was already well broken in but if it is new and tight the last thing you want is it to run slow and at a steady slow especially. If water is coming out in a stream at idle then it is not overheating. The water coming out should be hot.
That is more than enough to keep the engine well below a dangerous temperature. Take the thing to the lake and gas it. Can't see why you would want to stop even with a clutch and waterpump for more than ten seconds. If you aren't wanting the boat to move shut it off and/or bring it in.

If it was a V-8 I could see where you would like to just let her chop at a nice low idle. LOL.

This one idles nicely. Now to get it in a boat. LOL.

http://youtu.be/N8TXMUaC9Os

TheFridge189

Ok thanks for the advice. The reason I had it just idling for so long was the boat sat for about 2 years, and I wanted to run some fresh petrol through i, get it nice and warmed up to see if it had any problems. Also, I didn't only idle, I did some throttle too. The reason I didn't go to a lake was I didnt want to drive for an hour to find out something was wrong with my engine. The reason I like the clutch and waterpump is I run real boats offshore, and I love the look of the boat being still and water spewing out the transom. The engine is well broken in. I had it running phenominally before I put her in the shed for 2+ years. I agree that idling isn't neccesarily part of tuning, however it is important on ANY engine to just run if if it hasn't been ran for a long time. Also, I like the sound of the 2-strokes Hopefully I will make it out to the delta tommorow, giver her a workout, playing in the wake of my full size boat
If you think that idles nicely, you should listen to my Donzi with triple v8's. Absoulute symphony to the ears lol.
Thanks for the help

qdemon

i A couple of thing that may be worth taking a look at, you say the boat has not been run for 2 years i would first pull the cylinder cap and see if there is any corrosion build up, run a drill bit through the water nipples in the jacket.
check inside the water pump see if there is any muck in there, have the diaframs deteriated maybe good to replace them ?
we dont get the temps over here in the UK that you guys get it CA.

good idea to check if you have not already done so.

Bob.

PS. Daniels always a great source of help with these things
Bob.

wetsleeves

Idleing a engine is not bad thing, especialy if the engine has been broken in. You cant hurt it as long as you have good water flow and gas mix. If the engine is new then you would want to load it up and unloaded it to bed the rings in and loosen it up.