We have been trying to figure out why the starboard engine is running hot above 2000 rpms, and why we are getting steam out that side of the exhaust. It seems obvious that we are not getting enough water running through the exhaust but we are not sure why.
From my research on the web, the usual suspects are the Heat Exhanger, the Riser and the Oil Cooler. The Heat Exhanger is the easiest to get to, so we thought we would try that first. We took it off the engine, which was very easy, just a screw driver for the hoses and a wrench for the mount straps. We then took it home, where we had prepared a bucket of muriatic acid.
We took the ends off the heat exchanger and inspected the inside. It did not look that bad, so we were not hopeful that cleaning it would help. Still, we let it soak for two days.
For the first day a plenty of bubbles came up and it seemed that maybe we were wrong, perhaps there was more blockage than appeared visually. When the bubbling stopped on the second day, we reassembled the exchanger and re-installed it on the engine.
We took the boat out for a test run …. no luck. The temperature was slightly better, but not where it should be. I guess we will be trying the riser next.