Water pump going bad?

[Cadesun]

My 2013 210 has always held a relatively constant running temp of 162 degrees F. This year, it seems to be fluctuating much more and even hits 180 some times when running higher RPMs. Is this a sign of my water pump starting to die or is my impeller shot? I replace it yearly but this year I have put about 70 hours on it (I did an oil change at 60 but did not swap the impeller). Thanks!

[charlesml3]

Almost for sure the impeller. The water pumps on these boats rarely fail outright.

-Charles

[jpwhit]

I think it's more likely you need a new thermostat. They start to not open and close as well when they get to a certain age. When they don't open as wide, you tend to get higher engine temp at heavier loads on the engine.

70 hours on an impeller that's not more than a year old would be a very unusual failure unless it was a low quality aftermarket impeller. Also, failing impellers don't tend to cause temperature to fluctuate. They just tend to cause temp to run high consistently.

[Rednucleus]

Impeller is likely ok unless you run motor dry on the trailer and cook it. I vote for thermostat as welll.

[Cadesun]

Thanks for the input everyone! I will have the dealer take a peek at the thermostat when the boat comes out for winterization and storage. Of course the boat ran like a dream yesterday and didn't budge off of 162 degrees.