Hello,
I have a 2010 200 ProXS Serial 1B804175 with symptoms of what I believe to be a sticky poppet valve. Here is the situation.
New water pump this spring (less than 2 hrs on it)
Pulled thermostats at same time as water pump change, verified operation & cleaned
Cleaned strainer at same time as water pump change
Upon first start in the morning I will have 3.4 to 3.7psi water pressure (on smartcraft), good stream from compressor circuit. Motor warms up as normal (rise to 130-140, thermostats open, cools off... usually settles in between 125-130). Run down the lake 3000-4000 rpm with good water pressure (20psi or so), when I arrive at my first spot and idle to into where I plan to fish the water pressure is sometimes at 0.5-0.8psi, stream is weak, motor wont warm up, 65-85 degree engine temps... then eventually (3-5 min or so of idle) it will build pressure up to the 3.5psi and it warms up as normal.
From what I have read this points to a sticky poppet to grommet interface. I have had the poppet disassembled, cleaned it, and verified that the poppet does not slide what I would call freely in the grommet. The poppet is difficult to get started back in the grommet bore once removed and takes some pressure to move within the grommet, however, when reassembling the spring does seem to have adequate force to seat the poppet against the grommet.. I have never had one apart before so I am not sure just how freely this poppet is supposed to slide, it sure doesn't feel like "as buttered" that Don refers to
Yesterday however I fished a small idle only lake (no operation that in the 2500ish RPM range to open the poppet) and the motor exhibited a similar behavior a couple times over the course of the day but corrected itself with sufficient idle time... this didn't make any sense to me as the poppet should not have ever been called to open by water pressure.
I have Rhonda quoting me a poppet rebuild kit but now it has me wondering if I have sluggish thermostats and not a sticky poppet... If anyone has fought a similar problem or sees issues with my troubleshooting please let me know.
In the end I will probably order the new poppet parts anyway, just to be safe and see if the problem repeats after the new poppet and grommet are in place.
Thanks,
Jason