Thanks Don. I kind of feel like it mat be time to go ahead and replace the thermostats anyway. I'm going to ask the original owner of the boat when the last time he had them changed. The motor only has 270 hours on it but It is a 2004 so maybe I should just replace them and eliminate that possibility? it didn't look like the stats themselves were that expensive. I dont have a lot of experience with outboard motors but I do have some mechanical aptitude. How hard are they to replace on your own? about how much would a typical bill be for a shop to do it? He already checked and eliminated the poppet valve. after talking to him today he wants to know what I am Idling at and thinks we may need to bump the idle up a bit. So I was thinking of getting out on the water and trying to get all of that information for him. He has the same motor as mine and says if he idles for a while then even his alarm will go off.