www.iFourWinns.com

I have a 1999 Four Winns Horizon 190 with a 4.3L Volvo Penta Engine and SX outdrive. I am getting small pebbles in the thermostat causing it to stick open. I know the water is pulled in from the outdrive by the sea water pump, is there a strainer or some type of screen between the the water intake and the sea water pump? I am now being more careful about outdrive position when I am beach the boat but was thinking there should be a filter or strainer inline to keep normal debris like small sticks and such from reaching the thermostat or impellor for that that matter.

Thanks for your help

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1999 Four Winns Horizon 190
4.3L Volvo-Penta
Volvo-Penta SX Outdrive

I don't believe there is such a thing on SX I/O drives. Hopefully you have not ingested a bunch of debris into the engine already.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Strangely, on the petrol (gas) powered outdrives I have come across VP never used a strainer. On diesel ones, which always have a heat xchanger, they always do, even those using exactly the same outdrive / transom shield ( e.g. the SX/ DPS is used with the D3 diesel motor !) I can only think this is due to competitive price/ cost pressure in the US. Spare parts like impellors and thermostats are so much cheaper in the US than elsewhere, so much so that VP will not allow access to their spare part website from outside the US! Talk about protectionism ! The diesels are more popular in Europe than the US and perhaps the owners would not tolerate changing parts as often. Us petrol (gas) VP owners in Europe, even those with heat exchangers, stilll have no strainers and we have to pay European prices for spare parts!

Graham