I hope that this makes sense to somebody and that I can get some help and advise from someone. <BR> <BR>I am trying to find out what is wrong with my cooling system. My exhaust manifold is getting hot in just seconds. I have a 460 ford with a king kobra OMC outdrive. I have taken the tube off that is right after the outboard, and started the engine, and nothing is getting pumped through the tube. When I put my water hose through the tube, the water goes straight down and out through the impeller. <BR> <BR>I guess my question is, would it be smart, or OK for me to bypass the impellar, and connect my hose directly to the tube which I have disconnected to see if the rest of the system is working just fine?

Wouldn't recommend it. Check your impellar and you will probably find that it needs replacing and usually the housing will need to be replaced as well. I would recommend flushing out your cooling system to ensure that parts of the wrecked impellar don't get stuck in the thermostat etc.

thanks Rob. How would I flush out the cooling system?