Artemus

Looks like you might have solved the problem. I would still pull off the rest of the hoses, and flush them out too. There still could be more pieces of that old impeller somewhere.

You could always buy the whole thing, and sell the just the gauges on Ebay.

Its likely on a tapered shaft with a keyway. If the end of the shaft is threaded and sticking out from the steering wheel, put the nut back on part way, pull on the steering wheel while hitting the shaft with a rubber mallet. DO NOT use a steel hammer, as it will damage the threads. If it is a indeed a bolt that holds it on, [not a nut] put the bolt back in part way and do the same thing. The steering wheel should come free.

Kind of risky to buy it without a sea trial, but here is what I would do: In addition to a complete survey, and mechanical inspection on both engines and drives, I would have it worded in the bill of sale, that the seller states that all the mechanical, electrical, and the complete engine / drive train systems, are in good working order, and function properly without any issues. Furthermore if any issues are found once the boat is launched in the spring, the seller agrees to pay for any and all repairs to rectify any problems. A 5% to 10% "holdback" might be a good thing too, till after you determine there are no issues with it. I had a friend buy a 34' Cruisers last Jan, and he did the same thing. Turns out one of the drives needed work, to the tune of about $5K, which the seller paid for. Hope that helps.

Before spending any money on props, I would make sure the engines are running as they should. A full tune-up with plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and setting the ignition timing, could make all the difference. Given that you just bought it, you might also want to have new water pump impellers installed in the drives too. They are VERY important when it comes to keeping those engines cool.

Does your generator have a heat exchanger, or is it cooled directly by lake water? Do you have the owners manual for it? This should help determine which one you have, and help diagnose the problem.

Clean the surfaces really well, and then try some 3M 5200. I did mine a year or so ago, and it is still holding.

Our 1998 322 is just shy of 36' overall, including the bow pulpit and swim platform. It has Bravo 3 drives with twin Merc EFI 5.7s. I would not want any less power than that. Top speed is about 42MPH. I would go for 350 MAGs.

The problem could be the waterpump itself, the connecting plumping between the upper and lower drive assemblies, the water hose from the bell housing to the gimbal housing, or even a restricted power steering cooler. Having said that, you said it ran quite cool without the thermostat. Was that just at idle on muffs, or is that under load out on the water? Are you running in salt water? The inside of the thermostat housing could have a lot of corrosion build up too, which would restrict water flow at higher RPMs.

Running too cool is not good either. I would suggest you install a new 160 degree thermostat, and you should be good to go.

Something tells me the above two posts are correct! NO WAY the wind from a truck would break the arch! Their story about it taking 10 months to repair the arch is.... well let's just say that is a pile of you know what! I'm betting someone is putting ALOT of hours on your boat! I would be letting the police investigate this one!

Unless you are experienced in re-upholstery and have all the right equipment to do the job, you need to find a canvas / upholstery shop in your area to do it. I don't believe you can purchase them ready made.

The timing advance in the distributor is electronic. Check the actual temperature of the block and the bottom of the thermostat housing with a laser temperature gauge. It may not really be overheating at all.

It also could be the temperture sending unit, or the gauge itself. I would suggest checking the engine block temperature, with a laser temperature gauge to confirm it is running hot, and then go from there.