So I have a 4.3 inboard equipped with a freshwater/sealed cooling system. It has an OMC cobra sterndrive. couple weeks ago we were on the sound and it was getting hot and smoking from the engine area, turned out to be the drivers side only exhaust bellows boots burned up and had holes. I "think" my wife left the hose adapter on the motor when she took off the hose, "think" because when we had the overheat on the water and checked the motor it was no longer on there but she is pretty sure she left it on there. So that means there was no water to the heat exchanger.
Last week I replaced the burned exhaust hose, water pump impeller and sleeve. We took it out on the water again and it seems to be doing the same thing. Only the drivers side exhaust manifold is too hot to touch. Passenger side exhaust is warm but not crazy hot like the driver side. The lower bellows boot on the drivers side is leaking water while running but I think the water flow is just supposed to go through the motor/heat exchanger to the exhaust and then out the back of the boat so I don't think a little leak would cause any problems. Is my thinking correct that this leak will not cause an overheating exhaust problem?
