[ReelMagic]

I owned a 1997 31 Open w/454 FI Crusaders and had a similar problem several times. It turned out to be the way the Thermostat was seated in the "Tee" housing.  It wasn't seated fully allowing the closed loop (antifreeze) water to partially bi-pass the engine itself. One line on that "Tee" is a bi-pass line which allows the engine to warm up prior to reaching operating temp then opening fully to allow full flow through the engine. When incorrectly seated in the housing antifreeze flow though the engine is reduced significantly because its bi-passing causing the engine temp to increase... Take a look to ensure the thermostat is seated completely... It wasn't much but it caused my engine temp to increase approx. 20-30 deg. Once re-seated engine temp went back to normal (160 deg).. M2C...