Westerbeke W46 coolant flush

[Tom Fuhs]

I'm hoping someone here may have already been down this road. This
past weekend I tried to replace the pencil zinc in the heat
exchanger. It obviously had not been changed in a long time as it was
broken off inside the heat exchanger preventing the installation of a
new zinc. "No problem" says I, "I'll just drain the coolant, pull the
heat exchanger, take it apart and clean it out, and while I'm at it
I'll have a radiator shop recondition the the core, I'll paint it,
reinstall it, and then flush and replace the coolant". I got stuck
at step "drain the coolant"! Where do you find the drain plug or
plugs on the block to drain the coolant? The manual is no help and so
far the only advice I've gotten is to drain it at the water heater
hoses, but this won't drain the coolant in the block as far as I can
see. Is there some secret method I need to know about. I did this
sort of thing on cars in my youth and it was all so simple. Put and
engine on a boat, and everything get 10x complicated.

-Tom
SV Eclipse
CR38 #115

[Mickey Panayiotakis]

On the 4.108 (similar to the w46) there's a water drain on the starboard side of the engine. Look at pages 90 and 91 on the engien manual…

start here:

http://www.croa.us/

click on "perkins engine manuals" 

then on perkins-4108m-parts-manual 

and scroll down to pages 90-91

I used to have a w46 manual but I don't know where it went :/

Y

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[Paul]

Try compressed air and blow it out.

Paul

[Cab...@aol.com]

There is a drain plug on the heat exchanger. But why do you want to drain the engine to replace the heat exchanger? Most copper heat exchangers have a useful life of 10 to 15 years, after that they just don't transfer heat very well. The last time I changed was about 10 years ago and believe I paid about $250 for a new one from a heat exchanger place. They had them in monel also for a $100 more. Anyway you have to cut about an inch off the pencil zinc for it to fit and when you reinstall you must bleed the heat exchanger of air. If your heat exchanger is over 10 years old and you are taking it off, just get a new one.

 

Breck Caine CR 38 #19

 

In a message dated 10/3/2011 4:48:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, svb...@gmail.com writes:

On the 4.108 (similar to the w46) there's a water drain on the starboard side of the engine. Look at pages 90 and 91 on the engien manual…

start here:

http://www.croa.us/

click on "perkins engine manuals" 

then on perkins-4108m-parts-manual 

and scroll down to pages 90-91

I used to have a w46 manual but I don't know where it went :/

Y

[Mickey Panayiotakis]

as always spot-on Breck… I do seem to remember a small drain plug on the coolant side of the heat exchanger.

To clarify, replacing the zink means draining the heat exchanger of raw water; no need to do anything to the freshwater/coolant system.   Also, "bleeding" sounds a bit too traumatic…my "bleeding" procedure for zinc replacement is limited to turning off the raw water intake, and unscrewing the zinc.  After I screw in the new zinc (sans the top inch or so, as Breck said), I turn on the raw water intake.  

If you remove the heat exchanger altogether, you must bleed the air out of the freshwater cooling system; I do mine at the water heater since that's the highest point.

mickey

[Bill]

Hi Tom,

There is a small (1/8 npt) plug on the lower starboard side of the exchanger that drains the coolant, very slow work and don't forget to remove the cap to allow air to enter.  Perhaps an easier approach is to remove the end caps, allow the sea water to drain into the bilge and wash the debris from the zinc with a hose and nozzle, wash by spraying into the port side and flush the remains out the starboard side.  I have also removed the exchanger for an acid wash at a radiator shop but that is more trouble.  I tried everything to cure an overheating problem on Oh my! and finally found the wrong prop pitch and an inconsistent gauge to be the culprit.  

I used the oil sucker I use to change engine oil to remove the coolant.  Get a 1/8 mip x whatever tube size you use adapter and suck the antifreeze out.  The engine and exchanger don't use much, about 6 quarts if memory serves.  This keeps the antifreeze out of the bilge and you can dispose of it at your convenience.  Also speeds the draining process. 

Bill

On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 4:31 PM, Tom Fuhs <tom...@verizon.net> wrote:

[Tom Fuhs]

Hi Bill, Could you elaborate a bit on how to use a pump to suck out
the antifreeze? I have a small hand pump for pumping out the engine
oil. Where would I attach the pump? Are you saying to attach it to
the coolant drain petcock in the heat exchanger? Is the petcock
outlet threaded to allow this? Or am I missing something
altogether? If Idrain the heat exchanger, does that drain the
coolant from the entire engine? It dosen't seem like this is the
lowest point in the fresh water coolant loop.
Thanks,

-Tom
SV Eclipse
CR38 #115

> >http://groups.google.com/group/caborico?hl=en.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Bill]

Good morning,

Oh, My! never had a petcock on the heat exchanger, just a 1/8 plug, the petcock screws in just like the plug and can be removed like a plug.  I unscrew the plug and screw in a 1/8 mip x 3/8 hose barb fitting, in my case a Dixon Valve part number 1020602SS.

http://www.dixonvalve.com/product/1020602SS.html

 I use a 2 gallon blue suction can to change oil. The can has a 3/8 id hose that connects to the drain fitting on the W46 and will also connect to the adapter on the heat exchanger.  Pump the handle to develop a vacuum in the can and the antifreeze mix is drained in a few minutes.  You will probably spill a very small amount of antifreeze into the bilge when making the connection.  Leave the "radiator" cap on to minimize this, a towel, paper towel or disposable diaper would easily catch the spill.  Insignificant. The same can will also drain the transmission using a short piece of 3/8 od stiff tubing through the trans dip stick hole, gets 99% if the trans fluid.  Also will scavenge water off the bottom of the fuel tank if a appropriate length of 1/4 od copper tube is used through the dip stick hole.  Handy.

Hope this helps,
Bill

[Tom Fuhs]

Bill,
That helps a lot! Thanks much.
-Tom

On Oct 4, 6:45 am, Bill <ohm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Good morning,
>
> Oh, My! never had a petcock on the heat exchanger, just a 1/8 plug, the
> petcock screws in just like the plug and can be removed like a plug.  I
> unscrew the plug and screw in a 1/8 mip x 3/8 hose barb fitting, in my case

> a Dixon Valve part number *1020602SS.
>
> http://www.dixonvalve.com/product/1020602SS.html
>
>  *I use a 2 gallon blue suction can to change oil. The can has a 3/8 id hose

> > > >http://groups.google.com/group/caborico?hl=en.-Hide quoted text -

[Alex Tarlecky]

Hi Bill,

How much pitch did you remove from your 18x11 prop? I am only able to get up to about 1600 RPM... maybe 1800 RPM before the engine starts to overheat. I have the boat on the hard for the next few months and it would be nice to get the prop repitched.

Thanks!

- alex

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