Right of passage ~ Serviced my aftercooler

[JeremyD]

So I feel a sense of accomplishment, especially with everything that I read on line.

When I ran the boat up from the marina after delivery, the port engine got up to temp quickly and then leveled off. Figured I'd test the cooling system - Heat Exchanger would not hold pressure - replaced that. Then figured I'd work my way backwards.

This is what I found - yep, that won't work very well


I had the previous marina change out the impeller, they never said if they found bits of it, In fact I think the description I got was that it needed changing, but wasn't bad...

So I decided to take a look


Really not bad - So wonder how long those bits have been in there.

Got the core out by heating the aftercooler on the BBQ grill then pouring water in the core to contract it. Cleaned in simple green and soaked for a few days. Used a fiberglass stake to remove the scale build up on the tubes.


Cleaned, sanded and painted everything


Got everything back together


Pressure tested! All good!

[Ironworker]

Good looking job! BBQ grill?

[Yannis]

Warm vinegar in a bucket dissolves all scale. Leave it overnight, repeat if necessary.

[Tony Meola]

Jeremy

Yannis is right. You can also use CLR and lime out.

When I did my heat exchangers I used a wooden dowel to rod out the tubes. Worked well and I figured soft enough not to poke a hole in anything.

How did you pressure test it?

[JeremyD]

I used CLR - then used a fiberglass stick to clean out the holes - pressure tested to 30 lbs with a Motive Power Bleeder - Thanks for the input

[bob lico]

i think cummins recommends service after cooler every three years i did mine three times in 16 years however i shut the salt water intakes and open the crash valves connected to a cooler filled with fresh water and "salt-away" every month while boat is in the water for the entire salt water cooling system. i do all my own work and when i service after cooler , gear cooler, and heat exchanger i submerge them in the same salt away. i use a 4" x 4" wooden block to remove the package of the after cooler and use Rectoseal when i reassemble with new O- rings .

[Rawleigh]

Jeremy: Did you have to heat it at all to get it back together? Does anyone know if the Sendure gas engine coolers are disassembled the same way?

[JeremyD]

I did not need heat to put it all back together - Once I polished the outer rings of the core - and cleaned up the inner housing - put a liberal amount of lithium grease on both ends - it slid in light butter. One of the tricks I used to use on the race car - was stick one item in the freezer - that used to contract the metal enough to get a bearing in...

I also used a 4x4 stack of wood - also made a starboard plug the exact diameter of the core so I could beat it out without damaging. I'll keep all these items to do my other one when it's time.

[Rawleigh]

Thanks.