Ever gone through a flooding disaster in your house? Did you washing machine ever get a split hose? Well, I guess many of us have at least once experienced such a household mess, therefore you will most certainly be able to understand the disaster that may happen to your car, if a bulging radiator hose, carrying hot water under pressure, should rupture.
Neglecting the cooling system is said to be one of the main causes of mechanical failure of a vehicle. In addition to the danger and inconvenience of a breakdown, the damage to the engine and transmission can add up to thousands of dollars. Discovering a leaking radiator, hose connection, a sticking thermostat or other cooling system component that will not be working for long anymore can surely save the life of the engine!
Taking care of your cooling system is very important and not many people know very much about the technical details, which will do the trick! I am asking you to think about a few matters, and when you will come up with the right things to do in this situation, you can say that you are safe from any cooling system disaster.
The first thing you must know is what the antifreeze mixture, which offers you the maximum freeze protection, is made up from. The next step is knowing the role of the thermostat in a cooling system. Does it control the engine temperature or does it modulate the diodes? Should it be working the air conditioner perhaps? The answer is for you to find out!
Another important component of the cooling system is the radiator cap, that is designed to serve a certain purpose, without which the whole system would fail to function properly. The question is does it keep water from sloshing out of the radiator or does it serve the role of keeping the cooling system operating at a specified pressure! Well, this is not a hard one to answer, trust me!
Anyone who owns a car should absolutely know a few things about the way things go in what the engine is concerned. This way, should a problem occur and one has no other option than to try and fix it himself, having a few basic knowledge always helps. Cooling systems are not very complicated things. It just takes patience to get to know them a little better!
Most used boats with inboard engines are provided with fresh water cooling systems. These fresh water systems in conjunction with the raw water system cool the engine during operation. The fresh water circulates within the engine and transfers the engine heat to the raw water system as it passes through heat exchangers. This article will explain the step by step approach to servicing your yacht's raw water cooling system
But raw water cooling systems often become plugged with scale, calcium carbonate deposits, creating an unhealthy condition for the engine. Heat exchanger cooling tubes and piping will become totally blocked if left unchecked.
How does calcium carbonate form in the engine you ask? When hard water comes in contact with heated surfaces, the minerals in the water fall from suspension, Minerals, primarily calcium will then cling to any surfaces that might be there. The same occurs inside hot water heaters and in industrial power plants that use untreated water.
Become familiar with your engines
Prior to servicing the engines on your used trawler, motor yacht, sailboat or cruiser, it is important that you take some time to familiarize yourself with the raw water cooling system of the engines. Get drawings and parts diagrams if at all possible. Examine your engines and trace the raw water flow from the intakes to the exhaust. Make a mental note of each component.
There are two methods to service your used boats engine.
Method 1 - Disassemble the Engine Cooling System
Using your parts manual as a guide, disassemble each component of the cooling system. You will need new seals and gaskets when you put it back together so keep a running inventory as you remove components. The principle sections of the raw water system are the raw water pump and impeller, the oil cooler, perhaps an aftercooler, a heat exchanger and transmission oil cooler. Clean the cooling system
After the sections have been removed, each section must be examined. Oil coolers and heat exchangers will possibly have a calcium deposit inside them. A professional radiator shop can clean these for you but a cheaper way is to mix a 4-1 solution of Muriatic Acid and water. Immerse the components into the solution and allow it to "boil" until all activity is complete; your components will be clean. Use care to protect your eyes and skin as the acid is very hazardous.
Re-assemble the cooling system.
Once your system is clean replace all the sections back on the engine using new seals and gaskets where needed. Replace older rusted bolts too. Now is a good time to replace the impeller too
Test for leaks and proper operation
When you are refilling your engine with anti-freeze, be sure to bleed the system of trapped air. You should find that information in your operator's manual. Following the re-assembly, the only remaining task is to start up the engine and check for water flow and stop any small leaks by tightening bolts
Method 2 - Clean in Place
Inspect your cooling system and locate your raw water pump on your used boat. Next, locate an intake in the raw water system downstream from the pump where you can connect a hose. On my Volvos, I have a hose that runs from the water pump to the oil cooler that I can temporarily remove. Then locate an outflow from the raw water cooling system where the water leaves the engine.
Assemble the following:
1.50 gph bilge pump 2.About 20 feet of wire to connect the pump to your batteries 3.A 5-gallon bucket 4.About 10-15 feet of hose sized to fit connections 5.1 gallon of Ph-Ospho-Ric (Home Depot paint department) phosphoric acid
Connect a portion of the hose to the bilge pump and the other end to the ?intake? you have located. Place the bilge pump into the bucket and fill ? full with water and ? of the Ph-Ospho-Ric. Connect another portion of hose to the outflow of the engine and route back to the bucket. At this point remove the engine zincs and replace the holes with plugs.
What you now have created is a ?closed loop? where the acid can be circulated through the engine. Start the bilge pump and begin circulating the water and acid. The water will turn a dark gray and bubble as it neutralizes the calcium deposits. You may have to add more Ph-Ospho-Ric as you continue the process.
Finally, after you are confidant the deposits are cleaned out, reassemble the engine, install new engine zincs and start the engine to flush the remaining acid.
Mike Dickens is a live aboard trawler owner. He also operates as Paradise Yachts Broker in Florida USA.
Both Dalvin Rumsey & Marinetrader are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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