Remember we just had problems with the heat exchanger stck tube as part of the 250 hr maint.
It we got pack on as we posted here.
Well we started to remove the impeller cover because we are going to replace the impeller as part of the 250 hour maint schedule. Only it seems antifreeze is coming out of the impeller cover. This should be salt water right? Ray water from the ocean.
When we installed the heat exchanger stack tube at one point the raw water seemed to back fill the heat exchanger area. We wiped out all we could and everything seemed fine. We did run the engine so it seems all the raw water area should be flushed with raw water?
After we finished up with the heat exchanger stack tube we ran the engine for bout 20-30 minuets to make sure all was fine. There were no leaks and the water temperature got to about 155 degrees at about 800 rpm. All seemed fine. The antifreeze level was and is fine.
So is or could there be a problem with the antifreeze and ray water mixing? What could would cause such a problem? Please do not tell me it is the heat exchanger stack tube!
thanks,
CHip
Only took impeller cover partially off as we saw this comming out.
Drained from impeller cover that was partially off.
We took the heat exchnger stack tube(TS) out and gave it to Jonco Marine who was at the Barra-Bahia de Navidad Marina doing some chain plate work on a boat. Jonco tested the TS and cleaned it. We got it back the next day. He said it tested to be OK so it is the o-rings. They are still good but they did not seal. So operator error again. This time I will try a little different approach. Centering the TS then evenly tighting the bolts. The good thing is the TS got a good cleaning which I was not able to do. I have cleaned the TS and end caps up with 220 sand paper this time I was a bit timid to be so aggressive with the cleaning before. Next will be the heat exchanger flanges then a re-assembly.
We had gotten the heat exchange stack tube in yesterday and we were waiting to get the system tested. We figure we could pump out the good antifreeze if there was a leak. If we ran the engine and there was a leak it is likely the antifreeze would get contaminated and we would need to drain it all out and dispose of it.
We stopped by to see Marcus and Cyndi on the S\V Rebecca, which just came in from the South - Ensenada Carriza - and are now at anchor here in the Barra-Bahia de Navidad lagoon. We were coming back from the pool in the dinghy at the time. We had originally met Marcus and Cyndi in Chamela and have seen them since a couple times. We got to talking about our heat exchanger stack tube and he said he had a pressure tester. Enough said, I quickly borrowed it and when we got back to the boat Debbie and I pressure tested the fresh water system. It tested great, no leaks. So 4th time is a charm!
This time we centered the stack tube and then tightened evenly. I made a mark on the stack tube so we could see it through the radiator cap. This allowed us to make sure it was still lined up. I also made sure the o-ring was on the inside of the forward flange up against the stack tube.
Chip, Glad you got the problem resolved. Thanks for sharing the adventure, hopefully I will have learned from your experiance. (I do have my own pressure tester!) Paul
