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Thread Title:

Coolant leak


Created On Friday September 26, 2003 07:13 Diesel Talk
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RogerGrant
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Posts: 1
Joined: Sep 2003

Note Friday September 26, 2003 07:13 View thread in raw text format
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We own an 11 year old yacht powered by a Perkins Prima M50 HP Diesel the same age as the boat. It has done 5000 hours.

# For 4 months water/glycol mixture has been issuing from the overflow pipe on the header tank. At first this was in small quantities. I replaced the filler cap assuming the seal was faulty. This didn't fix the problem.

# In recent weeks the water flow has increased to approx. half a litre for 10-12 hours running.

# A mechanic replaced the thermostat, but this also made no difference.

# The engine used to run at approx. 55 degrees C. Lately it runs much cooler at approx. 43-45 degrees C. This is noticeable as it no longer heats our hot water to former temperatures.

# NB I HAVE NEVER HAD TO TOP UP THE HEADER TANK WITH WATER/GLYCOL MIX. IT REMAINS FULL ALTHOUGH THE COLOUR OF THE LIQUID IN THE TANK HAS CHANGED FROM DARK GREEN TO ALMOST COLOURLESS.

# I can't taste any salt in the header water - the glycol mix masks any other taste.

# Various mechanics have told us the engine isn't leaking. There are no external leaks and I have eliminated other possible sources such as the stern gland or the raw water overflow pipe.

# I can only conclude there is a leak in the heat exchanger.

My questions:

1. Is a leak in the heat exchanger the source of the surplus water/glycol, or can there be some other fault?

2. Is this a known fault with older Perkins engines?

3. If the heat exchanger is leaking, what is the effect on the engine?

4. Should it be fixed immediately, or can it be winterized (we are in Croatia) and left for 6 months?

Apart from this, the engine is completely reliable and has always been well maintained.

I would greatly appreciate your advice,

Roger Grant
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kapnD
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Posts: 8
Joined: Dec 2003

Note Saturday December 27, 2003 21:18 View thread in raw text format
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Roger, Your heat exchanger is toast. I'd replace it immediately and flush out the block before refilling with coolant. Sitting with salt water in it will ruin it pronto. If you hit on a really good flush solution, let us know, as I'm looking for some way to get the crud out of my engine block too.
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