Flushing cooling water system on Perkins 4-108
- Thread starter bwilliams
- Start date
Raw water or coolant?
If it's the raw water, the process is relatively straightforward. If you have a raw water flush kit installed in your raw water supply, like Groco sells, it's a snap. If you don't, it's a little more involved, but still easy.
You'll need a five or ten gallon bucket filled with fresh water, and access to a dock hose. First, close the seacock on the raw water intake, underneath the platform in the port lazarette. Then, (if you have the raw water flush kit) close the valve on the kit, take out the plug, attach the service adaptor, attach a short hose to the service adaptor, then put the end of the hose into the bucket (which is filled with water).
If you don't have the raw water kit, you need to take off the hose feeding the raw water pump, and replace it with a short hose of the same diameter (the end of which goes into the bucket of water). Make sure to use a thick-walled or reinforced hose, as it will be a suction hose, and if it's too thin, it will collapse.
Some advocate attaching a dockside hose directly to the intake - big mistake, in my book, as the pump is there to suck in water. If water is forced in under pressure, it could result in damage to the rubber vanes on the impeller. Then you'll get bits of impeller blocking or impeding the flow of raw water further downstream.
When I do this, I have the bucket of water in the cockpit, with the hose leading down to the engine. Prior to starting the engine, I fill the hose up with water using a funnel - this is to minimize the "run dry" time of the impeller. Also, having the bucket in the cockpit allows me to kill the engine quickly if something goes wrong. I can also fill up the bucket with a dockside hose, replenishing the bucket water.
Run the engine for 10 to 15 minutes (filling the bucket as necessary). When done, kill the engine, re-connect the raw water intake hose, and re-open the sea-cock.
There are some acidic cleaning fluids that can be used to clean out the innards of the cooling system, wherein you run the engine for a short period of time to get the fluids in, then turn off the engine and let them sit for a while before flushing out with clean water (maybe a few hours? I never use the stuff, as it's toxic, and you need to re-route the exhaust if the boat is in the water). Also, on an old heat exchange, the acidic stuff could eat away at the already corroded tubing, leading to a leak between the raw water and the coolant. Not good!
If you're talking about flushing coolant system... I've never done that, but any mechanic would be able to do it for you. Since it's a closed system, there shouldn't be any corrosion or marine sediments. If there are, you've got a leak between the two systems, somewhere in the heat exchange unit.
If it's the raw water, the process is relatively straightforward. If you have a raw water flush kit installed in your raw water supply, like Groco sells, it's a snap. If you don't, it's a little more involved, but still easy.
You'll need a five or ten gallon bucket filled with fresh water, and access to a dock hose. First, close the seacock on the raw water intake, underneath the platform in the port lazarette. Then, (if you have the raw water flush kit) close the valve on the kit, take out the plug, attach the service adaptor, attach a short hose to the service adaptor, then put the end of the hose into the bucket (which is filled with water).
If you don't have the raw water kit, you need to take off the hose feeding the raw water pump, and replace it with a short hose of the same diameter (the end of which goes into the bucket of water). Make sure to use a thick-walled or reinforced hose, as it will be a suction hose, and if it's too thin, it will collapse.
Some advocate attaching a dockside hose directly to the intake - big mistake, in my book, as the pump is there to suck in water. If water is forced in under pressure, it could result in damage to the rubber vanes on the impeller. Then you'll get bits of impeller blocking or impeding the flow of raw water further downstream.
When I do this, I have the bucket of water in the cockpit, with the hose leading down to the engine. Prior to starting the engine, I fill the hose up with water using a funnel - this is to minimize the "run dry" time of the impeller. Also, having the bucket in the cockpit allows me to kill the engine quickly if something goes wrong. I can also fill up the bucket with a dockside hose, replenishing the bucket water.
Run the engine for 10 to 15 minutes (filling the bucket as necessary). When done, kill the engine, re-connect the raw water intake hose, and re-open the sea-cock.
There are some acidic cleaning fluids that can be used to clean out the innards of the cooling system, wherein you run the engine for a short period of time to get the fluids in, then turn off the engine and let them sit for a while before flushing out with clean water (maybe a few hours? I never use the stuff, as it's toxic, and you need to re-route the exhaust if the boat is in the water). Also, on an old heat exchange, the acidic stuff could eat away at the already corroded tubing, leading to a leak between the raw water and the coolant. Not good!
If you're talking about flushing coolant system... I've never done that, but any mechanic would be able to do it for you. Since it's a closed system, there shouldn't be any corrosion or marine sediments. If there are, you've got a leak between the two systems, somewhere in the heat exchange unit.
stnick
lee nicholas
Here is my experience with a Saber . First vshe was 30 years old MD7A and over heating to 200 !
I did research was advised my the sabre group to buy Rhyalime I got 2 gallons.Like a industrial lime away !
went to Harbor Freight purchased there 12 volt pump under 30 bucks and get the
Remove the warranty cause it will run 3 days and DIE !
Remove the water pump impeller , and thermostat.
A bucket of rhyalime 5 gallon and hose clear home depot, Engine water in and engine water out. Disconnect both from the boat and attach the clear hoses. All clear hoses in to the bucket. Attach the pump to the in side. fill the bucket with some water and rhyalime. and run the pump for hours..water will turn chocolate to ice tea in 2 days. Inside the engine parts will be shiny metal. and run cool !
I did research was advised my the sabre group to buy Rhyalime I got 2 gallons.Like a industrial lime away !
went to Harbor Freight purchased there 12 volt pump under 30 bucks and get the
Remove the warranty cause it will run 3 days and DIE !
Remove the water pump impeller , and thermostat.
A bucket of rhyalime 5 gallon and hose clear home depot, Engine water in and engine water out. Disconnect both from the boat and attach the clear hoses. All clear hoses in to the bucket. Attach the pump to the in side. fill the bucket with some water and rhyalime. and run the pump for hours..water will turn chocolate to ice tea in 2 days. Inside the engine parts will be shiny metal. and run cool !
jose santin
Member
Last time I flushed the fresh water system on my Perkins I used a coolant system cleaner made by Caterpillar. Pour this in your system, and run the engine in your normal manner for a few days. The instructions give you a choice of engine run hours or time in the system without running the engine. After that you flush the system with fresh water and then add coolant and lubricating additive.
I usually mix the coolant with distilled water vs. plain water, mineral content is reduced this way. Pencool used to be my preferred additive but it might be hard to find.
I usually mix the coolant with distilled water vs. plain water, mineral content is reduced this way. Pencool used to be my preferred additive but it might be hard to find.
terry_thatcher
Terence Thatcher
Marvin--there is a little spigot on the starboard side of the engine, near the fuel lift pump. It opens to drain the fresh water cooling water. It is hard to get to (unless you have expanded the starboard side engine access door) and you will need to squeeze a funnel with a hose attached in there to collect and drain the water/antifreeze. In my case, the spigot was cheap and ultimately began leaking. I replaced it with a nipple into the engine block, to which I attached a hose with a screw on plugged end. If I want to drain the cooling system, I uncoil the hose, which hangs on the bulkhead, and unscrew the plug.
Good luck.
Good luck.
rene_m
Rene Marin
If you are going to "flush" the engine side and it is a closed system " not the raw water side". One of the best types of cleaner and the most common is to use " cascade dish washing powdered soap " for a dish washer" .
Most is not all engine builders Cat Cummins John Deere Perkins etc recommend to use it if you have a lime build up or have suffered an engine oil cooler failure.
The process is simple, drain out the antifreeze, remove the thermostat re seal the housing and add a cup of the soap to tap water. run the hell out of it for any where from a few hours to a few days. Drain out and replace your anti freeze and thermostat.
You will be shocked how clean it is and NOT destructive it was to every thing in there. oil and lime are all gone.
Most is not all engine builders Cat Cummins John Deere Perkins etc recommend to use it if you have a lime build up or have suffered an engine oil cooler failure.
The process is simple, drain out the antifreeze, remove the thermostat re seal the housing and add a cup of the soap to tap water. run the hell out of it for any where from a few hours to a few days. Drain out and replace your anti freeze and thermostat.
You will be shocked how clean it is and NOT destructive it was to every thing in there. oil and lime are all gone.
As I mentioned in another posting here, this is the fresh water cooling side I want to flush. Thanks for the input. The Cascade thing sounds promising. Probably can't try this method right now, for there is no dishwasher soap to be had in any of the tiendas here. Probably because no homes here have dishwashers. Will be in La Ceiba, Honduras right after the first of the year, and that is a fairly good size and pretty modern city They have very well stocked supermarkets there. Even a store associated with WalMart.
terry_thatcher
Terence Thatcher
Rene--why do you want to run the engine with no thermostat? Or am I misunderstanding? Diesels don't like to be cold and it seems the heat would help the cleaning.
