Heat Exchanger Love Ep.43

[@dannymckinsey208]

Very nice! I'm looking for a way of running a car engine in my ski boat. Yes, it already has an LT1 Corvette MARINE engine in it, but the rods are ready to see sunlight! I'm thinking of the cheapest way of replacing it with the same performance. Thank you for showing me how it is done. PS...you're "rants" are child's play!

[@stephenvalliere4502]

Great video and awesome job

[@dannyv2335]

Thanks. Just picked up a 34’ Phoenix and this chore is on my list. 👍

[@michaelgaudette4934]

You do very nice work and this video was helpful for me. Thank you kindly.

[@tiaramisu]

Thank you and thank you for watching! Cheers!

[@michaelblock4397]

Let me give you advice about a heat exchanger. I have a Thompson, 19,87 Sea Rage. Well I discovered a problem, the last time the boat was in the water was 2002, yes that long. I had many years of solid working. It’s a shame I only live 5 miles from Lake Huron in the Thumb of Michigan. Back to heat exchanger we’ve been working many hours, getting in this boat water ready. Spent a lot of time cleaning it up, turning the engine, Man it runs sweet, we had to drain plug out, and wasn’t noticing clear water coming out of the hall. Anyway we put it in the lake the boat ran well. Just for laughs and giggles, I thought that I should check and see if any water is leaking in the boat. The boat wasn’t sitting quite flat, we were out about a mile and I’m noticing the hall filling up with water, thank God my bilge pump works well, we slowly went back to the dock and pulled the boat out and I thought oh shit, I must have been wrong, when I looked at the boots, they must be cracked, I didn’t see a crack, actually they were very soft. When I hooked water hose up to the engine. The engine started well but, the water was just pouring out of the hull drain. I started looking at the engine so to find where the water was coming. I couldn’t see it, but I could see, clean water in the hull, so dang, I want to stop right here, guess what I found? when the boat was winterized many years ago, somebody forgot to put the drain plug back into the exchanger. I could’ve lost that darn boat out in the lake, because it was pushing more water into the boat, then I could pump out. Lesson learned, look at the heat exchanger, make sure the plugs are in it. I have no idea what size the plug is a 3/8 bolt seems to fit. So it’s a start.

[@arthurmontana8791]

Well done! I have done the same job for two heat exchangers on my boat. What a drag! I don't know how you did it with just one rant. You did a couple of things differently than I did. I was afraid to use Muriatic Acid. Instead, I did the bucket wash with straight white vinegar. I left each side overnight in the straight white vinegar twice; so each side was submerged in the bucket for 16 hours. The vinegar works more slowly than the Muriatic Acid, but judging from the color of the effluent, the vinegar did pretty good; though it seems that the effluent in your bucket was thicker. If you're going to use Muriatic Acid, please make sure that you use eye protection. You could probably just use your dive mask. I didn't pressure test, which made your job much more professional than mine. However, I noted that you only tested to 5 p.s.i. My heat exchangers have a coolant fill cap rated at 7 p.s.i. Perhaps your caps are rated at a lower pressure. One tip that may leave you less flabbergasted by those stubborn hoses helped me immeasurably. I used a heat gun to loosen those congealed hoses, and that made their extraction from the heat exchanger not only easier, but possible. Without the heat gun, there's no way I could have gotten those six hoses off without damaging at least some of the hoses.

[@thegolfdude]

A pick with a 90 degree will also work well to loosen hoses

[@scottykuvshinikov1215]

Great video. How much did you dillute the acid to water..what ratio acid to water?

[@tiaramisu]

I did not dilute the muriatic acid I just limited the time the exchangers were in the acid to about 4 mins (2 mins a side). I pulled them out and thoroughly rinsed them with water.

[@womackke]

awesome and I learned a new trick! spray paint in your socks so you dont get overspray on your shoes!

[@captainsoftheazulcarrib7491]

Good video!

[@bobbymedina1198]

nice job!

[@sethturner8003]

thankyou

[@987CAYMAN07]

Same heat exchangers and the same exact threaded fitting snapped off. Split right in half! Now I need a nut welded in. What shop did you use in Long Beach to weld it in?

[@tiaramisu]

I used La habra radiator off of Whittier boulevard in La habra. I'm sure any radiator shop can braise a fitting on for you. Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@ericdishington428]

Thank you

[@willisworms]

Thank you for the video, do you happen to know the dimensions of your heat exchanger? and is it cooling just the engine, or manifolds also?

[@tiaramisu]

Not sure of the diameter of the exchangers I think they are 5 in. The fresh water circulates through the exhaust manifolds and the engine and the exchanger cools the freshwater.

[@tiaramisu]

I confirmed the diameter at 5" . Here is the crusader part number: 98562 Hope this helps

[@willisworms]

@@tiaramisu Thank-you so much!

[@MYNautiGirl]

Thanks for the video, super helpful! Where did you buy the gaskets for the end caps from? Do you happen to have the part number?

[@tiaramisu]

The end cap gaskets for most round exchangers come in different diameters so just measure the diameter of your exchanger and then go to Marineengineparts.com they should have whatever size you have. Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@MYNautiGirl]

@@tiaramisu I have the same engines as you, 7.4L XLi's and it ended up being 5" gaskets. Out of curiosity, which paint did you use for repainting them? Very good match to the Crusader blue.

[@tiaramisu]

@@MYNautiGirl you can still purchase an actual crusader blue paint from different marine engine suppliers. I think I got mine from Marineengineparts.com Cheers!

[@MYNautiGirl]

@@tiaramisu That explains why it's such a good match! Thanks for the info.

[@joeboch348]

Can I drop off my exchangers? Where’d you get the end cap gaskets without buying new end caps?

[@tiaramisu]

Haha. I found the gaskets at a local marine engine parts store. Marineengineparts.com should have them.

[@growtentguru4204]

By any chance have you ever done the 4.3 L MerCruiser heat exchangers. Looking for some info without having to pay the mechanic LOL

[@tiaramisu]

No I'm sorry I have never done the MerCruiser exchangers. I would just jump in with both feet and if you really get yourself into trouble then call a mechanic. Chances are you will be successful and won't need any help.

[@jonsmith7667]

I concur with Boat & Drive. Once you know what you are doing it is likely you will do a better job than a mechanic because you care about your boat more than they do.

[@truthseeker5890]

@@jonsmith7667 100%!!! It's the only way! Do it yourself! 100%!

[@sean6049]

Hey I'm not very familiar with these heat exchangers, I've had one on my inboard/outboard 3.0 mercruiser boat I bought in 2015 and no issues until this year. I start up my boat in the driveway and it runs, with the hose attached to the leg of the boat with the muff. Runs good but I notice water pouring out of my drain plug, I inspected and it looks like the end of my mercruiser heat exhanger is leaking. It might be a gasket I'm not sure.. I have no idea where to start.

[@tiaramisu]

If it was me I'd pull off the entire exchanger pull it apart and do an inspection on it. Make sure that there's no massive corrosion on the surfaces that gaskets mate on. Take the exchanger to a radiator shop and have them boil it out if you're not comfortable doing it yourself then new gaskets put it back together paint it slap it back in.Thanks for watching. Good luck. Cheers!

[@sean6049]

@@tiaramisu Thank you for the suggestion! I'll try that.

[@sean6049]

So I'm just putting it back together now, do you use RTV gasket maker aswell as the rubber gasket? Or just the rubber gasket?

[@tiaramisu]

Just the gasket

[@sean6049]

@@tiaramisu Thank you sir!

[@brandonpost6985]

Do you have a link for the 2 1/4” hose?

[@tiaramisu]

Here you go. Thanks for watching. Cheers! marinepartssource.com/hose-2-1-4idx1-88lg-r045162

[@victormx27]

hey is no need to thump the system ?

[@Chas1160]

How often should you clean your heat exchanger? Have a 7.4 454 Merc large block.

[@tiaramisu]

Raw water flush every year. Acid dip, pressure test, and new end cap gaskets every 10 years would be my recommendation. Cheers

[@francisgraham7168]

I cannot find any end cap gaskets for mine on my 454 merc. ! I had to get a machine shop to male my end caps bc they cracked in the middle allowing water to constantly drain out

[@kemicalx17]

Informative video. What paint did you use? It seems to match Crusader blue perfectly

[@tiaramisu]

It was crusader blue engine paint from marineengineparts.com. Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@hildablanco1591]

You should trade in your tiara for a regal fly bridge 42 with outboards

[@rayhsetwo8594]

What make is the heat exchanger?

[@tiaramisu]

Good question. I don't know. My guess is that they are Crusaders. However, I'm not sure if Crusader make their own exchangers of if they are make by a third party and given a Crusader part number.

[@petergoodwin420]

OMG, dude, get on with it willya? 😳

[@ronbrown6729]

Asking for trouble new ones.

[@tiaramisu]

These exchangers ran for about another year before they were replaced with new ones by the new owner. Thanks for watching! Cheers!

[@joeboch348]

I did elbows today on one engine 😮‍💨

[@tiaramisu]

Great!

[@walterrella3788]

Do heat exchangers have zincs?

[@tiaramisu]

Absolutely most of them do. They're called zinc pencils and they need to get changed on a regular basis. You should be looking at them at least every 4 months. If they are more than half eaten then they need to get changed. Some oil coolers have them also. Thanks for watching. Cheers!

[@cartoonmaniac5659]

Use a heat gun for those dryed out hoses

[@montana69..]

Type of acid

[@ianwilson8410]

Muriatic Acid. Available at pool supply stores.

[@hildablanco1591]

Your engines need a paint job and some wd40 for protection

[@tjs_welding_and_fabrication]

Hate to ask the contents of the bucket.

[@tiaramisu]

Antifreeze and bilge muck. 😃