Universal 5411 deisel

[Cat36Amoore]

Is it true that the Universal 5411 diesel does not exhaust a lot of water under 150 degrees. I just purchased a 1983 27' Catalina. I have checked all the hoses, mixing t, impeller, replaced the thermostat, all clear. The engine temp gauge never got above 150 degree. I've ran the engine about twenty minutes, six times, in and out of the channel. Spoke to several sailors that said its normal. Other say it should spit out some water? Thanks for you advice in advance.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

It only spits out water. That is normal for that engine.

 

[Cat36Amoore]

Thank you Don, for the confirmation

 

[jrowan]

I also have a 5411. It will not discharge ANY water until the thermostatically controlled exaust loop reaches over 150 degrees, at which point the thermostat opens up & allows water to flow into the water muffler, instead of just recirculating into the engine block. This is one reason that the engine exhausts out a lot of steam, because the exhaust gets hot from a lack of initial cooling water flow throught the muffler. I & all of us 5411 owners are intially baffled by this engine. I choose to leave the cooling water circuit which runs to the thermostat closed, which allows water to run directly through the engine & out of the muffler. Universal used the thermstat to allow the engine to warm up more quickly by recirculating raw cooling water to reach running temp at 180 degrees. But the engine will still run fine if the raw cooling water flows straight through the block & out.
The thermostat is really better to use when running in colder fall or early spring temps.
If you do not have a second cooling loop set up on you engine, the U can also just remove the thermostat & U will see an immediate discharge of cooling water through the stern transom discharge. I have always found it a bit unnerving not to see coolant water flowing out when the engine is running. But this engine always runs on the cool side, never topping out over 180 deg. Good luck & enjoy our underpowered, but super reliable & fuel efficient lil diesel.

 

[Ajay73]

I too have the 5411 in my C27. It is somewhat confusing to understand. I think that when the thermostat operates(engine temp gets to a certain temp; on mine it's 150F) it blocks off the return line resulting in the water pump drawing in cooler seawater and pushing it out the exhaust(because the return line is blocked off).

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I also have a 5411.

I choose to leave the cooling water circuit which runs to the thermostat closed, which allows water to run directly through the engine & out of the muffler. Universal used the thermstat to allow the engine to warm up more quickly by recirculating raw cooling water to reach running temp at 180 degrees. But the engine will still run fine if the raw cooling water flows straight through the block & out.
The thermostat is really better to use when running in colder fall or early spring temps.

I've done the same thing but only as a very temporary "fix" until I could obtain a proper thermostat.

As a temporary measure, it won't harm the engine but, and it's a big "but", all engines are designed to operate within a specified temperature range.

Removing the thermostat will result in preventing the engine from heating up to it's proper operating temperature. Depending on the ambient temperature, it may never come up to temperature and over the long term, that can cause collateral problems which can lead to engine damage.

Engine mechanics who I trust advice to never do this over the long term.