Westerbeke 42b coolant questions

[Syversens]

Hey all, I'm trying to figure out the coolant on our new to us Westerbeke 42. I want to do a coolant drain and fill as well as zinc replacement, maybe flush, but curious what i can expect when i open these various drains.

For coolant i read there is a drain behind the oils filter, this is already an area hard to get to, so I'm nervous cracking it open and dumping it in bilge.

Second I'm not sure what to expect when taking zinc out of heat exchanger, again this is super closed in area so are there any precautions i can take on this?

My first thought was some sort of custom catch mechanism, curious what experiences are out there.

 

[jssailem]

custom catch mechanism

I snagged one of my wife’s tupperware containers. Fits in the space and holds the oil filter and the excess that happens when I remove the filter. Also serves to capture the secondary fuel filter and excess Diesel. We don’t share the reason the container is on the boat.

When you change the zinc on the heat exchanger, the engine is not running. So you may see a drible of raw water. Assuming you have the raw water through hull valve closed, you may get a trickle of water spill in the bilge. No coolant or oil. So no contaminants. If you see more than a little water then you have a problem.

You may be able to fit a hose to the drain valve. In that case you could direct the fluids to a catch container.

 

[Syversens]

Sounds good, I'll take a few measurements, and try out some containers. Thanks!

 

[JoeWhite]

Here is a link to visit

Best Procedure For Coolant Flush and Replace? | Catalina 36/375 International Association

www.catalina36.org

Also view the album.
I posted this while flushing the antifreeze on my C36, but I would think yours is mostly the same.
Remove the drain plug from the engine block to drain the fluid, unless you are also replacing the hoses which is a good time to do.

 

[Syversens]

Nice writeup, quite jealous of your side access for this, on ours there is literally no access and I'm tempted to put some sort of drain valve with a removable hose it to make this easier. I'll bring a selection of containers, a knife and some tape and see what damage I can do. Thanks!

 

[Syversens]

So this saga continues, today i tried to replace the zinc and got the old out. Looks like zinc was snapped off... I then thought I'd remove the plate at the end of the heat exchange but couldn't get the cap off and didn't want to ruin the seal or pry too much.

So... Anyone have a tip on removing a heat exchanger end plate with gasket that's painted red and hard to get to? I want to get one of my pry tool from home but figured I'd ask before hitting it too hard.

Pictures attached, first old snapped zinc, second exchange cooler end cap, third zink inside heat exchange, last a shot from above for reference.

Happy new Year!

 

[jssailem]

You are going to want to get to the inside of the heat exchanger (HE). Does not look like you have much room or access to the side of the HE. So you will want to remove the hoses and then lift the HE out of it's nesting space on the engine. Once free you can try a strap wrench on end of the HE. It would be my guess that there is a bit of paint holding the end on the body. She you soften it up with a little paint thinner. Then it should release. You are going to want to clean the tubes that run the length of the HE. Most use a small rod to clean the tubes. I believe a 22 cal rifle cleaning rod works in the tubes. I think some mechanics have access to welding rod of the right diameter.

I found the easiest to do is to take the unit to a radiator shop hand have them boil out the HE, then close it up and pressure test the unit. When finished it can be painted pretty red. The cost was $65 to clean my HE.

 

[Syversens]

I'm thinking you're right, there is absolutely no room on the side and taking it out would allow me to have a look at everything. I did take out the drain plug but to my surprise that was coolant drain not raw water. Any tip removing the tube? Just disconnect hoses and be ready for a mess?

Is the red pain important? To me it just seems to make things harder there are a few places where leak occured on the coolant fill and paint just peeled off anyway.

 

[JoeWhite]

I am not clear as to why you are trying to remove the end plate. If you are trying to remove the broken zinc, I would leave it inside. Even if you remove the end plate you will not be able to remove the broken zincs. Take a 1/4" drill bit and rim out the broken zinc in HE. It is actually 3/8" in diameter and you can use a 3/8" drill bit to completely clean the opening. Then the zinc in the bolt you can dig out by using drill bits.
Then replace the zinc, whipe the threads with pipe thread paste then screw in. This will make it easier to remove next time.
If you are not having high engine temperature there is no need to remove the HE.

 

[jssailem]

Paint over metal reduces the probability of metal corrosion. My regular engine color is Perkins Blue. Westerbeke is Red. My HE was painted black by the Radiator company.

This is an excellent time to change your coolant and check all of your hoses. Remove and replace as needed.

Drain coolant out into a bucket. Suspect it could be about a gallon.

To stop the raw water from running out, close the raw water valve at the through hull.

 

[jssailem]

Joe,
Not sure about your HE zinc, but mine is visible in the space between the cover plate and the ends of the raw water tubes. Taking the cover off gives you access to the tubes and space the zinc occupies. It can be remove with a pair of needle nose pliers.

No drills were needed.

 

[Syversens]

I was hoping to get access to the zinc through the plate. Even if i was able to get a drill back under there i don't know about drilling upside down in a location i can't see. I'm thinking my best bet is to get the thing off and assess. I do need to replace coolant and some of the hoses are old but not leaking.

So JS, hose assessment is best done after removing? Having done some hose plumbing on non engine my experience is they break on removal. Generally are these hoses westerbeke prebent parts or just find the right hose?

 

[jssailem]

I suspect they could be both. I know on my rebuild of the Perkins, we have found that hoses for cars or trucks are much less expensive than the "marine" suppliers. Same hose different price.

Removing hoses will let you know that they have reached a "I'm finished" stage. They crack or they are swollen. That is when they are just pending failure.

 

[RitSim]

My zinc broke off this year. I removed the center bolt as you did and the cover should be free. Paint probably holding it. You can see the rubber gasket in your third pic. Yes, you can remove the broken zinc from the end. The drill will be needed to get the threaded stub out of the plug (your pic #1) or just buy a new plug with the zinc. I use Boatzincs.com and buy 3-4 years supply at one order- saves on shipping.

 

[Syversens]

I'll try some paint thinner and see if that works but it'll still be hard for me to take a look in there so i think my best bet is to get the thing off completely.

I got new original zincs with the threaded metal attached, curious if reusing the bolt and insert new zing instead of whole assembly will make this more or less likely to occur.

 

[jssailem]

curious if reusing the bolt and insert new zing instead of whole assembly will make this more or less likely to occur.

It will depend on the zinc design.
You have limited space in the HE. To long of a zinc will contact the inside of the HE. If during installation the zinc was tightened to stop a leak it could have fractured the zinc contributing to it breaking inside. It may just have been inconsistent corrosion of the zinc that caused the break.

Get the proper length (a little short is ok). Install and monitor in about 6 months. It is not something you need to over think.

 

[SycloneDriver]

I found that the hot water tank is one of the low point in my system. Don't forget to drain to cooling loop at the hot water tank if you want to get all of the coolant. I had to burp the air out of that loop to get the coolant to start flowing again, some boats have valves to let the are out but not my 31.

 

[Syversens]

Trying not to overthink this but surprised how bad the manuals are. I had a look at the HE again and tried to come up with plan for removal but the dang thing is strapped in with straps that disappear and tucked in behind a fuel pump and below some relay and reset fuse. From the look of it either of those has to be removed, with no clear instructions.... One online source said removing HE from 42 was easy but that's it.

Anyone have a tip on how to unbury the thing from it's tucked in position? I'm not a total mechanic novice but with no instructions I'd like to have some idea before I start removing stuff.

 

[jssailem]

Each engine can be a little different on boats,

Take some pictures from different angles. My HE was attached with straps.
I first disconnected the hoses. The coolant and raw water dripped a bit. Prepare ahead and capture what you can. Like suggested this is a great time to plan on changing the coolant for the coming year.
Once free from the hoses you may get a clearer look at the HE. I had straps. They had screws to turn like hose clamps. I used a small socket with an extension to loosen the straps. Then I was able to slip the HE out of the straps.

 

[Syversens]

Took some pictures and had a look at the bracket on top and bottom. To me the bottom looks easiest so might give that a go. Only issue i can see is the bolt on right where they conveniently placed behind the fuel filter... Thoughts?