[C320-list] Perkins heat exchanger

[P.F. Ross]

Dan, I will echo what Steve just said.  If you have the tank off, carefully
inspect for any holes between exhaust path and coolant tank.

I am way behind on reporting on my smoke issue from March of this year, but
it turned out to be a broken exhaust valve.  I will post a complete report
on that soon but one thing that did show up was a carboned up exhaust path
where the tank connects to the exhaust hose.  As my mechanic was gingerly
trying to clean it up, he found a hole between the exhaust manifold and
coolant tank sections.  At this point, the cast iron tank became a small
anchor and a replacement would be needed.

Hopefully, you do not have this problem since new tanks seem to be no
longer available from Perkins or others.  Fortunately, I found a NOS one in
England from Marine Enterprises (https://www.marineenterprisesltd.co.uk/).
Jonathan Staple there was incredibly helpful.  I did look at others on ebay
but all were second hand.  In any case, they do not give these things away.

I also used the threaded rod trick as described by Steve to clean out my
heat exchanger tubes.  But really, all my tubes were incredibly clean as is.

Best wishes,

Frank Ross
Beta Wave #206

On Fri, Sep 13, 2024 at 12:03 PM Steve Weinstein via C320-list <
c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:

>  Dan,I had a Perama M20 on my former C270 and had a coolant leak.  Turned
> out it was in the heat exchanger in the wall of the exhaust manifold.  If
> the M30 is similar, the heat exchanger works as both the exhaust manifold
> and the heat exchanger for the engine cooling system.  Over time, the hot
> exhaust ate away at the manifold and created a hole into the heat exchanger
> water tank.  If you have the engine apart, I would suggest examining the
> manifold closely for a possible pinhole between the exhaust and the heat
> exchanger tank.
> As far as the tube stack goes, as noted, it's easy to slide it out once
> you have the rugger end caps and hose clamps removed.  A little gentle
> persuasion may be needed but be very careful.  If there is any buildup in
> the tubes, you can easily clean them out with a piece of threaded rod and
> flush them out.  I got the threaded rod at Ace Hardware, just need to find
> the right size.  And work carefully, you don't want to damage those tubes.
> Hope the helps,Steve Weinstein2000 C320 #722, Vega
>
>     On Friday, September 13, 2024 at 07:00:51 AM EDT, Dan Winsor via
> C320-list <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:
>
>  Thank you Dave, don't know what we would do without you. Lucky Devil is in
> my yard, stripped. I ran the diesel for an hour without overheating then
> got brave and tried the 6 mounting bolts. All 6 loosened nicely and I have
> all the parts, except the tank, on hand for rebuilding including water pump
> and all rubbers. Really wanted to ID the source of coolant lose before
> tearing it down but....
>
> On Thu, Sep 12, 2024, 21:25 Dave Hupe via C320-list <
> c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:
>
> > The big front and rear rubber boots clamp simultaneously to both the heat
> > exchanger tank and the "tube stack" inside. That is why you see two large
> > clamps around each boot.  The larger clamp is clamping onto the hole thru
> > the tank while the slightly smaller clamp is holding onto the end of the
> > tube. If the boots are removed, it is possible to slide the tube out of
> the
> > tank.
> > Yes ... you do not need to actually remove the heat exchanger tank from
> > the engine.
> > I changed my heat exchanger tank so I should be able to send you some
> > photos to demonstrate this tomorrow.
> > Dave Hupe
> > 1994 C320 #32
> > Holland,  MI
> > .
> >
> > Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
> >
> >  On Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 8:54 PM, Dan Winsor via C320-list<
> > c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:  I know there is an abundance of
> > this topic on record but just a quick
> > question.
> > What retains the tube-stack within the heat exchanger? Is it possible to
> > change the stack without pulling the box?
> > Ok, 2 questions.
> > Thx,
> > Dan Winsor
> > Lucky Devil #109
> >
> >
>
>