[C320-list] Perkins heat exchanger

[P.F. Ross]

Dan and all,

When I discovered my heat exchanger tank was corroded to the point of
leaking, I figured I would just find a new one.  I was ultimately able to
find one, but it was a chore.

I started with Perkins go-to suppliers of Trans Atlantic Diesels and
Parts4Engines.  Both came back no stock and no suggestions as to where to
go next.  TAD had a nice breakdown of the tank on their website, shared
earlier by Dave Hupe, but here again is that link:

https://www.tadiesels.com/heat-exchangers-manifolds.html#BLUE

Go down to item #13 and you can see p/n is 135606270.

I did a google search for every term I could think of like "Perkins Perama
coolant tank", "Perkins M30 coolant tank", "Perkins M30 heat exchanger",
"Volvo Penta coolant tank" and several others.  I took a pic of my heat
exchanger tank (now removed from engine) and drafted an email with the pic
and part number 135606270.  I also included my engine build list and serial
number (KD30243J and 458394Y in my case) and sent out mass emails.

I was able to find some results on ebay as well as other boat salvage yards
but I really wanted to find an unused one if possible.

The best results I had were from Joe DeMers at Sound Marine Diesel (
https://www.soundmarinediesel.com/index.html) and Jonathan Staple at Marine
Enterprises in UK (https://www.marineenterprisesltd.co.uk/).  Both said
they had a NOS tank, but in the end Joe was not able to get his hands on
one, so I went with Marine Enterprises and they were great to deal with.

I did a quick search today and found this link:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/volvo-heat-exchange-problem-246898.html

Interesting thing here is that this sailor was apparently able to find a
way to repair his tank.

Also searching today, these guys show a couple of used units from Volvo
Pentas that may work, but please verify that yourself and don't take my
word for it:

https://shipwrecksalvage.net/inboard-engine-components-c-7/volvo-penta-heat-exchanger-housing-3580322-p-6037.html

These guys also say they have overhauled units for Volvo:

https://www.shipoutletstore.com/en/search/volvo+penta+heat+exchanger/

In other searches I find Chinese companies that say they have them, but as
you drill down they are not available.

I also talked to Warren Pandy at the factory and he had no sources either.
Apparently, Catalina got away from Perkins in the late 90s when Perkins
changed up their distributor networks which would leave Catalina without
local support.  At least that is the way I understood things.  And
certainly, I got no support from Perkins or their distributors on my issue.

Best of luck to you, Dan.  I am sure there will be many interested sailors
here following your progress.

Frank Ross
Beta Wave #206

On Sun, Sep 15, 2024 at 12:37 PM Dave Hupe via C320-list <
c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:

> Seems pretty conclusive your heat exchanger tank has a crack near the
> mount if the exhause elbow.
> I sent a link a couple days ago to TransAtlantic Diesels that showed the
> M30 tank and associated items
> https://www.tadiesels.com/heat-exchangers-manifolds.htmlDid you contact
> them in all the possible sources?
>
> Great diagnosing!
> Dave Hupe
> 1994 C320 #32
>
> Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
>
>