Perkins 4.154 seawater coming out of heat exchanger fill

[captainmugs]

I recently acquired a 41 Morgan Out Island ketch from my elderly father. The boat hasn’t moved in a year and a half and I met with him to prep the boat to get it up and running. While doing my intial inspection I noticed the fill cap on the Bowman heat exchanger was corroded so I removed it to check the coolant level and replace it and I observed a steady flow of water coming out of the heat exchanger. I dipped my finger in it and it taste like seawater. It has no noticeable color or any trace of antifreeze. I’m unfamiliar with the bowman heat exchanger and any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[pacific_voyager]

It sounds like, at least, you need new endcaps and possibly a new tubestack. End caps are available (e.g. from https://www.parts4engines.com/perkins-4-154-parts/) and other sources. Tubestacks are harder to find. A radiator shop can test the tubestack or you can use the endcaps to make a rig to test it yourself using pressurized air. Sometimes the tubestack has a only one or two bad tubes and they can be closed off.


But, there might be other problems if the seawater has penetrated elsewhere besides the cooling system. It might be worth hiring a diesel mechanic to survey the engine and drive train.