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Old 05-02-2022, 00:55   #1
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Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

Hi all,

Delivering a very neglected Kelly Peterson 44 at the moment. It has an original Perkins 4.154 which what I assume is a Bowman heat exchanger.

Raw water cooling flow is pretty poor, I’ve tracked it down to the mixing elbow which seems very restricted. Can’t see anything in the pipe itself and I’ve tried poking various wires down it to see if I can clean it out without any luck so far.

Any suggestions? I am tempted to drill straight through into the exhaust stream and bypass what looks to be some kind of Venturi style mixing passage.

Over to the brains trust…Click image for larger version

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Old 05-02-2022, 01:42   #2
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

Looks like black iron pipe. If it will come off, go to a plumbing supply store and make up a new one. If it's stuck on you could cut it off and weld a new piece on. We do that with Westerbekes because of the aluminum exhaust manifold and iron pipe cooling together and if the aluminum exhaust manifold breaks the engine is essentially totaled.
Is the white canister a spin on fuel filter? If so it will start sucking air when the top of it rusts thru. It looks rusty now. I had that happen to me and it was hard to diagnose since little to no fuel leaked out. The engine would lose power and stop. Then you could restart and 5 or 10 minutes later the same thing would happen. They are really good filters though and have a lot of capacity.
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Old 05-02-2022, 01:48   #3
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

The exhaust hose looks real old so could be collapsed inside. Can't tell by looking at it. Take the hose off and see what the water flow looks like.
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Old 05-02-2022, 01:48   #4
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

We are mid delivery a long way from any kind of shops.
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Old 05-02-2022, 02:24   #5
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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We are mid delivery a long way from any kind of shops.
are you now in safe marina,port. how many nm to safe
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Old 05-02-2022, 03:57   #6
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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are you now in safe marina,port. how many nm to safe


At anchor now. 60 miles to go.

We can puddle along, the forecast is not bad, but I’d really love another 500 rpm.
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Old 05-02-2022, 04:13   #7
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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The exhaust hose looks real old so could be collapsed inside. Can't tell by looking at it. Take the hose off and see what the water flow looks like.


Read what I wrote, the blockage is in the elbow.
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Old 05-02-2022, 04:20   #8
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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At anchor now. 60 miles to go.

We can puddle along, the forecast is not bad, but I’d really love another 500 rpm.
max rpm before engine overheat.

find somewhere wire 4-6mm and try unblock salt build .
or do you have on boat something like drain cleaner spring wire.


what i use in shop. you can because this is very risk dismounting, your only rust hold everything in one piece.

i dismante all exschanger

after this keep all exchanger in hot bath with citrus acid 1-2 kg 24-48 hour

after soaking exhaust below go in ultrasound bath with citrus acid + vineyard acid 2-3 time to 1 hour 75°C
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Old 05-02-2022, 04:22   #9
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

Very good chance the reduced flow is party due to the raw water pump needing a rebuild, the inlet seacock / strainer is partly blocked, the heat exchanger needs a good clean out and mixing elbow is partly blocked.

I know you have tracked it down to the mixing elbow as the main culprit but the other things aren't helping.

Me - I would cautious about drilling down into something you don't fully know. I would be inclined to let sleeping dogs lie and muddle on if it is only 60 miles.
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Old 05-02-2022, 05:54   #10
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

Yeah, I’m with wottie. You could easily end up disabling the whole exhaust system (and possibly the heat exchanger) if you get to agressive with that underway. That needs a careful tear down in a shop, acid washer etc. 60nm? Just get there.
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Old 05-02-2022, 12:24   #11
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

NS boatman said what I was thinking: acid wash often cleans out the salt buildup you get in restricted passages. Then flush well with fresh salt water, after the bubbling stops. Better living through chemistry.

Previous boat had a BMW D35, and we had to acid flush the head once a year. We'd do the head and circulate it through all the passages. Let it set, and listen to the bubbling. One does need to remove the zincs, of course.

However, limping home, it's a sailboat, sail her, save the engine for entering the marina.

Hope you got the furler to working well.

Ann
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Old 05-02-2022, 12:42   #12
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

I have had a similar cast iron elbow cake up to almost blocked, it happens. As long as it's still in one piece you should be able to simply take it off and scrape out the blockage.
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Old 05-02-2022, 13:08   #13
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

Ok, we are all on the same page with this I think.

I am also reluctant to do too much for fear of making things worse. I was hoping someone had direct experience of this particular elbow and knew a trick or two.

But the common sense of the group will prevail. I’ll just go slow.

Sadly it’s a headwind so no sailing possible with just a totally bagged out main.
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Old 05-02-2022, 13:19   #14
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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Originally Posted by GILow View Post
Ok, we are all on the same page with this I think.

I am also reluctant to do too much for fear of making things worse. I was hoping someone had direct experience of this particular elbow and knew a trick or two.

But the common sense of the group will prevail. I’ll just go slow.

Sadly it’s a headwind so no sailing possible with just a totally bagged out main.
remove hose.
from the hose you sea square hole. with wire try to make hole bigger from rust and salt build.
also if you can with some toll make hole bigger. but angle is not good
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Old 05-02-2022, 13:31   #15
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Re: Perkins 4.154 mixing elbow blocked

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remove hose.
from the hose you sea square hole. with wire try to make hole bigger from rust and salt build.
also if you can with some toll make hole bigger. but angle is not good
Thank you more, yes it is exactly as you have described.

I did try with some old wire last night. I may have made it a bit better. We are under way now, watching the temperature.

Need some luck now.
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