TAMD40A Cooling solution

[saltwaters]

It's been awhile since I've posted here but since some of the guys with older boats have the AQAD40A and B motors I thought I would pass along a tip.

One of my engines has run a little warmer than the other one. Based on a tip at boatdiesel, I removed the pipe that goes from the seawater pump to the oil cooler. There was some major saltwater blockage in this pipe. I cleaned it out by filling it with vinegar and letting it sit for a few hours before flushing it with a fresh water hose. A lot of salt came out of it.

I'll probably do the other engine now that I know how good it works.

Bob and I also got some nice albies (5 @24-25 lbs on a certified scale) and a 26.3 lb Yt at the west butterfly last Saturday (8/4/07). We fished 8 and 12 lb test. Had we been on a major meat trip we could have filled the hold on the Tunacious.

[NoSlack]

It doesn't take much to run the temp up on those AQAD40's. Every couple of years I'll clean the seawater side of the coolers.

I use the same pump that I use for changing oil to circulate a mild cleaner through the pipes and coolers. I break the rubber hose that goes in the side of the turbo exhaust elbow and shove the suction hose for my pump down the tube. The discharge hose off the pump dumps back into the basket with the lid off.

Add enough water so the pump will take a suction then introduce a little pool acid or the vinager that you've been using. I let it circulare for 20 or 30 minutes then I put the discharge hose in a trash can and a garden hose into the basket filter. When the water starts running clean you're done.

I can usually shave 5 degrees off my running temp by keeping up on the cooling system maintenance.

Mike

p.s. go light on the pool acid, you don't want a mushroom cloud hanging over the boat

[yellowfin1]

Sounds like an easy fix to a potential big problem. I know when I had my AD40B and had the impeller go bad a couple times, the impeller parts were often lodged in that seawater intake pipe. Probably a great idea to disassemble that think periodically to clean it out anyway.

Nice job on the albies and big yella. 12 lb test line...sounds like fun.

[Wizard]

Flush REAL good after the acid wash, I think it can eat some of the cheaper aluminum. But it does work. I lost my oil cooler to corrosion of some type.

[saltwaters]

It doesn't take much to run the temp up on those AQAD40's. Every couple of years I'll clean the seawater side of the coolers.

I use the same pump that I use for changing oil to circulate a mild cleaner through the pipes and coolers. I break the rubber hose that goes in the side of the turbo exhaust elbow and shove the suction hose for my pump down the tube. The discharge hose off the pump dumps back into the basket with the lid off.

Add enough water so the pump will take a suction then introduce a little pool acid or the vinager that you've been using. I let it circulare for 20 or 30 minutes then I put the discharge hose in a trash can and a garden hose into the basket filter. When the water starts running clean you're done.

I can usually shave 5 degrees off my running temp by keeping up on the cooling system maintenance.

Mike

p.s. go light on the pool acid, you don't want a mushroom cloud hanging over the boat

I did the same thing you did but I used a product called Rydlyme. I used a 350 GPH bilge pump and a bunch of fittings and hoses to build a loop in the system. I ran it for about an hour, and ran the boat for an hour at sea to warm it up. This is a great way to maintain the saltwater side of the system. I did this last year. I'm not sure if it cleaned out the salt in the pipe to the oil cooler.

[iclypso]

Thanks for the tip, guys. It's pretty easy to neglect this side of the engine but doing so can result in some pretty serious problems.

[Royal Hook]

Another great suggestion. I was just thinking about this winters cooling system maintanence after my last trip, and as this being my first service for this motor any help is needed. Question is do you stiil need to pull off the heat exchanger along with the exhaust elbow annully to clean them out and how can you suggest that these be cleaned, as I have been taken to the cleaners in the past with boil outs and bead blasting.
Mike

[NoSlack]

Haven't pulled any of the coolers in 10+ years. Do the sea water side flush and change the zinks every few years and your go to go. 3 zinks in the sea water side. 1 in the front of the heat exchanger, oil cooler and in the aftercooler.

Mike

[NoSlack]

Here's a link to the owners manual for the 40 if you don't have one. Covers all the filters, general maintenance and a wiring diagram

http://ownersmanuals.penta.volvo.se/ViewPdf.aspx?n=14481&r=2001-10-16-10-56-20&t=PDF1P&a=7753130&p=T403&d=Owners