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Crusader 454XL Fresh water cooled Filling Coolant

bluejamesman

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"We lost about 3 gallons of co

"We lost about 3 gallons of coolant from the rear mounted reservoir on the heat exchanger after a 45 mile trip.In refilling the coolant it seems to have an airlock and will not accept coolant. Any tips on refilling and why coolant left the reservoir? Check raw water pump, heat exchanger and oil cooler?"
 
"Unless it is a V-drive config

"Unless it is a V-drive configuration, that system does not air lock, it just takes the coolant slowly.

If I lost 3 gallons of coolant and it wasn't in the bilge, I wouldn't waste the time or money putting three more gallons back in. It is obviously leaking out somewhere hopefully not through the head gasket.

A cooling system pressure test is in order. This will determine the source of the leak.

Good luck
Rick"
 
"Harry,
I would take Rick&


"Harry,
I would take Rick's advice and have that test.That is where I would start also.It would be my guess,however, that to lose 3 gallons of fluid,you probably had a heat issue you had to deal with, so keep in mind there is the possibility of a cracked head,or worse.I would also inspect all hoses and replace thermostat.The test will tell all.Let us know how you are making out....Todd"
 
"Thanks for the reply, Rick, a

"Thanks for the reply, Rick, and Todd. The starboard 1993 454XL is a straight twin inboard in a Tiara, with the rear mount reservoir that apparently dumped the 50/50 coolant into the bilge. The coolant 7 Psi fill cap is at the front of the 454XL with a very small cavity to add coolant to. I started the motor today and it built up coolant pressure to the cap with no apparent leakage, but I didn't run it long,7 Min."
 
"If the coolant is in the bilg

"If the coolant is in the bilge, that's a different story. That should be easy to find, may only be a loose or faulty cap."
 
Did the engine ever get to an

Did the engine ever get to an overheating position or did you just notice the coolant missing as you stated....after a 45 mile trip?Did you get the engine today to the point that the thermostat opened to check your hoses after that point?
 
"Agree with Rick. Check all h

"Agree with Rick. Check all hoses and clamps + exhaust fittings while boat is underway.

I installed coolant recovery tanks on both my 1991 454 Crusaders. Much easier to tell when you start losing coolant.
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Twin 454s on Four Winns 365 Cruiser"">

Good luck on your search."
 
"Todd, Yes I believe the engin

"Todd, Yes I believe the engine was overheated. When I started it on Tuesday on the lift, using fresh water to flush, it probably didn't run long enough [7-10 min ] to open the T'stat.Also, while returning on the 45 mile trip, the engine faltered after powering up from idle indicating a high heat condition affecting carb gas vaporization. I am going to back flush oil cooler [check for impeller pieces] and clean heat exchanger. Parts are on the way to change cap and T'stat."
 
"I.m pullin for ya Harry...Hop

"I.m pullin for ya Harry...Hopefully nothing to serious.What I would do is get everything back in order and let the engine come up to temperature in the slip where thermostats are open and watch for leaks at idle.A non contact infra-red thermometer gun is needed at this point to make sure everything is at the right temps.Allow engine to cool down a bit and pull every plug and inspecting them looking to see how the engine is running, but most importantly to see if water is present at that location.Hopefully not.Then a little boat ride up to speed near the marina would be in order.Keep in touch...Todd"
 
3-20-08 Thurs. Drained raw wat

3-20-08 Thurs. Drained raw water from heat exchanger [HE] and found coolant in raw water side. Took off HE and took it in for possible repair @ $145. Also had a weeper at the elbow on the port side elbow base. New HE is $666. Ended up disconnecting most hoses and drained coolant -sea water mix [ with difficulty ] from motor.Now awaiting HE results on repair and find out best way to flush FWC side of engine and then after assembly adding 33 Qts of 50/50 antifreeze mix.Now figuring that the defective HE leaking antifreeze and seawater mix caused overflow of reservoir.
 
Either repaired or a new one b

Either repaired or a new one beats the cost of engine work.Sounds like you are heading in the right direction.As Rick said.....have them pressure test it before you get it back....Todd
 
"3--24-08 Picked up HE,Owner n

"3--24-08 Picked up HE,Owner not there, talked to R---. $197. Took it home tore it apart, it was filthy. Took it back and got a full credit.
Owner called the next day and apologised profusely, the employee admitted he forgot to take off the end cap and clean it out after the repair.Decided it was a risky repair.
3-27-08 Picked up a new 98117 HE.
On Fri. 3-28 We installed the new HE and with difficulty filled the engine with 4 Gals PEAK and 4 Gals of Distilled water.We had to start the engine to get it to accept the coolant. One big error, I forgot to reinstall the port side 1/4" block drain plug and the coolant finally blew out---fortunately no burns. When we tried to run the engine it got up to 200F so we Quit and let it sit, filled th res. with coolant, let it sit and went to the Palm Beach boat show on Sat. & Sun.
3-31-08 Mon. Again tackled the Stbd Engine , the res. coolant filled on Friday had disappeared into the engine, so I refilled it and added coolant to the fill pipe and to the top of the new HE. I had installed a thermostat, never used that was purchased previously.
Started the Stbd engine and watched the temperature rise to about 170F and then drop back to about 155F after 15Min.
Let it run for about 25 Min & shut down and flushed the Port Engine [ it started & ran OK ]. Went back to the Stbd engine and restarted it and it ran OK with a temp rise to 165F and apparently after the so called 170F thermo opened, settled in at 155F. Next step is to water test it at speed not at 1000 RPM. Note, one big concern is that we got all of the salt water out and particularly out of the hot water hoses and the water heater."
 
"I have twin 1992 Crusader XL’

"I have twin 1992 Crusader XL’s. The port engine is running at 170 at idle. Starboard runs at 150. I changed both risers and one exhaust manifold. Heat Exchanger is clear. A flow comparison (comparing the port engine to starboard) showed slightly less water coming out of the oil cooler so I replaced it. Same amounts of water now coming out of the oil coolers but the temp remains at 170. Risers are no longer too hot to touch but are warmer compared to the starboard risers. White smoke comes out the exhaust on the port engine once the temp hits 170. No smoke on starboard engine at 150. Not burning oil or losing anti-freeze. Help, I’m out of ideas"
 
"Rob, I would start a new thre

"Rob, I would start a new thread to gain some more attention from the Crusader Guru's on this forum..."
 
"Rob,
Just by chance does


"Rob,
Just by chance does your boat have a lower helm with another set of gauges?If not, then get your hands on a non-contact laser temp gun to make sure your you have the correct readings.If your hot water heater runs off the port engine that can change things as well...Todd"
 
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