Started: Poquoson River 37°09.51′N 076°24.60′W

Docked: Hampton City Marina 37°01.48′N 076°20.44′W

Distance Run: 35.5 nm. Time 6¼ hr. Engine Hours 3.

Great sail down the bay. Until 13:00 when the wind died. We were just 2 miles from Hampton Roads. But we couldn't sail into the river, the current was against us and the wind was too light.

Looking over the engine, it is clear that the oil cooler is failing. We have oil in the pan under Mr. Lehman.

There's a drip and a stalactite of salt around the hole in the oil cooler.

We're probably going to replace all the engine coolers and hoses. The transmission cooler is a replacement. The main engine cooler and oil cooler are original equipment. Some mechanics think they're really only good for a few years and should be replaced regularly.

Rather than wait for the main cooler to fail, it's time to preemptively replace it.

We need a place to work and a place to receive packages. There are some marinas around here we can use. Maybe we can do this from Hospital Point in Norfolk. Or maybe we can anchor in the river here in Hampton.

We're going to ask around of the marinas which are sponsoring the Snowbirds Rendezvous to see where we can anchor while we rebuild our engine.

Parts

Heat Exchangers.

Hose. ¾" by 8'? Anything else? Don't know yet.

Coolant (24.3 qts total = 3 gallon antifreeze, the rest is water.)

Oil (8 qts). Oil Filter.

Process

I think that the process is pretty simple. Long but simple.

1. Drain the block. The main cooling system will be full of Prestone and raw water. The Prestone part needs to be drained out. I think I want to buy a new drill pump for this job. I've tried gravity and it's not the best way to drain the block. It works, but it's slow and annoying.

2. I don't think oil needs to be drained. I think it's all settled into its pan. Nor does transmission fluid need to be drained. Its all settled into the tranny.

3. Disconnect the engine fluid lines: Oil, Water, Transmission Fluid. For oil and tranny, the connectors are turned with wrenches and should come off nicely. For the main engine cooler, it's hose clamps in awkward places. Ideally, they can come off neatly. However. They can always be sliced with a utility knife and replaced if it comes to that.

4. Unscrew the mounts for the various coolers. Work them loose from where they've been lodged these many years. With luck, they can be wrenched loose from the cooling water hoses.

5. Save the not yet broken main water cooler and the tranny cooler. They're still good as replacements. The leaking oil cooler can be chucked.

6. Replumb carefully. This means, I think, temporarily placing the coolers in position and dry fitting the various hoses. I'm pretty sure that most of it is ¾". But. Engine to heat exchanger is unknown. Brian at American Diesel will know. [Update: I was totally wrong. It's 1", not ¾".]

7. Fit the hose clamps and hoses into place securely. Perhaps some jockeying of parts to prevent chafe.

8. Finally tighten the various heat exchangers down.

9. Refill the Prestone coolant. I know that I'm never supposed to reuse engine coolant. But. It may be a huge pain in the ass to get more. I don't mind ordering hose from West Marine to be shipped to a marina. But 3 gallons of antifreeze cost a fortune to ship.

10. Start the engine and pressure test, eyeballing for drips.

Travel