600 HR Cummins Service

Yes. They are working on them over the next two weeks. I am not looking forward to the 1000 hour service.

Ken
 
Thanks guys. I know it needs to be done, I'm thinking I may either take them down to a local radiator shop or have a mechanic of the family do the complete job.
 
Good reading there.
 
CAMELLA said:
Why is their price $3k and I was quoted almost double? Granted my quote also included valve adjustment.
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That is odd. There are definitely regional variations in labor charges. This publication may be a couple of years old. It seems that labor costs have skyrocketed in the last 5-10 years.
 
They have to pay for the new improved healthcare! It's amazing how high the burden for our electricians is. They get there wage and the burden is another 89% on top of their base pay rate! For about 3 years they received raises but it all went to the burden, mostly health & welfare.
 
Take a look at sbmar.com its the company that runs the boatdiesel website. Look in the classified section and scrolldown, or email tony at tony@sbmarcom. Since you are down for the winter, I think he had a way to ship them to him and he does it right and sends them back. Might be an option since you are not in a hurry.

Matt
 
kevin27 said:
Make sure you get the aftercoolers done correctly. This includes removing and cleaning the cores replacing o rings and applying waterproof grease to seals. This need to be done every 2 years or you will be risking major problems. I know first hand as I replaced my aftercoolers 4 months after I bought the boat at the cost of 6k just for the parts. Internal leaking will cause premature engine wear also.
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Thought I'd follow up on this post with my experience. I bought my 6CTA Cummins boat in November/2013 with 1025 hours and 13 years old. Been spending the offseason getting all the loose ends completed and getting a full maintenance cycle on the engines. During the aftercooler removal/cleaning we found excessive corrosion in the port aftercooler with no evidence it had ever been removed/cleaned in its 12 years. Cummins mechanic figured it came from condensation of moisture from the warm air collecting at the bottom of the cooler, and not being drained over time. This was compounded by the appearance that the lower zinc on this cooler hadn't been changed in a long time, most likely because it was so hard to get at. So, I bought a new aftercooler for that engine. Starboard side was fine. Mechanic figures it also was never removed and cleaned either, but the moisture was kept down by the frequent changing of the bottom zinc (its right there, easy to get at).

I am now going to go on a three year cycle for the aftercooler removal and cleaning and will be checking zincs every three months, no matter how much I have to contort myself to loosen bolts.
 
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ZZ13 said:
Thought I'd follow up on this post with my experience. I bought my 6CTA Cummins boat in November/2013 with 1025 hours and 13 years old. Been spending the offseason getting all the loose ends completed and getting a full maintenance cycle on the engines. During the aftercooler removal/cleaning we found excessive corrosion in the port aftercooler with no evidence it had ever been removed/cleaned in its 12 years. Cummins mechanic figured it came from condensation of moisture from the warm air collecting at the bottom of the cooler, and not being drained over time. This was compounded by the appearance that the lower zinc on this cooler hadn't been changed in a long time, most likely because it was so hard to get at. So, I bought a new aftercooler for that engine. Starboard side was fine. Mechanic figures it also was never removed and cleaned either, but the moisture was kept down by the frequent changing of the bottom zinc (its right there, easy to get at).

I am now going to go on a three year cycle for the aftercooler removal and cleaning and will be checking zincs every three months, no matter how much I have to contort myself to loosen bolts.
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Good post, Bill.

The issue with aftercoolers (as it was explained to me by my Cummins tech) is that even though they might still look clean, corrosion is the primary issue that may create internal leak. So, the 3 yrs service solves all of this. t the same time the transmission coolers get inspected, and serviced if needed. So, this is very important maintenance items I don't think anyone should skip. Yes, it's a costly service, but at least you can spread apart heat exchanger service, which I was recommended to do every 5 years.
 
Alex F said:
Good post, Bill.

The issue with aftercoolers (as it was explained to me by my Cummins tech) is that even though they might still look clean, corrosion is the primary issue that may create internal leak. So, the 3 yrs service solves all of this. t the same time the transmission coolers get inspected, and serviced if needed. So, this is very important maintenance items I don't think anyone should skip. Yes, it's a costly service, but at least you can spread apart heat exchanger service, which I was recommended to do every 5 years.
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I thought the heat exchangers were the aftercoolers. So, you remove the covers, cores, flush everything and do o-rings every 3 years and remove the exchangers and send them out every 5 years?
 
Heat exchangers cool the engine and have coolant running through the block on one side and seawater providing the cooling on the other side. I don't think they can be taken apart and cleaned like the aftercoolers. I think you just flush them and replace the coolant. But the experts here may clarify that.

The aftercoolers cool the air being taken into the engine to support combustion.
 
Raw water to coolant heat exchangers have end bells you can take off and rod them out. Need a new gasket and good to go. I did this service after 5 years and at the same time did a coolant flush, pressure test and renew fluids.
 
JV II said:
I thought the heat exchangers were the aftercoolers. So, you remove the covers, cores, flush everything and do o-rings every 3 years and remove the exchangers and send them out every 5 years?
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Mike,

Those are two different components. Here's a pic of my engines (not my ER though):

HE_and_Aftercoolers.jpg

I'm told that Aftercoolers need 3 yrs service interval, at the same time gear coolers get inspected and serviced if needed. The heat exchangers need 5 yrs service interval.

Here are the itemized breakdown of the the work that's involved for the aftercoolers service (I crossed off few other items from the list which were not related to aftercoolers work):

Aftercoolers_Itemized_Work.jpg

I do all maintenance myself, but big ticket items like this I prefer to have performed by pros.

There are two options with the aftercoolers service. The basic and complete. The complete includes all the hoses and clamps to be replaced. The time I did this (the first spring after I got the boat) I used the complete service, to have a clean start.
 
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Thanks Alex. Good stuff. Where is the transmission oil cooler located (gear oil cooler as referenced in your list)? And what does "rod out" mean?
 
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ZZ13 said:
Thanks Alex. Good stuff. Where is the transmission oil cooler located (gear oil cooler as referenced in your list)? And what does "rod out" mean?
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Bill, I don't have a good pic of exact location, but this is what it would look like (just in general), but it would be white color on our engines:

transmission_oil_cooler.jpg
 
Rod out meens they take a thin piece of stainless steel like a dipstick and run it in and out of each coolant passage,usually they use a chemical first to breakdown any crud to lessen the chance of poking a hole in the passage.It is very similar to cleaning a radiator which is hardly ever done anymore because radiators are much cheaper now.
 
a partial glimpse of the gear cooler can be seen in Alex's picture. enough to give you an idea of where it is. In his picture, motor on the left, it is between the aftercooler and the engine block, you can see a bronze 90 degree ell on top hooked to the oil line coming from the transmission.
 
Unfortunately, I don't have better pic than this one. As Mark pointed out, there you can see a small part of the gear cooler of the port engine (bottom left of the whole image), but I guess it's enough to help you locate it on your boat.

HE_Aftercoolers_Gear_Cooler.jpg
 
Would fresh water flushwhen back at the dock reduce these service requirements? I see systems for sale that you hook up your water hose and flush the engine with fresh water when finished running for the day. I would happily do this to save $5000 every three years....

Does the corrosion happen most when running or when sitting? If sitting with fresh water in the coolers I would think the boat would have pretty much the service interval of a fresh water boat...

What do you guys think?
 
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