coolant flush on 340 Sundancer 2001

[koolpaco]

I have 340 2001 Sundancer. From what I can tell the coolant has never been flushed. Asked the dealer about it today and told me I should do it and the price was a huge $1,100. They said it was a real tight spot down there and it takes 9 hours to complete on the two 8.1s. Seems a little pricey for something the manufactures recommends once a year.

should I get another price????

Any thoughts. or is it B.O.A.T.

 

[quality time]

Why not do it yourself and save $1100?

 

[koolpaco]

Sounds simple enough. But looking to have someone do. Is this a reasonable price!!

 

[rondds]

9 hours of labor for that? i could be wrong but that sounds AWFULLY HIGH. i'd definitely get another estimate or two!

 

[fc3]

I have 340 2001 Sundancer. From what I can tell the coolant has never been flushed. Asked the dealer about it today and told me I should do it and the price was a huge $1,100. They said it was a real tight spot down there and it takes 9 hours to complete on the two 8.1s. Seems a little pricey for something the manufactures recommends once a year.

should I get another price????

Any thoughts. or is it B.O.A.T.

Exactly what are you asking? If your boat has a closed cooling system, the coolant should be good for five years. The raw water system needs to be flushed more often. Either way, nine hours is a long time to do either or both jobs.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[sam]

get yourself a tester for antifreeze at pep boys and test your antifreeze

 

[sbw1]

What type of coolant do you have? Orange or green? If orange, have its ph determined. That tells you if it needs to be changed or not. Yes, the labor charge seems very high.

 

[rondds]

if they get $1100 for flushing the raw water side, i'm quitting my job and starting a marine handyman business TOMORROW!

i'd have to guess the quoted price is to flush the closed cooling system. a neighbor at the marina with a 1990 silverton with crusaders did this when he first bought his boat. he did it himself several times b/c he found a surprising amount of crud in there each time he drained it out. apparently, the prior owner of his boat really neglected it. there's a hard to reach plug beneath the engine that needs to be removed. you drain and collect the coolant, close the plug, pour in water and some chemical made for just such a job (radiator flush??), then run the engine, drain and repeat. not rocket science, but i'd imagine the HARDEST part is getting that drain plug. you could probably also do this by pulling some hoses and draining, adding water, and repeating until the coolant is almost totally diluted, but that would be more time consuming.

could you rig something up to draw water from a source (bucket or hose) on one end of the system, then pull a hose at the other end of the system and collect the water/coolant from that point. run it til it's clear, the add new coolant? the problem i foresee here is you never really drain the system completely so how do you know the ratio you are entering back into the system when you refill??