I was going through my pictures and wanted to show something that all of you with QSM-11 Diesels need to look out for. There is a bracket on the back of the engine that holds the coolant reservoir (a very heavy cast item) and heat exchanger that appears to be a problem on many many QSM-11's. They tend to crack after a few years of use. Here's a shot:
I had both engine reservoir brackets exhibit the same crack and had some new ones fabricated and installed. The problem is that you have to pull off the coolant reservoir because ONE... JUST ONE... of the bolts on the bracket will not come off the head unless you pull off the reservoir. The port engine is "easy" but the starboard engine requires removing the floor in the salon on the 480 DB (and probably the 50 and 52 DB) to get at all the bolts holding the thing on..
(Sea Ray should really clean up after themselves before they lay the carpet down)
This is just an FYI post for what I did. I know that Matt (Pirate) did something different on his 480 DB that was much easier. Taking the floor out is about an hours worth of work. The carpet just pulls back after you remove the canvas cover snaps in the corners but you also have to remove the cabinet that sticks out in the salon. It's a good time to service the aftercooler.... especially if you've left a seacock closed and blew up an impeller.
This problem is well documented on boatdiesel but I thought I would mention how I addressed it here....
I had both engine reservoir brackets exhibit the same crack and had some new ones fabricated and installed. The problem is that you have to pull off the coolant reservoir because ONE... JUST ONE... of the bolts on the bracket will not come off the head unless you pull off the reservoir. The port engine is "easy" but the starboard engine requires removing the floor in the salon on the 480 DB (and probably the 50 and 52 DB) to get at all the bolts holding the thing on..
(Sea Ray should really clean up after themselves before they lay the carpet down)
This is just an FYI post for what I did. I know that Matt (Pirate) did something different on his 480 DB that was much easier. Taking the floor out is about an hours worth of work. The carpet just pulls back after you remove the canvas cover snaps in the corners but you also have to remove the cabinet that sticks out in the salon. It's a good time to service the aftercooler.... especially if you've left a seacock closed and blew up an impeller.
This problem is well documented on boatdiesel but I thought I would mention how I addressed it here....