Perkins 4107 in my Cal35C

[JSSailem]

Tried posting this on "Sailboat Owners", on of the respondents suggested I post it here on Cruiser Forum. I've read the forum postings but the process of working on a diesel is new to me. Tried a "BMW" (boat marina worker) but when told "Your engine is rock solid" found my self on an ebbing tide against a river current in the middle of the narrow channel and a dead engine.

So I'm going to try and get my engine going and would be grateful if you folks can help me through some of the questions I have.

Right now working on an overheating problem. After 15 - 20 minutes of running the engine she would overheat. Coolant tank down 4-5 quarts and observed water leaking from area of the water pump while getting sprayed by rusty water from the fan belt.

Removed the water pump and feels like the bearing is shot. Pulley is bit wobbly and the shaft makes a grating sound as I rotate it.

Ordered new pump.

So next step is to get the pulley pulled from the old pump. Clean it up. Press the pulley on the new pump. Attach the gaskets to the pump and then install the pump back on the boat.

Couple of questions.

1. When I refill the system should I put just water in it to test for any leaks then flush the system and put a 50/50 mix of coolant?
2. Or just put the coolant mix in the system?
3. Is there a way to flush the system now that I have the pump removed? Did not see much in the way of scale. But a fair amount of rusty water was present ( now in my bilge). Seems that with the pump off would be easy to flush any junk out the opening, just not sure how to attache water under pressure to make that happen.
4. When I refill the header tank is there a bleeding procedure or will the air in the system bleed itself into the header coolant tank?
5. Is there a lower drain to empty the coolant? I want to be sure that I can drain any old coolant out of the engine before I start adding fresh new coolant. There was a real flush of mostly water (now in the bilge) when I pulled the pump of the face of the engine.
6. I got the plate off the back of the water pump. See pictures. I scraped the old gasket and rust off. Looks pretty beat up from the pump impeller pounding it as the shot bearing allowed the shaft to wobble. Do I need to need to do anything to the surface of this plate?
7. When I reinstall the plate is there a gasket adhesive or sealer to use on diesel engines? I remember when putting gaskets under a car head cover my friends used a product called I think Pentax. Not sure if it is also used on diesel engines.

Thank you for your help.

[roverhi]

The stuff you are referring to is Permatex. It's a brand name and a bunch of sealants are marketed under the brand. Probably worth using the right one especially with the conditon of that plate. If that plate is part of the pump, otherwise the impeller rests against it, would think a new one would be part of the new pump.

Would use plan water as coolant just in case there are other issues with the cooling system. Don't need to waste coolant, fill the bilge with it, and pump it over board if there are other problems. When everything is back to normal, drain and refill with coolant.

Can't help you with the rest.

[model 10]

I hope you got the right pump as the shaft diameters are different on the 2 different pumps you can get. There are two pipe fittings in the top of the head for bleeding air. One in the front and one in rear. They usually have temp senders in them. It's best to remove them .

[JSSailem]

Thank you Peter and Guy.

Plate looks pretty beat up. Replacement pump does not come with plate. Looking at the function it appears the plate serves to force water out the hole and into the engine. While a perfect machined fit would serve to move more water volume not sure it is a necessary function as the pump impeller spins at engine rpm and as long as the coolant lines are clear then sufficient volume should be moving through the engine to bleed off the heat. But that is just my new owner guess. That is why I asked the question of you experienced boaters.

Sourced the pump for the 4107 from Perkins Distributor. They told me the difference from the 4108 is in the shaft size. Assured me that the pump I got was for my 107. On inspection the units look the same. Both shaft sizes are 5/8 in. I'll know for sure when I have the pulley assembly removed and pressed on to the new pump.

Peter I agree with you about using the right sealant for the gaskets. Just not much info about the right one for a marine diesel engine. Suspect for the experienced mechanic it is common knowledge. Guessing here but with engine temps reported to be in the 200 F or less suspect I can use any of the hi temp sealants, but not shellac as it is supposed to have a temp range of 150 F. Hope some one has some experience with a sealant that has worked well on their diesel. Otherwise I'll look to what I can get from the car mechanics and cross fingers.

Thanks Guy for the info on the pipe fittings.

So do you just open the sender until coolant/water starts coming out then tighten them back up?

Do this with engine cold or at idle?

Will they take a fitting so I can use them to force water in and through the motor to flush the system?

Maybe it is overkill to try the flushing process but with the rust I saw in the coolant water flushing seems long over due. Engine is old (1974) and pretty sure from the look of the engine the previous owners practiced delayed maintenance.

Thanks for your help.

[model 10]

Remove both plugs. Fill header tank till water comes out the rear. Reinstall rear plug. Start engine at idle, continue filling header tank till you have flow from the front plug, reinstall plug. There may be a plug in the exhaust manifold also.

[Cheechako]

On my 4-108 I got an airlock and overheated when I refitted the head. There was air around the thermostat so heat wouldn't transfer and it wouldn't open. The fix is to fill the block below the thermostat with water or coolant right up to the t-stat.
Not sure if this applies to your 4-107 or not.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

On my 4-108 I got an airlock and overheated when I refitted the head. There was air around the thermostat so heat wouldn't transfer and it wouldn't open. The fix is to fill the block below the thermostat with water or coolant right up to the t-stat.
Not sure if this applies to your 4-107 or not.

Might have been a non standard thermostat as there is supposed to be a small hole in it to prevent that.

[Lepke]

If you drill a very small hole in the thermostat side plate, air will expel and allow coolant to fill the engine. Some thermostats already have this hole. If not I always drill unless the engine has a bypass.
Otherwise air may keep thermostat closed until engine overheats because it doesn't transfer heat as well as water.
I have a 4108 generator engine and don't do any coolant bleed procedure except for the hole in thermostat.