checking the coolant level on a c26

[howardwaldner]

I am having difficulty knowing when to add coolant on my Volvo penta d3 220HP engine
the filler cap is accessible but the way it is positioned makes it impossible to see the min - max levels in the expansion tank that is immediately below the coolant filler cap

I don't want to under or overfill but not sure how to judge this

any help and advice welcome - the instruction manual is not helpful given the installation location

Thks

Howard

 

[BB marine]

The little Beckson plate installed is worthless in my estimation. I'm not sure why Fluid motion did not make the step easily removable to gain access to the most important components of the engine coolant recovery tank, raw water coolant pump, air cleaner and Belts. I owned my C26 for a month and realized that if I picked up a bag or bunch of sea weed and took out a raw water pump I was going to need to be tow=ed in because access to the pump was tough and would take time to take things apart to get to it.

I did what Fluid motion should have done. I made the step removable by pulling two latches.
It takes less than a minute and the step is removed and I have full access to the engine starboard side, easy access to the bilge pumps.

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[howardwaldner]

Absolutely. It’s a terrible design

Thanks so much for this. What a great idea. I will follow your example and adapt this as per your idea. This is a non structural piece so our solution is brilliant

Thanks so much

Howard

 

[SJI Sailor]

Awesome work, Bryan.

C30 is similar -- can remove the cap but not see inside because of the cabin door frame. For a while, I used a cheap flexible neck "borescope" inspection camera to look.

Mostly, however, I just use my finger -- there is a small fill-to-here lip inside the cap. I figure that if I touch that and it's wet, then we're good. And BTW I also fill it with a turkey baster!