Volvo penta D3 zincs

[Tugboat Bob]

Does anyone know how many zincs are on the Volvo Penta D3 engine?

 

[BB marine]

(0) The D3 does not have anode protection.

 

[Tugboat Bob]

Is this the reason why my heat exchanger corroded and had to be replaced?

 

[BB marine]

I can't say why it corroded. I would ask how often did you flush it? Salt water is corrosive and will destroy metal if not maintained. I highly recommend flushing engine components made out of Aluminum as often as possible when operating in salt water. If you are going to let the boat sit in the water for a season when you are not using it you can extend the component life if you flush it with fresh water and leave it full of fresh water instead of salt water. If you have a new exchanger start doing that and you may help extend the exchanger life and help the after cooler last longer too. If the exchanger is damaged I would imagine the after cooler is not far from going too. That could be an expensive repair if it goes. That could cause salt water to enter into the engine. Good luck, I hope that is the end of your issues.

 

[Tugboat Bob]

Thank you, you’re right, it had to be replaced and it was expensive along with the turbo charger. Now the question is how do you flush the engine? I heard if you use too much pressure you can damage the engine as well. I do have a hose connection on the raw water side after the strainer. Will that do? Thank you for your advice.

 

[BB marine]

I installed a flush port on my C26. This was used anytime I was not planning on running the engine for a few days and the boat was in salt water. I had a ball valve attached to the sea strainer so I could attach a freshwater flush hose to it. This was my procedure.

I used a 5 gallon bucket I kept on board for a wash bucket and also used it for a flush bucket.

I used a clear reinforced 3/4" ID hose 10' long that had garden hose fittings attached at each end

The hose was attached to a garden hose fitting that was connected to one end of the ball valve at the sea strainer. gallery2.php?g2_itemId=52085

I placed the 5 gallon bucket on the swim platform and filled it full of water and placed the other end of the 3/4" hose into the 5 gallon bucket

I started the engine with the raw water thru hull valve open and ran the engine for a few minutes with seawater

I turned the shore water spigot back on and the water would over flow out of the bucket on the swim platform

I opened the fresh water flush ball valve and when I saw the fresh water entering the sea strainer I closed the thru hull seacock valve. The engine was now pulling from the bucket and pumping freshwater thru the system at about 5 gallons a minute

The shore water spigot used with a 5/8" hose will not keep up for a long time I would let it run for 2 or three minutes and then the bucket would start to run dry. At that point I shut the engine down. I knew I had flushed all the salt water out of the raw water cooling and replaced it with fresh water.

I closed the flush valve and left the through hull valve closed too. I would attach the "KEY FOB" chain and float to the through hull valve handle so I would remember to open the valve before starting the engine.

This procedure took about 10 minutes from start to finish.


I agree that using a hose direct to the system could over pressure the pump seal and also possibly enter water into the exhaust system if you are not careful. The procedure I used would prevent both from happening.