Cost to service aftercoolers QSB 6.7, 1038 hours

[Dave Winkler]

Sorry if this has been discussed before.

I have a 2017 Sea Ray 460 FLY w QSB-6.7 550HP. The engines have 1038 hours. I purchased the boat with 175 hours. I’m now looking at servicing the aftercoolers. I have never de-scaled the raw water side. I put new zincs in every year.
In thinking about this I thought a de-scale may be good to clear the coolers and Heat exchangers before dis-assembling the Aftercoolers. I was wondering what your thoughts were on that?
I will probably have the local Boat yard do the work. They have Cummins certification.

The boat is located in the Northeast at the moment, just outside Boston, under shrinkwrap.

Can someone give me a rough order of magnitude of what I should expect the cost to be? (Parts & Labor)
Is this a good plan to de-scale THEN disassemble? Is there anything else I should know that needs attention with the engine?

I know for one I will have them do the sea water impellers and drive belts. What about fuel cooler and heat exchanger. The boat was running great when we put it away 10/31/20.

I know I need this service. The big issue I have is: I have been trying to sell the boat. This week 1/4/21, I got an offer on the boat. The offer is contingent on some of this service. I am sort of at the mercy of the boat yard to charge whatever they want for the job. That’s why I’m asking what you feel is a fair cost (parts and labor) for the work I have described. Labor rates in the northeast average $100-125/Hr

Thank you for all you do with your company and the resources it provides.

Topic

[Tony Athens]

In the boat————-That is only a maybe based upon the skill of the mechanic and understanding of what needs to be accomplished, and what things look like when pulled apart……………..Making that call is 100% up to the “understanding” of it all…. At this time with me doing this for 30+ YRS, I have met very few “techs” that would qualify, but quite a few “owners operators” that do………………………………………..Explain that..

[Dave Winkler]

Thank You Tony for your reply.
Yes I do understand to properly service the AC they need to be dissembled.
Once put back together (with lots of grease) they may even be able to be serviced while still in the boat since they are mounted horizontal and there is room.
Thanks again.
Dave

[Dave Winkler]

Thank You Paul that does help.
Dave

[Paul]

My estimate for the service

I just got an estimate for the AC service in FL, ~$1,600 per side ($540 is parts) and another ~$225 per for the cleaning/pressure test. Includes new seals, zincs, paint hoses and clamps.

About $2k for the HX and also $225 for cleaning/pressure test.

Hope this helps.

[Tony Athens]

Proper Aftercooler servicing

Keep this in mind when you put your trust into a “Cummins Certified Mechanic” and aftercooler servicing.. Even in the latest Cummins schools attended buy one of my employees last year, aftercooler servicing was not addressed properly–Basically no different than it was 25+ yrs ago when I was going to a variety of their schools… ………..Your call as to how you oversee the job..

As to descaling an aftercooler like shown in RYDLYME videos— this has nothing to do with “proper aftercooler maintenance” .. This only addresses a build up of scale inside the tubes for old zinc. calcium, lime, etc (organics, old impeller pieces etc are totally ignored with this type of service) , and IMO, also increases the chances of an “O”-ring breach with coolers that have never been continuously serviced regularly over the years…

Tony

[Dave Winkler]

Thank you all for your reply’s.
Update. The boat is now under agreement. I felt pretty comfortable with the Cummins cert tech at the boatyard. So we will be moving ahead with the job. I’ll post results when done. Thanks again for the help .
Dave

[firehoser75]

Good info from Phil.
I would not pay the mechanic to run a descaler before disassembly. The idea of taking the parts off the engine and disassembly is to completely clean them, often by sending them to a “radiator” shop (if the yard or mechanic does not do the acid cleaning at their shop). Also, ensure that the mechanic re-assembles the aftercoolers correctly following Tony’s procedures (lots of grease). It does not take much extra time (minutes) and grease is inexpensive. A lot of mechanics (including so called Cummins certified) do not do this completely. If you need new aftercoolers, make sure they are disassembled and greased before installation.
If you are going to this much trouble and expense, if it were me, I would take all of the cooling components off and give them the same treatment (fuel cooler, gear oil cooler, etc.). This would not increase your cost too much, but then the raw water cooling side would be completely serviced.
Just my thoughts.

[Philip]

Assuming you can disassemble the aftercoolers and they are serviceable (not corroded to bad) I would expect 25-30 hours to remove 2 aftercoolers and 2 heat exchangers, full disassembly, clean, pressure test, reassemble and install.

Extra time for impellers and belts etc.

Phil

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Tony Athens

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