QSB 5.9 Maintenance Question

[Darryl Peck]

Tony and others…

Last fall we purchased a 2011 Grand Banks 41EU with Cummins QSB 5.9 425HP engines and Zeus pods. After bringing her home 2,300 trouble-free miles from Holland Michigan we needed to do some service. On a subsequent trip we had one minor issue that required a call to Cummins of Jacksonville. Their tech came to the boat and fixed the small issue, but I did take advantage of the time we had together to ask his input on an upcoming 1,000 hour service. I had planned to use my local, and hugely experienced diesel tech to do the service as Cummins would have charged me an absolutely insane amount of money.

In any case, I asked specifically about the coolers. He asked me about the operating temps and I told him that both engines run about 174 degrees and are never more than 1-2 degrees apart. He said not to touch the coolers when doing the 1,000 hour service in that case and that he sees more problems from servicing them than from leaving them be if they appear to be working well.

My local tech completed the 1,000 hour (really just a 250 and a 500) service without flushing the coolers or heat exchangers and the engines are running great. So, should we go back and look at the coolers, or let things be for the time being?

I know you always like a bit of background, so here is the history:

The boat was ordered by a gentleman who got ill before it was delivered. Therefore she sat in climate-controlled dry storage for nearly three years. The second owners ran the boat in both fresh and salt water.

We live in coastal Georgia, so the boat is most certainly living in salt water at this time.

I am not sure it matters in this issue, but here is a photo of the starboard engine as it’s mounted. Thanks much.

Darryl

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Robert Wuagon

Topic

[Burton Freeman]

2011 41 EU

Darryl, I believe we are now the owners of your 41EU. We are chasing a steering actuator / trim leak now. I left you a message and would love to pick your memory. Small world! 

[Jesse Frederick]

Thanks!

Thanks for the reply Darryl! Really appreciate it. As long as the fitting leak doesn’t get worse … the plan is to head to Hilton Head where I can either get a replacement part and DYI it / or find a Merc tech. 🙂 I’ve had great luck with the Cummins/Zeus package for the last 5 years… hopefully just a small wrinkle. Take care!

[Darryl Peck]

Jesse,

I haven’t owned the boat with the Zeus pods for a couple of years now, but the only techs I was able to find are MarineMax in Jacksonville, and Cummins Service in Jacksonville. I know there is a MarineMax in Savannah, and a Cummins in either Savannah or Charleston, but I don’t know if either of them has a Zeus tech. This was the most frustrating part about owning the Zeus pods, a real shortage of techs who understand them.

Cummins-Jacksonville (904) 378-1902
MarineMax-Jacksonville (904) 338-9970

Good luck!

Darryl

[Jesse Frederick]

Sabre 40 Pod

Thanks Darryl!
I realize your post was several years ago… I’m currently in Fernandina, FL on route to Delaware in my Sabre 40 SE. Just noticed a small leak in a jic fitting on my starboard Zeus pod. Since I’ll be transiting Georgia in the next day or two… wondering if you have a Cummins contact you’d recommend in your area? First time on the forum here so not sure about the ability to PM…
Appreciate any local recommendations in Georgia or even S Carolina / Hilton Head area as we travel north.
Jesse

[Rob Schepis]

The problem with the WWM approach to any maintenance item is that the time of need could (and normally would) creep up on you at an inoppurtune time. This can be especially bad in your case since you are not a DIY and will need to rely on others. You will also not be able to establish a baseline for going forward. I say just get it all done on your next planned downtime.

[David Marchand]

Well, I agree with all that has been said above as long as it applies only to the after cooler. Yes that one needs routine servicing as failure of the o-ring joint will let salt water into the engine.

But for all of the other salt water coolers- the main heat exchanger and oil coolers I do think monitoring engine temp is a good way of predicting need for service.

David

[Philip]

Ask your mechanic to describe his service process in detail. If their description doesn’t match the Seaboard Way I’d consider other options.

[Darryl Peck]

Thanks Bill. Truly appreciate the feedback. I am going to share all this info with my local tech and discuss it with him. I learned a long time ago to leave the wrench turning to those with skill. Yes, I know it’s insane to own a boat without having good mechanical skills, but I love boating and made the choice to buy a boat knowing it would mean paying others to do things that others find simple.

Darryl

1 user thanked author for this post.

Jesse Frederick

[Bill Desmarais]

Daryl,

I own a new Recon 6BTA 370. Three seasons now (5 month season up here in Ma/NH) just turning 150 hrs.
The after cooler on my 6BTA 370 is identical to the one on your QSB 425s.

I purchased my ReCon Cummins 6BTA 370 from Seaboard Marine back in Dec. of 2013.

Before the engine left the Seaboard Marine facility in Cal. the after cooler was taken apart and greased per “Tony’s Tip” specs.

I re-serviced the after cooler last season. IMO as stated by Phillip it is routine maintenance to service the coolers every 2-3 seasons regardless of hours on the engine.

Here are some pics of my after coolers. I buy the kits from Seaboard and do the work myself.
Not very hard to do if you can turn a wrench and maybe an extra set of hands.

Keep us posted,

Bill D

[Darryl Peck]

Phillip,

It’s a thought, although I am just about the worst mechanic on the planet. I think I can get my local guy to handle this though. He’s been around marine diesels for decades.

Darryl

[Philip]

Daryl,

Ever thought about removing the cooler yourself and sending them to Seaboard? Nothing rocket since, just hose clamps/plumbing bolts and mounting bolts.

[Darryl Peck]

Thanks Phillip. Actually we have only 1,025 hours on the engines, not 2,300. And the boat sat unused for almost three years, so only really 4 years of actual use.

Point taken about Cummins techs. We have Cummins in Savannah and Jacksonville, but at the time we needed service we were close to Jacksonville. Both locations have only one marine tech each, so not too many options.

Darryl

[Philip]

Just my two cents…

At 2300 hours and coming up on 7 years of marine age I would absolutely dive into the coolers.

And I might consider a new mechanic as anyone that judges cooler condition by engine temp is not giving you the best advice. Servicing the cooler is only partly about cleaning the cooling bundles to maintain efficient cooling. More importantly it’s about maintaining the integrity of the oring seals whose failure can cause the engine to ingest water which is bad.

The comment about seeing more issues than solutions says something about knowing what your doing and doing the job correctly. Most Cummins techs don’t know anything other than the Cummins way which has proven less than ideal. Spend some time reading this site on how to service the coolers and than start talking to mechanics until you find one that can describe the proper way to you. And I wouldn’t hesitate to send them across county to Seaboard and know they were 100% done right.

Coolers are a maintenance item and ignoring them will only cost you $$$$ down the road, You should be looking at servicing those coolers every 2-3 years max which can be extended if you fresh water flush EVERY time to every 4-5 years but they are still a maintenance item. I always figure maintenance is controllable, catastrophic failures from lack of that controllable maintenance is now uncontrollable.

[Author]

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