QSC 8.3 Aftercooler Question

[Bobby Harvey]

I took off my Aftercooler cap on one engine and this rubber washer was on the inside. The cap on the other engine did not have one when I took it off. There was not one of these included in the Aftercooler and Heat Exchanger repair kit (pre-2021) that I ordered from Seaboard so I figured it must not be necessary or critical. But I don’t know.

Is this an important component for this Aftercooler? Does it need to be there? It has been running fine like this ever since I owned it and even before. This is the first time I have had it off since I owned it. Can anyone enlighten me about this?

Thanks in advance. 

Topic

[Bobby Harvey]

You know what I did. I went to a marine service shop that services these types of aftercoolers and they have a  pile of aftercooler parts (unbelievable, not very encouraging). They were kind enough to let me scrounge out a couple of pretty good ones from there for free. I buy a lot of stuff there. Not the best solution but at least I didn’t have to purchase another whole expensive repair kit from Cummins just for those. Thats the only way to get them. Came out pretty good on that one.  

[Bobby Harvey]

No worries, Gene. You answered my question. Thank you.

[Gene Fuller]

That is the aftercooler, not HX.

Sorry. I did not realize that the QSC used a single-ended water connection.

[John]

Let us know if you find it.

That is the aftercooler, not HX.

The HX is straight across as pictured.

[Bobby Harvey]

It is good to know it is not something catastrophic. I kind of figured it was something like that but not sure how critical it is. It was like that when I bought it and it has been running like that for some time with no issues. The rubber divider wasn’t included in the repair kit I bought. Not sure how to find that but I will look for it.

Hey, thanks a lot for your help. I appreciate it.

Cheers!

[Gene Fuller]

That is the heat exchanger cap, not the aftercooler.

The purpose of that piece of rubber is to ensure that the cooling water (seawater) passes through the entire heat exchanger and does not simply take a shortcut from the inlet to the outlet. (Those are the two pipes that can be seen in your photos.)

It should be there, but the result is not necessarily catastrophic if it is missing. Some cooling water may bypass the heat exchanger, but in many cases there will still be enough flow through the heat exchanger to cool the engine. Depends on how hard you are running, the seawater temperature, the condition of the overall cooling system, etc, etc.

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