Water running from under Westerbeke

[stwagstaff]

My Westerbeke starts and runs fine (at the moment) but there is a substantial stream of cool water that appears to run from somewhere directly under the engine, at about the middle of its length, while the engine's running.  (The water stops when I stop the engine.) I would estimate the flow at about 10 gallons per hour -- little enough that the bilge pump has no trouble keeping up, but enough to be problematic. There is no sign of leaks from hoses or any of the cooling system looking at from every practical angle.  I also don't see any sign of oil in the leaked water.

Obviously this shouldn't be happening and I'm worried it's damaging the engine by getting saltwater where it doesn't belong and robbing it of cooling water pressure. It seems to be some kind of failed seal, but I can't see the source from any angle. I have yet to stick a mirror or remote camera under there to see where it's coming from, but that's next.

I've read about the "weep holes" coming from the Westerbeke's raw water pump, but I can't see them, or see water coming out anywhere. Does it make sense that it would seem to be gushing 0out of the bottom of the engine at roughly the middle of its length? What should I expect to find if I manage  to look under there?

[POG]

When I bought POG there was a river coming from under the engine also.  Turned out to be the raw water pump seal that was shot and the water was spurting out from the holes about the middle of the pump body.  Another consequence of the diminished cooling water flow was just a trickle coming out the stern exhaust tube and lots of white smoke as the small amount of cooling water in the exhaust system was mostly turned to steam.

If this is not your problem you have to investigate the hose from the pump to the oil cooler or the oil cooler itself for a leak.  Best of luck.

[RayNWanda]

Does it matter whether the engine is in gear or not? The mounting hardware for the strut is under there.

[Randy]

Could be coming from raw water pump or a leaking hose to a cooler. If it's just in the bilge, maybe even running down from the rudder packing gland? Need to get an inspection mirror and a flashlight and dive in. Should be a pretty easy fix.

[stwagstaff]

For those who saw my last post, I jinxed myself. It turns out, it's not the raw water pump seal, but the oil cooler is rotted through and that's the source of the water leak. No information, yet, as to whether there's water in the engine, now.  How big a job is this to replace myself? The replacement part is available for about $200 with shipping. The marina mechanic is quoting me $750, plus tax, for the parts and repair. ($399 for the same part, plus three hours labor.)

$200 and a few hours of banged elbows sounds better than $800, but I'm not sure how big a job it is. I know the part is buried behind other stuff. Anyone done this job?

[RayNWanda]

 If the oil cooler is leaking to the outside, you probably do not have water in the engine. When you get water in the engine is when it starts to leak to the oil side inside the cooler. There are no outward signs, suddenly the engine crankcase has water in it. Having said that, you do need to verify there is no water in the crankcase. Changing the cooler is not a big deal. The worst part is going to be getting at it. It is going to be difficult to see what you are doing.

[INCOMMUNICADO]

Stwagstaff,I replaced my oil cooler 11-2-11 the only thing it cools is the transmission.Description of cooler 5 x 3/4 x 3/8 it is the exact match to the original.I ordered it on line from Lighthouse Marine for 74.95 Item #skpoo18 total with freight 84.90.Changing the cooler took me about one and a half hours I also changed the hose.Don't know were your cooler is located but 800.00 is way to much.Good luck  Allen

[SailingSeaDragon]

Stwagstaff

As mentioned earlier, the oil cooler replacement is a straight forward project that takes less than 2 hours with clean up and everything... I replaced Sea Dragon's last winter and while I was at it I replaced the oil hoses... The removal and replacement of the oil hoses is by far the most difficult and messest part of the project. So -I suggest that you replace them while you have everything out.... Note there are two different sets of hoses for the Westerbeke W40 a short set & long set so measure the hoses carefully before ordering new ones.

Garner

[RayNWanda]

I have a dead engine here with an engine oil cooler on it. Abracadabra had a combined engine oil/ transmission oil cooler and a velvet drive transmission. If it is an engine oil cooler it is easy to identify. The oil hoses go straight to the filter base.

[stwagstaff]

OK, I've gotten in and gotten dirty. Oil cooler is extracted. Thought I would have to remove the manifold overhead, but was able to get on my belly and get at the hose connections without doing that. I had to remove the shift cable from the transmission, and the heat exchanger and hose, also the oil sensor. The big pain, as expected, was disconnecting the hoses. There's very little room to move in there. Now, my question is, I have the hoses extracted and I don't know how they're measured or which pair I need. The parts catalog lists the following:

34-1 - 19151 : Hose, Oil 8-3/4 LG Cooler TC Filter Adapter 18972
34-2 - 11926 : Hose, Oil 10-1/4, LG Cooler to Filter Adapter 24264
35-1 - 19150: Hose, Oil 8-3/8 LG Filter Adapter 18972  to Cooler
35-2 - 11926: Hose, Oil, 10-1/4 LG Filter Adapter 24264 to Cooler

My problem is, when I measure the hoses, I don't know if I'm supposed to measure from face of the cooler to the face of the filter holder, or from the end of the threaded male connector to the end of the threaded male connector on the other end of the hose. The problem is, if I measure one way, the hoses are bout 8-3/4 inches, if I measure the other way, they're about 10-1/4 inches! I can't tell which one I'm looking at. I also don't know which filter adapter I have. Can anyone tell, from these photos? (You also get a good look at how the little beast failed and you can just barely see there it was living before extraction.) Sorry about the blurry pics, but they're the best I could get with my lousy iPhone camera.


https://plus.google.com/photos/115627829333862295694/albums/5808567213229975953?authkey=CIuokq7VnY3YqwE

[stwagstaff]

OK, nevermind. I found the alternate 24264 oil filter adapter in the diagram - that one is mounted horizontally. Mine is the 18972, vertically-mounted filter, which means I need these hoses:

34-1 - 19151 : Hose, Oil 8-3/4 LG Cooler TC Filter Adapter 18972
35-1 - 19150: Hose, Oil 8-3/8 LG Filter Adapter 18972  to Cooler


Thanks, everyone, for your help!

[RayNWanda]

You have part numbers- I'd call the local Westerbeke dealer and price them. You may can get hydraulic hoses built for less money.

[INCOMMUNICADO]

I agree with Ray,take the hoses to a hydraulic shop or NAPA have them made the same.Then go on line order the cooler (Lighthouse Marine is one option).Westerbeke makes no parts they convert engines to marine use. Allen

[SailingSeaDragon]

Below are the measurements of the oil line hoses.

Westerbeke Part Number 19151



And Westerbeke Part Number 11926



You can have them made up for about 2/3 the price of ordering them - Note: the fittings on both ends of the hose are not the same, so take the hoses with you.

You might ask, why do I have pictures of both sizes...? Well I, like stwagstaff, was confused on how to measure the hoses to identify the correct part #. With the assistance of the Westerbeke parts person, I was able to order the wrong one the first time (Longer Two) when what I needed was the shorter two..

Good Luck,
Garner

[stwagstaff]

Wow,
That's a great tip. I hadn't thought of going to a radiator / hydraulic shop to get these made. I only found two places that have the hoses listed online (Torrensen Marine, and Discount Marine Source) but they don't have them in stock -- have to get them from a distributor -- so it's going to take days just to ship them out. The going rate is $63 to $69, each. Talk about getting hosed...

From what I can tell, the oil cooler part comes from 20 different dealers, but there are only two unique parts available, the one that Torrensen, and a couple of other dealers, sells under the Westerbeke name. It includes the separate bracket and pipe clamp and runs about $400.

The one that everyone else, including Ebay, has, is from Seakamp (a factory near Seattle - http://www.seakamp.com/). This goes for around $175, depending on who's selling. Most places don't stock it. I'm guessing they just have it drop shipped from the factory. It does not come with a bracket, but that can be found separately if you don't want to make your own, as part number 24840 ($35). The oil cooler shows up as part number 24889CN, but seems to be interchangeable with 11518CN and 24581CN. I haven't been able to determine what the difference is, but my old cooler, from a 4-107, has a welded on bracket. I'm ordering the detached bracket part separately. The "CN" stands for copper-nickle, in case anyone's wondering. Also, in case you're wondering, a detailed inquiry to Seakamp was utterly unhelpful; this was the reply I received:

"go to a dealer on line"

Also, FYI, the Seakamp factory is closed on Fridays, in case you're in a rush.

If you're a glutton for punishment, here's the contact info:

sales@seakamp.com
Seakamp Engineering, Inc.
3985 Hammer Dr
Bellingham, WA  98226
Phone: (360) 734-2788
Fax: (360) 671-0658