Recently I started thinking about adding closed cooling system to my engine. My maxum 2003 2500 with 5.7 merc is currently raw water cooled. I bought the boat 4 years ago with 200 river hours on it and currently got 500 hours on the engine. I'm keeping my boat roughly 6 months in the water every season in salt water in ny bay area. Engine runs well and it will be a shame to have to replace it due to salt water corrosion. Also I've replaced manifold and risers 3 seasons ago. I'm thinking about full system which will also protect manifold and risers. Is it worth it? Is there any downside of this solution besides the fact that system costs about $1200? Main question is isnt to late for my engine to invest in it although in case of failure I can remove the system and install it on a new engine. Thanks in advance.
I spent $300-400 on each of my engines to convert them with used systems. Makes me feel a lot better. I also added a hose to connect my garden hose right before the raw water pump. I flush the heat exchanger and manifolds after every use with that. Hoping that gets me more years.
I would like to get full kit which supposedly also protects manifolds and risers.Set of manifolds and raisers is about $1000 parts only which pretty much pays for the closed cooling system.
A full system includes the engine and manifolds but not the risers. The risers are where the raw water is mixed with the exhaust gases to cool them down before they exit the boat. If you add the system now you will need to flush it several times as rust and scale will come out of the engine and collect in the heat exchanger. IMO I would not add it until/if you repower.
Closed cooling system
Linear Mode
