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Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 5:14 AM Reply   
My 09 epic got hot last week so I assumed it was the impeller. I went to change it when I realized that I was low on antifreeze. I topped it off with a gallon. The next day it was gone. It needed another gallon to fill it up.

There's nothing in the bildge, engine or tranny oil. I checked to see if it was coming out the exhaust. It didn't seem like it.

I've added 6 gallons in the last few days. I don't know where it's going. This is driving me nuts. I only have 80 hours on this engine. This shouldn't be happening.

Today I filled it up and ran it at the dock, in gear, at idle for an hour. I didn't lose anything. I took it out and rode, didn't lose anything. I let it sit for 2 hours and I was down 1 gallon.

Why does it lose when it sits?
Why doesn't it lose when it runs?
Where could it be going?
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 5:15 AM Reply   
Sorry, it's got the 8.1L with the closed loop cooling.
Old     (Ewok01)      Join Date: Apr 2013       07-20-2015, 6:31 AM Reply   
I'm not a mechanic by trade but I turn the wrench on my boat and cars. If you're sure it's not in the oil or in the bilge it must be heading out the exhaust with the rest of the cooling water. I can see a scenario when the engine is hot and you turn it off the engine heats up the coolant and builds pressure like a car and the pressure is escaping through the water/water radiator and going out with the hot water through the exhaust into the lake.
Old     (baitkiller)      Join Date: Jan 2010       07-20-2015, 6:33 AM Reply   
Hole in the heat exchanger most likely. When the engine is running, the sea water pressure from the impeller pump is greater than the closed system pressure thus keeping the closed system full. Once the engine stops and the sea water side pressure drops to zero, the pressure in the hot closed side pushes the coolant out of the heat exchanger and out the exhaust with the lake water. Any other options mean the coolant would be in the bilge or oil or fuel.
Pull an end cap off of the heat exchange and pressurize the coolant. You will see it run out of one of the little tubes.
Sometimes they can be fixed, other times they must be replaced. A commercial (think trucks) radiator shop can handle it.
Old     (kx250frider617)      Join Date: Aug 2013       07-20-2015, 9:34 AM Reply   
I have an LS3 with closed cooling and the only time I lose coolant is if I'm listing the boat heavy for wake surfing. Otherwise my coolant level stays the same.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 11:40 AM Reply   
I just looked up the heat exchanger. It's a $1,067 part! This is unreal!!! This boat has 80 hours on it. I really thought it would be a little longer before I had to start dumping money into it.
Old     (wakebordr11)      Join Date: May 2001       07-20-2015, 12:28 PM Reply   
Get it tested - maybe it's not bad.
Old     (CPanner)      Join Date: May 2015       07-20-2015, 12:31 PM Reply   
Take it to a competent radiator shop. They can pressure test it and 99% of the time they can fix them. And if you do need to replace it you might want to shop around a little more, I got a quote for my 8.2L when I thought my heat exchanger was bad for $372.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 1:18 PM Reply   
I'm going to get it pressure tested first. If it turns out to be ok, where else could the antifreeze go?
Old     (TTyler89)      Join Date: Jun 2015       07-20-2015, 1:27 PM Reply   
In the block. Has your oil level risen at all? if not you could have a blown head gasket. That is the only thing the antifreeze touches besides the heat exchanger.

Last edited by TTyler89; 07-20-2015 at 1:36 PM.
Old     (wakebordr11)      Join Date: May 2001       07-20-2015, 2:22 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by joesell View Post
I'm going to get it pressure tested first. If it turns out to be ok, where else could the antifreeze go?
Are you positive it's not leaking and being pumped out the bilge? Check every hose carefully.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 3:49 PM Reply   
The oil looks great and the level hasn't come up at all.

If it was a head gasket, wouldn't some of it make it down to the pan?

While the engine was cooling and we were losing antifreeze, we were looking the engine over pretty closely. There was absolutely no coolant in the bidge. I did find a few hose clamps that I tightened, but none were leaking.
Old     (TTyler89)      Join Date: Jun 2015       07-20-2015, 4:17 PM Reply   
Quote:
If it was a head gasket, wouldn't some of it make it down to the pan?
Not necessarily. If it happened to blow next to a water jacket, it would be all internal. You wouldn't see it in the oil, nor the outside of the engine. If your heat exchanger checks out, run your boat on the trailer on the water hose and see if you can smell any antifreeze out the exhaust. That is a pretty good tell-tale. Or you can pull the plugs and if any one of them are any shade of light grey, that's where your problem lies.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-20-2015, 7:37 PM Reply   
It doesn't seem to lose coolant when it's running, only when it's sitting. If it was a head gasket, wouldn't it be the opposite?
Old     (TTyler89)      Join Date: Jun 2015       07-20-2015, 9:43 PM Reply   
If it doesn't loose it running it's more than likely the heat exchanger. On a closed cooling system, the antifreeze circulates from the heat exchanger to the block to the heads through the thermostat housing and back to the heat exchanger. If it's not leaking on the outside or inside of the engine, the only thing left is the heat exchanger. The manifolds and risers get the raw water after the heat exchanger and that's it.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-21-2015, 3:55 PM Reply   
Pulled the raw water hoses off the HX. They were filled with antifreeze. So I pulled the HX off. Now I need to find a good local shop that can fix it.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-21-2015, 3:56 PM Reply   
CPanner, Where did you find one that cheap?
Old     (CPanner)      Join Date: May 2015       07-22-2015, 6:47 AM Reply   
It was from the rad shop I ended up getting it tested at, they're a large industrial type shop. I gave them the dimensions and locations of all the inlets/outlets and they found one that would work. It wasn't the OEM part so that's likely why it was cheaper. I wasn't about to pay an extra $600 to have "mercruiser" stamped on it though.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-22-2015, 8:49 AM Reply   
I just dropped it at a local radiator shop. He said he's seen hundreds of these come through there. He said it's a 50/50 shot on if they can fix it or not. Depends on where the break is.
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       07-23-2015, 7:24 AM Reply   
So it turns out the HX is beyond repair. It has a ton of holes in it. The only thing I can figure is the Dbag(me) that winterized it, left some water in it. I'm not sure how it happened. The winterization process on this boat is unbelievably easy. Even so, some water must've stayed in the HX and destroyed it. I can tell you one thing for sure, I'll be filling the raw water side with R/V antifreeze ever winter from here out.

So does anyone have a source for an HX for an 09' Mercury Horizon 8.1L? The only new one I can find is $1,067. I'd be willing to get a used one if it was fresh water only and guaranteed not to leak on arrival.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get this thing back on the water.

Thanks, Joe
Old     (TX_Chris)      Join Date: Jun 2015       07-23-2015, 7:44 AM Reply   
Hey Joe,

I wonder if these guys can help you out. They don't look too far from you.

http://www.thermasys.com/thermal-tra...products-site/
Old     (joesell)      Join Date: Apr 2001       08-01-2015, 12:39 AM Reply   
I couldn't find anyone locally that could repair or build me one so I bit the bullet and ordered another stock pos. I can't stand having the boat sit there in the middle of summer.

I'm planning to keep looking for a local place that can make me a stainless one. The more I think about it, the more I'm sure I got the water out when I winterized last year. The only thing I can figure is that the silt or sand that your bound to pick up wore the soft brass out. I don't know what else it could've been, unless the HX really is a pos and is built in China or something.

Either way, I got the new one today and will be on the water tomorrow.
Old     (alexair)      Join Date: Oct 2008       08-01-2015, 1:30 AM Reply   
http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/c/MER8E/H...for+Mercruiser
maybe will be interesting for you

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