Re: Mercruiser cooling question
I have a 1996 3.0 L /LX Mercruiser that has freshwater cooling in addition to saltwater cooling. At one time a po had a heater hooked up under the dash. It has since been removed and a piece of copper tube inserted in the hoses. Since I won't be using this setup I was wondering if there would be enough coolant if I just cut the lines and looped it under the engine cover? How dependent on the freshwater cooling is this engine? And, do I need special antifreeze for a marine engine?
Yes...you can shorten the heater hoses, to your heart's desire. The heater was aftermarket, and the engine isn't dependent on any additional antifreeze that these hoses needed.
The engine needs the raw (sea) water to circulate within the heat exchanger, and remove the heat from the antifreeze. From there, the heated sea water exits through the exhaust.
You really need to use environmental friendly antifreeze...there is always the possibility that some this antifreeze can 'escape' into the sea water...or the bilge! The original recommendation was something like Sierra or Prestone LowTox. Most boaters ignore this environmental concern...but I'm not one of them!
Happy boating!
