I can't speak to temporary fixes, but when I had a broken heat exchanger mount fairly early in the life of my 2002 I simply replaced the heat exchanger with new. Have had no problems with this issue in the ensuing 5 or so years.

Try this, please read the whole topic from the top, and go to the wiki article mentioned in the last post by clicking the wiki link at the top of the screen

[url]http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4831.msg29908.html#msg29908[/url]

I have a 2002 but only have 350 hours on the engine.

I just tird to change the gasket and washer. The PO had double up the gasket and washer. I guess he tried to stop it from leaking.
[B]
I noticed the PO had 3" gasket and the universal part is a 2.75" gasket. I have a feeling no matter what I do this puppy will leak![/B]

Jim, 2008 , Second Wind

Ray...

I had this exact problem.

My exchanger rubbed against something as a result and leaked so I had to replace it. If you get a new one, you'll find that they realized the weld (though I know its brass and it isn't actually a weld) was a weak point and the changed the attachment to a clamp that goes around the exchanger and tabs together on the side where it bolts to the engine.

I suppose you could use a pipe bracket but I found with the new arrangement that the old bolt was too short to get any grip and you have to lengthen it by about 2 or maybe three sizes. I don't think using a hose clamp would work because you wont have anything to secure it to, and there will be vibration which will give you the same problem I had.

My boat is a 2002 so that weak spot is obviously a problem even if you have it re-brazed (sp?). For all the work you might just want to replace it.

We had one of our brackets where the weld broke as well. I found it during a regular maintenance check I do after each long motoring. Yes they are brass and what I did to repair is was silver solder the bracket back on. It is a different type of welding process and has not failed in 4 years. You need to take and clean the area that is going to be silver soldered as I actually sand blasted the whole heat exchanger and cleaned it as it was the perfect time to do some maintenance on it.

Looking at the old welds, there is not much holding the brackets. Now there is and is good to go. Just some input here.

Randy

I have a Universal M25XPB with about 80 hours on it. On mine, the brackets that hold the heat exchanger to the engine both failed at the mounting holes on the brackets. I was amazed that both would fail with so few hours on the engine. While I couldn't find much out about if this was a common problem, the local Universal dealer had plenty of brackets in stock. Makes you wonder.

Mark:
One of the things I did notice when I removed the original bolts. The washers were only lock washers. I added bigger flat washers first then the lock washers. It kind of gives it a bit more of a support I feel.

Randy

I had the same issue a few months back. The bracket brazing had worked loose and the HX was just sitting in the brackets. At the time I found there were replacement brackets available from Westerbeke which were essentially wrap-around brackets which encircle the HX. I ordered these from Torreson Marine along with new gaskets and a few replacement hoses. Pulled the HX, had it boiled out at a local radiator shop, painted it, then reinstalled.

If you end up getting the replacement brackets, I labored long and hard trying to get them installed. To wrap them around the HX, you need to bend them open, then when you try to bolt them to the block, they tend to want to "un-bend", making starting the bolts nearly impossible. I squeezed the bracket closed, held it together with small zip ties, started the bolts, then clipped the zip ties and tightened the bolts. Also had to obtain slightly longer bolts to adapt to the thickness of the new brackets.

All in all, an ugly job, but I sure feel good about it when I check out the engine these days!

Gary Davidson
continuum #1951

Ray-
I have a 2002 with about 850 hours on the engine. While bringing the boat back from Cabo this winter, the bracket holding the heat exchanger gave out. There is no replacement - we called the manufacturer and you have to buy a new heat exchanger. I had a braket made that we could just screw onto where the old one was. Not exactly the same but it's actually a lot more stable than the old one.
Good luck
Nancy
Cat's Meow
#2046

I removed my heat exchanger from the engine and mounted it on the box that surrounds the center water tank on my 89 Mk1. This eliminated vibration stresses on the brackets and makes the engine easier to service.
Gary Teeter
AnnieG
89 Mk1 (hull 966)
Everett WA

My engine (1998 MK II, M35B engine) was tending to getting close to overheating, so I took off the HX to clean it. I had the same problem with the brackets - the welds on one of them failed. So I had them re-welded. I used ryd lyme to clean out the HX, and am really pleased with the product. It also works great getting rid of a ring in the toilet! And they claim it's biodegradable.