alh m-Tdi marinisation to match Mercruiser Gen1 drive

Lots of boats, mostly work boats, use cummins 6bt and other large heavy working engines in an enclosed room with dry exhaust.

Im at least going to be dumping water post turbo.

I have some ac fans from vehicles I've parted out over the years. I may put one on either side of the motor to bring in ample fresh air and use the bilge pumps to take out the heat.

The biggest issue the op had from what i could understand was the iat rising too fast. I don't recall if he had an air to water intercoooler and if so what size? I hope with good cool water in a cheap ebay air to water intercooler and larger turbo that will handle the load without turning into a hair dryier will work for me.


Ill be keeping the electric ip, hopefully ill be able to keep keep up with my fueling needs.

@ PickleRick

See my answers to your earlier post in green below.



"What kind of pump are you using to pump raw water through your heat exchanger? Ive been looking for a belt drive pump to put in place of the ac compressor."
I decided to use the original outdrive pump. The flowrate is relatively low thus that engine needs at least a 1 square meter heat exchanger for an 1.9 Tdi.

"I want to dedicate my stern drive water pump for my air to water intercooler and then to my oil cooler but im having issues finding those made in stainless or other marine and salt resistant metals, im only seeing them in aluminum. "
I am using a standard aluminum intercooler, running antifreeze on the water side. It is connected to a extra heat exchanger. an electric circulation pump takes care of the flow.
Thus seawater from the outdrive pump first goes into the intercooler heat exchanger than into the engine coolant heat exchanger.

"For your exhaust pipe, i was planning on a well heat wrapped 3 inch or 4 inch exhaust mandrel bent to flex tube to under on top or below my swim platform. Im not sure if i should put exhaust under the plat form under water or above."
I used the original Mercruiser exhaust port and that works flawless.
Dont forget that pumping the exhaust down to the propeller and pushing them away from the boat will greatly reduce fumes at the stern.


"I also dont know the best way to regulate the water being injected into the downpipe. Too much and you choke hp and too little you make things melt."
I installed a t-valve. About 30% of the heat exchanger return water goes into the wet exhaust. The rest goes out to the side of the boat.
Measured the wet exhaust hose temperature at WOT at the beginning to dial the things in.

"I plan on having a ceramic coated factory manifold and upgrade the turbo. I dont want to mess with water cooled turbos as im afriad ill have the same issue with spoiling as you. I do think i want to use a water and oil cooled center cartridge. I was thinking if heat wrapping the manifold and turbo and on the outside of the manifold and turbo run thin copper tubing throughout the surface area then heat wrapping the manifold a second time and a blanket on a turbo. The idea being i keep heat inside and my engine hatch from flaming. I do intend on raising the hatch at least 6 inches higher. I will run 2 bilge blowers constantly with pick up tubes high inside the hatch in the front and rear of the exhaust side. Last but not least since the sides of the hatch are unused mount a few small fans around the hatch, computer tower cooling sized with a thermal switch to suck in additional air as i dont think the original air scoops are going to take in enough air for a turbo."
I think cooling could work as described.
Not sure what you mean with the turbo air scoops.


"Also what side intercooler would you recommend switching to and would changing to a larger turbo help keep cool air in or making sure the turbo is taking in clean cool air?
See my earlier describtion about intercooler, standard aluminium intercooler will do, if hooked up to an extra heat exchanger.
I dont like the idea of running sea water directly through an intercooler. If something fails it will flush the engine with salt water, certain death.

Thank you so much for the info? Any updates on the running of your boat?

I run 99% in fresh water, only run in salt water when on vacation. My boat also has a trailer and i own a tow rig that easily pulls it. It may see 2 weeks of salt water a year.

Just so i get this straight. You have a second heat exchanger with an electric pump for your intercooler? Do you have it teed in with the water feed from the alpha drive or dedicated thru hull fittings to feed her?


And by air scoops i mean the scoops on either side of the boat designed to bring fresh air into the engine compartment

For his purpose (and I would suggest, also for yours), the the air water intercooler should never see salt water. This would require a separate, closed loop circuit with antifreeze and an electric (or other) pump, as you had stated.

The heat exchanger would be raw water on the cool side and antifreeze on the hot side.

This centrifugal strainer seems like a really good idea for the raw water circuit if you are going to run it through a heat exchanger since most of them have small spaces that would clog with debris:
https://www.jamestowndistributors.c...2EnP7Z0KxWAepZEu8mRz71zSfUBwUKXRoC7dgQAvD_BwE

asheville said:

For his purpose (and I would suggest, also for yours), the the air water intercooler should never see salt water. This would require a separate, closed loop circuit with antifreeze and an electric (or other) pump, as you had stated.

Click to expand...

?
Not sure if i can follow.
I build and recommended a closed loop circus with antifreeze.

Would something small like this be sufficient for the heat exchanger? https://m.ebay.com/itm/Mercruiser-O...227201?hash=item3f8e69a281:g:ob4AAOSw9DVZueCg

And this intercooler is rated up to 1000 hp? Its from eBay so im guessing it's probably really maybe half that

https://m.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Al...813057?hash=item1eb9f44801:g:ej8AAOSwf~9ZYVi2

That oil cooler in your first link would be too small to use as a coolant heat exchanger. Would be a great oil cooler but you probably are better to just use the stock oil cooler.
The intercooler in you second link looks pretty much identical to the one I had on my boat for a while. I removed it and went to one the same style but with a smaller core as the big one was cooling my intake air too much. Even under high load and 34psi boost iat's would stay well below ambient(never saw iat's get out of single digits C). Enough so that large quantities of water would condense out of the intake flow and collect in the lower intercooler end tank. When enough built up it would get caught up in the airflow and send a slug of water into the engine putting out the fire for a bit. Very lucky I didn't bend a rod. Running one now with about half the core size and seems to be fine, iat's run anywheres from ambient to a max of about 45C now depending on load. That said I am always on glacial water that never gets more than a few degees above freezing. You will be running in much warmer water where you are so may be fine with the bigger intercooler. As far as running raw water through an aluminum intercooler I think you would be fine with the occasional salt water use you describe. Just flush it out well with fresh water after in trips in the salt chuck, and install a zinc in it. Also make sure you have a good seascreen to keep it from clogging. I run 3 seascreens in series on mine with each one progressively finer, and have had no intercooler clogging issues in 2000 hrs of use.

The small heat exchanger i posted would be used for the intercooler, not cooling the engine. For the engine i will use a much larger one, something rated for a big block chevy 7.4 liter.

I know it will be over kill but if and this is a big IF the single motor struggles to get and keep me on plane i will be instilling twin tdi motors. (I have an extra gimball already and stern leg)

Back in the 80s and 90s you could special order a carver 26 with twin inboard stern leg volvo diesels. The only difference? The tdi makes more power and weighs less! Not to mention is a 1/4 of the price.

For testing purposes i will probably just use raw water to cool the intercooler for now. All my testing will be done in fresh water at least 4 hours from the coast.

The water is considerably warmer here. We only boat from May until October. In the spring the water will be in the 60s and 70s. Come June the water will be in the 80s. We dont unusually go to the lake or ocean unless its warm enough to swim. I hate the cold and cold water. When my kid graduates this santa cruz and my san juan 26 sailboat will be my winter home in the keys!

Hello, everybody! After reading The whole discussion, Here's a little Project im working on : its a 2008 Sea Ray 185 sport powered by a 4.3tks merc and I'm trying to switch IT to a 2.0tdi BMM diesel.
Mounted The engine on, to marinise The engine Here's what I did s-o far:
-GT1749VA turbo with a japanese watercooled cartridge.
-Mercedes GLC 2.2cdi watercooled intercooler.
-stainless Steel home made colant heat exchanger.
-stainless Steel wet elbow exhaust pipe that bolts on boat's exhaust Y-pipe.
AT this moment im working on The electric part of The engine, IT is a PD engine and uses a Bosch Edc16u1 ECU scrapped form a 2.0TDI BKD engine.
Will try to upload some photo. The only thing that worries me is the exhaust manifold temperature. I guess I will try to wrap IT with titanium wrap band and make The first trials on The water.

Here are some pictures form the project.

dukku said:

Here are some pictures form the project.

Click to expand...

Pics didn't come through for me. Are you hosting them off site? Maybe a link to the album.

I uploaded The pics on a hosting site and pasted The link în The comment. Any instructions how to make things work.

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The pics i wanted to post on The thread.

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Have you had her running yet? If so how are the engine hatch temps? Vinylester resin is the best heat resistant fiberglass resin but it tops out around 175 degrees once cured iirc.

Haven't tested IT yet. Hope to see IT on water în a couple of weeks. Will install a EGT gauge before The turbocharger . As far as I know, îts important to keep The EGT bellow 800 degrees celsius to protect The turbine.

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Regarding the hatch temp: I intend to use some car bonett heat insulating material. It's something made of few layers of aluminium and mineral stuff. Hope it will act as a thermal shield and also take care of the engine noise.

Pics came through. That set up looks really clean so far.



I was planning a Mercruiser 1.9ALH but my plans have changed. The boat I'm looking to build now has the engine under the cockpit and is a straight inboard arrangement. I want to dry stack the exhaust and keel cool the engine. Unfortunately, I can't dry stack the exhaust and it will have to be raw water cooled. Keel cooling is no problem for the engine. I only need 75HP or 56kw. The boat only requires 30HP or 22kw. The extra power will go to running a 130 amp alternator and run a hydraulic pump for bow thruster and windlass. I may also consider an A/C compressor for those long days at the helm.

Ben2go , A PD 20tdi16v engine have the exhaust ports opposite to the intake. It is easier to build a watercooled exhaust manifold for your boat. In europe there is even a 2.0 SDI engine.
The ECU is a edc16 so it wouldn't be much a difference to a edc15 used on older 1.9 engines.

dukku said:

Ben2go , A PD 20tdi16v engine have the exhaust ports opposite to the intake. It is easier to build a watercooled exhaust manifold for your boat. In europe there is even a 2.0 SDI engine.
The ECU is a edc16 so it wouldn't be much a difference to a edc15 used on older 1.9 engines.

Click to expand...

You're right. That exhaust would be a bit easier to fab than the ALH. Is the turbo water cooled on the 2.0? I couldn't tell from your pics if I was seeing a water pipe or oil pipe.

Im still looking for an appropriate sized turbo that has both a water and oil cooled center cartridge plus water cooled exhaust housing.
Im gonna embrace the same side intake/exhaust BHW set up since i already have the motor.

I switched boat set ups due to the strength issue of my 1st boats alpha 1 and its galvanized fuel tank. My new boat has a volvo penta 290(i can go to a duo prop diesel gear foot) and it came matched to both big block motors as well as factory diesel motors so strength is no issue. I lost weight going with the 23 footer so planing speeds should be more easily obtainable. The factory aluminum fuel tank is also diesel friendly. My engine compartment is now over double the size. A large bilge pump mounted near the exhaust manifold will suck hot air out while a second one pumps cool air below it. This is entirely a trial and error project.

If it works without over heating the engine compartment id like to set up large dual alternators rather than a marine genset thats just large enough to run a hatch mounted ac on those hot summer days in the south.

This is a GT1749VA turbocharger modified with a japonese cartridge. If some old man Who repairs turbochargers în România Could do IT I guess you can find someone to do The same job în US. IT costed about 800 bucks The whole thing.

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But why?

dukku said:

This is a GT1749VA turbocharger modified with a japonese cartridge. If some old man Who repairs turbochargers în România Could do IT I guess you can find someone to do The same job în US. IT costed about 800 bucks The whole thing.

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Click to expand...

Very nice. I'm no stranger to rebuilding turbos.

oldpoopie said:

But why?

Click to expand...

Heat can be a dangerous thing in a boat. A water cooled turbo can help control heat, and it also helps the turbo last longer, because the oil doesn't get cooked on the shaft and other surfaces as badly.

I still need to find a way regarding The exhaust manifold temp. I will try to install a EGT sensor before The turbocharger to keep an eye on The temp. Hard to find or build a watercooled exhaust manifold.

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dukku said:

I still need to find a way regarding The exhaust manifold temp. I will try to install a EGT sensor before The turbocharger to keep an eye on The temp. Hard to find or build a watercooled exhaust manifold.

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Click to expand...

The only thing I can think of is to weld a tube around the EGT sensor bung and build the water jacket around it. Make sure to leave enough room for a deep socket to install/remove the sensor. The socket may need to be slotted on one side, like an O2 sensor socket, to allow for the wire.

Im thinking on wrapping The exhaust manifold în silica wool, made to resist 1600 degrees celsius.
I ordered a termal jacket for The turbocharger and im considering în wrapping The manifold în this thermal resistant wool. I found a site that sells such material used în isulating industrial furnance, ovens and melted metal pouring molds.
Ill see what happens. If The cylinder head or manifold cracks that would not be such a big deal. A used 2.0tdi engine without accesories is about 700 USD Here .
All I care is reduce The heat inside The engine Bay. The boat is a 2008 Sea Ray 185 sport and I reallly don't want to make IT suffer [emoji4].

Anybody have any experience with thermal wrap on exhausts?

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Tdi engines in a catamaran

Good morning I’m new to this site and toVolkswagen Engines in general I have worked on many marine diesel engines varying sizes from alcove to Fairbanks to cummings to Detroit diesel so I have experience working with Diesel engines. I bought a catamaran with two Volkswagen 2001 TDI ALH engines I have read through most the discussions on engine marinization and their very interesting.
I have overheating issues with one of the engines and was looking for some advise as to what to look for. When I bought the cat neither engine had thermostats in I installed 180 stats one engine does well and holds at about 185 constant. The other comes up to 185 and then after about 30 minutes continues to climb and go all the way up to 220 i back down and it will most times cool back down to 185. I’ve cleaned the raw water heat exchanger and have a good flow over the side. this is running at about 2000 RPM. Any sujestions
Thanks