Official Cummins QSC-500 Thread

Going to change the oil myself for the first time. Could someone tell me how much oil I need to buy? I plan on using SAE 15W-40 Valvoline premium blue.

Thanks,
 
You'll need exactly 5 gallons per main. Get an extra gallon to top off during the season.
 
First winter with the qsc 500s. I'm in michigan. Stored in heated storage. Stored fuel with biocide per frank webster's recommendation. Changed the filters before storing. Is there anything to do to the fuel at launch?
 
When my boat was winterized, I would start the season by adding Power Service 911. That was also recommended by Frank.
 
Funny ... boats 9 years old . I throw some Startron in every few tanks . Never a fuel issue. ( mind u i put aprox 75 hrs a season on the boat )

Rob
 
Working on starting my maintenance checklists and deciding what needs to get done this year and what can wait until next year. My 44DA is new to me and I have some service records but not all as the previous owner was a friend of that yard owner and not everything he did was billed out.

As some background boat is a 2007 44DA with about 360 hours on it, we just purchased it in April. We will probably average about 75 hours per season.

This is what I have so far:

Annual


Change Oil & Filter
Change Fuel Filters (Primary & Secondary)
Inspect/Replace Engine Zincs
Change Raw Water Impellers
Clean Air Filters
Test Coolant SCA (using test strips)






Every 2 Years


Change Gear Case Oil & Clean Filter
Disasemble & Clean After Cooler




Every 5 Years

Check Valve Adjustments
Flush Cooling System




Not Sure
Replace Belts - Every Year or Every 2 Years????
Flush Fuel & Gear Oil Cooler - 2 years or 3 years????
Flush Heat Exchanger - 2 years or 3 years????


Am I missing anything? Does the timing make sense?
 
I know ill catch crap for this but

I have only changed my Engine impellers once . Inspected this season they are pristine. ( old ones I changed at everyone instance @ about 400 hrs and they were perfect) I have over 500 on these impellers.
I have never changed my Belts.
I have checked my coolant and never had it flushed.
I change the genset impeller yearly and its wasted when i do. ( over 1500 hrs )
thats about it .

Rob
 
Engine Zincs (you have 6 of them on each main) every 6 months
Your primary fuel filters may need more than annual changes. You need to inspect them at frequent intervals
You may need to flush your Racors, if you see black sediment or water in there
Don't forget all this on your generator. Check your generator grounding strap. Replace if corroded.
Main impellers are durable, but will take a set over winter storage and should be inspected every year.

The main belts are $25 and take less than 5 minutes to replace, so why not replace them every 100 hours? If you throw a belt, your are going to experience a world of hurt.
 
Has anyone here ever removed your combo Fuel/Gear Oil cooler for cleaning and testing? If so how much fuel came out the lines when you removed the fuel lines?

I started to last Sunday when I removed my aftercoolers for service, but re-tightened the fuel return line after 4-5 oz came out and no signs of stopping. I didn't have a good drain pan to go much further.

I posted on Boat Diesel, Tony suggested 6-8 oz from the cooler and engine, just wondering if anyone with a similar boat had any other info. The Starboard engine will be tough since no good place for a drain pan.

I really want them out for a good cleaning and inspection, I didn't check zincs this summer and they are all nearly gone or completely gone so worried about internal corrosion. I had "assumed" they were replaced last winter by previous owner, now guessing they weren't since all the exterior zincs (that I visually saw were new at the survey) are nearly fully intact after the whole summer.
 
swaterhouse said:
Has anyone here ever removed your combo Fuel/Gear Oil cooler for cleaning and testing? If so how much fuel came out the lines when you removed the fuel lines?

I started to last Sunday when I removed my aftercoolers for service, but re-tightened the fuel return line after 4-5 oz came out and no signs of stopping. I didn't have a good drain pan to go much further.

I posted on Boat Diesel, Tony suggested 6-8 oz from the cooler and engine, just wondering if anyone with a similar boat had any other info. The Starboard engine will be tough since no good place for a drain pan.

I really want them out for a good cleaning and inspection, I didn't check zincs this summer and they are all nearly gone or completely gone so worried about internal corrosion. I had "assumed" they were replaced last winter by previous owner, now guessing they weren't since all the exterior zincs (that I visually saw were new at the survey) are nearly fully intact after the whole summer.
Click to expand...

I only have a good answer for your zincs. I had my after coolers cleaned this year. The Cummins Mechanic said the oil coolers are not really a concern for as frequent maintenance. He said just watch your temps. Its the scale buildup caused by heat and air in the after coolers that causes the problems in the cooling system. That being said, It might be easier to inspect your port oil cooler before you start squeezing yourself on the starboard side.

The zincs...
You really need to watch those. These engines will easily eat a full set of zincs in salt water in 6 months. Mine do. Keep lots of spare rods on board. New zincs will be nubs in 8 months.
 
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Yes thanks, lesson learned on the zincs. My season is only 6 months, I will check in 2-3 and see where I am at.

Plan moving forward will be to only do "on-engine" maintenance of the gear cooler.

I am only trying to do all sea water maintenance this year since the maintenance records from prior years is "sketchy" with some invoices showing "Winterization" with a single dollar amount and no detail!

Got oil samples back yesterday and all is well so I am really just being proactive and starting fresh with the cooling system.
 
Funny u bring up the gear cooler. I was running warm about 15 degrees warmer then normal. Damn zincs had it all plugged up ! ( were old zincs go to die )

Rob
 
I have read the information on page 6 as to what and where to get the ZF transmission filters, listed were two choices, ZF OEM filters @ $80 each which is an absurd cost for oil filter and Donaldson filters at $13 I am asking what other have used and where they have purchased from?

Also when changing these filters, since they are installed upright on my transmission does anyone have experience with some tips as to how to change the filters and minimize a huge mess of oil spilling all over?

Thank you
JB
 
Not sure which transmission you have but the ZF-280 IV that I have has a metal screen as the "filter" with a magnetic tip on the cover to catch any metallic particles. No need to replace just clean with mineral spirits or simple green, dry and reinstall.

If your a member of Boat diesel search for topic 47046, although for a straight drive version of a different model is a step by step guide I used as a reference.
 
Mine are ZF 286IV with spin on filters mounted directly on top of trany, it looks to be a complete mess when changing. Uhg
 
So does anyone have any suggestions as to where to purchase the trany filters that do not cost $80 per? The ZF filter part No# is 3213308019 if anyone can cross reference this to a Napa or Fleetguard filter, I have not had success with doing so.

Thank you,
JB
 
Fleet guard HF6351 should cross reference. I use it on a ZF 286A. Try wrapping a garbage bag around the filter before you change it. It will reduce the amount of oil spilled.
 
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