Perkins 4-236 Maintenance

[Gulf Comanche]

Ladies & Gents:
I have a couple jobs to get after this weekend, drain & refill antifreeze and r&r valve cover gasket.
1. Antifreeze: I know where the drain plug is located per the manual, question is where to refill? Pull the hose off header tank and fill there or remove header tank and refill?
2. Valve cover gasket: my guess is this one is no big deal, 6 bolts to remove, clean surfaces and tighten down (lightly?). One of the other threads mentioned these valve cover clamps that spread the force of the bolts over a larger area, so I went to the parts store and bought 4.
All advise appreciated. This engine has been bulletproof since I’ve owned the boat, want to keep it that way.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[High Wire]

Is there not a radiator cap on the header tank? Not to be confused with the overflow tank.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Yes, there’s a radiator cap on the tank. If I fill it from there, won’t it have to drain through the thermostat, which is closed? Thus draining through the tiny hole in the thermostat? I probably have this whole circuit out of whack in my mind.

 

[High Wire]

Yes, there’s a radiator cap on the tank. If I fill it from there, won’t it have to drain through the thermostat, which is closed? Thus draining through the tiny hole in the thermostat? I probably have this whole circuit out of whack in my mind.

No you are overthinking this.
That cap is the designed fill point for the engine.

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Thanks Archie, you’re correct about overthinking it.