Perkins T6.3544M

Ok, folks
Turns out I need a reman head for my port engine.........not having a lot of luck in the Houston area.........any of you folk have one laying around, or know of a supplier that's reasonably priced?

Trans Atlantic Diesels.

Thanks djmarchand, I'll give them a call in the am.........any other suggestions from anyone?

These engines most common application was farm equipment including tractors and generators. Try a farm equipment shop. That's where I bought most of my stuff when I had that engine.

Here's another link to check:
Perkins Diesel Engine Parts and Service | Perkins Pacific

I'm curious, since we have the same engines sans the turbochargers.
What happened to the head or components?

I've had heads rebuilt after dropping a valve and doing great damage to the combustion chamber. Check for welding shops that rebuild heads and blocks, I used one in K.C., Missouri that has been around for years.


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Well, here's where we're at. I have a combi-cooler New Old Stock coming from Suffolk, England........apparently the last one in the world. My head and manicooler are going to Atlantic Diesel in Virginia for attempted rebuild. The head will be no problem, the manicooler is "iffy"....we shall see. Thanks for all your help!

WD40.........age happened to everything. Valve seals wore out...cooler insides just deteriorated over time. 35 years. My worry is that the starboard engine has the same hours. If this happens to that one, we'll be looking at repowering.

Thanks for the info wyoboater.
We've got a tad over 3,600 hours on both of our engines and I'm hoping they go for a lot longer than that till I have to "rebuild" anything.
Both coolers/heat exchangers were overhauled last fall when we purchased the boat so that should buy some time.

I don't think mine have been overhauled ever. I've had the boat for a year and haven't done it. I'm the 3rd owner of this boat and both of the previous owners kept copious maintenance logs/receipts and there is virtually no mention of any other than routine maintenance. If the port rebuilds work out well, I may have the starboard cooler/heat exchanger overhauled when the port is put back together. Thanks for the heads up!

Try Mr cool.com they have the combo coolers replacement aftermarket. I have Perkins also.

Mesa (Marine Exhaust Systems of Alabama) is supposed to have the replacement manicoolers for the Range 4 Perkins 6.354 now.

I am afraid to ask the price!

Perkins Manicooler Replacement

Eidelweiss: I called them last week. They have the blueprints designed for the manicooler.....but haven't tooled up for them. First guy who buys one will pay $18,000..yup...3 0's before the decimal!...After that, they figure to be in the $8,000 range......I ain't gonna be first! My outer shell seems to be in good shape, it's the tube stacks that are the problem. I think I've found a supplier for them though. We'll see after Transatlantic Diesel gets mine and has a look at them. Mine left Kemah today on general freight headed to them. Wish me luck!

wyoboater said:

Eidelweiss: I called them last week. They have the blueprints designed for the manicooler.....but haven't tooled up for them. First guy who buys one will pay $18,000..yup...3 0's before the decimal!

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Before paying even $8000, why wouldn't you convert back to a separate exhaust manifold and heat exchanger for less than half that? That's just insane!

To tell you the truth, Eidelweiss...I didn't know that was even an option! If I can't get a new tube stack for this manicooler, I may have to look in to that!

Deck Ape. My NOS never out of the box combo cooler arrived from Sussex, England last Monday, so that part is good. However, I do have another engine, lol.............I'll keep them in mind.

wyoboater said:

To tell you the truth, Eidelweiss...I didn't know that was even an option! If I can't get a new tube stack for this manicooler, I may have to look in to that!

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Would depend on your setup, turbo vrs non turbo. Probably would require finding a yard who has burned out 6.354's for donor parts. (intake manifolds, all the proper plumbing parts, elbows, the cooler head tank, etc. You would still have to buy a new Barr cast exhaust manifold if turbo'd or the MESA stainless manifold for an NA setup and a new heat exchanger to go with the cooler head tank. You're unlike to find those specific items in good condition in a scrap heap. Still way cheaper than the manicooler that MESA is offering.

If the tube stack can be removed from the Manicooler, check around a few radiator shops. Maybe someone would be willing to replace the tubes or find a tube stack that can be modified to fit. They used to do that kind of work. Cost of labor might seem prohibitive, but for what they want for a replacement cooler, you could buy quite a few hours of labor costs.

manicooler maintenance this winter for me

WYO, what exactly are the issues with your manicooler? I am going to dive into mine this Winter. I did a temporary fix on my port engine with some JB weld at the end cap area where the aluminum had corroded. I think someone had done a previous repair this way. I would be curious of the condition of yours and how the repair was done by TAD. I wanted to do them this year but I spent a lot of extra time on the multicoolers.

Duvie:
Mainly that the tube stack has been corroded and is leaking directly into the exhaust. Transatlantic Diesel was able to locate one that was fixable as mine was not.

Here are 2 heads on ebay, one is in TX


Perkins Diesel Head T6 3544 | eBay

Edelweiss said:

Before paying even $8000, why wouldn't you convert back to a separate exhaust manifold and heat exchanger for less than half that? That's just insane!

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I would do that in a minute. It was a MUCH better system and it can all me fresh water cooled for long life.

Manifold 800.
Oversize exchanger 400.
Oil cooler 250.
Aftercooler 1000.
Misc 500.
3K

Thanks Brooksie, but I've had mine rebuilt by Trans Atlantic Diesel. It's been shipped to me and should arrive tomorrow......07/26

Well folks.....it's been since May of this year........in fact, on the day we were headed out to "Spring Fling"! We'd run the boat over to the fuel pier the previous evening, stocked all our goodies, and we had just started the engines for the warm up prior to heading out..........Catastrophic oil loss out the exhaust of the port engine. After disassembly (suspecting the turbo) we surmised that the Mani-cooler and multi-cooler were the primary suspects......long story short.....New multi-cooler purchased and shipped from Suffolk, England. Mani-cooler and head shipped to Atlantic diesel. They refurbished the Mani-cooler and rebuilt the head and shipped them back. By this time, the original mechanic who disassembled the engine had begun a new career, soooooooooooooooo, had to find another outfit for reassembly. Finally found them and they began work inventorying then preparing/painting all the gathered parts, then when the schedule allowed reassembled my engine. Well...today at 1300 we had the sea trials with the reassembly team aboard.........which were a resounding SUCCESS. Engine performed flawlessly for 2 hours at various rpms, all pressures and temps optimal. Now we change the oil and filter in case of any debris in the pan, then after 10 more hours or so, adjust the valves and we're a 2 engine boat again. Only took 5 months, a million or so phone calls and e-mails and 10 boat bucks! I also gained a wealth of experience and knowledge.....Thanks for your assistance in helping me at least find out where to start.

Well, that was short lived. Went out this morning..........spent a good hour bouncing around in 3 ft swells, loving every minute of it. Then, click............the port engine shuts down.........no oil loss, no rise in temperature. Oil on dipstick shows still full and clean, temps ran about 170.........but now, when trying to start it, you can hear the starter engage and the engine try to turn once...........then seizes.......not looking good. Mechanics who reassembled the engine will be here tomorrow, 11/09 to see if they can diagnose. Major bummer, but we had a good boat ride!

wyoboater said:

Well, that was short lived. Went out this morning..........spent a good hour bouncing around in 3 ft swells, loving every minute of it. Then, click............the port engine shuts down.........no oil loss, no rise in temperature. Oil on dipstick shows still full and clean, temps ran about 170.........but now, when trying to start it, you can hear the starter engage and the engine try to turn once...........then seizes.......not looking good. Mechanics who reassembled the engine will be here tomorrow, 11/09 to see if they can diagnose. Major bummer, but we had a good boat ride!

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Sorry to hear that. But it wouldn't be the first time that i've heard of a diesel engine shuts down and seizes after being put into service.

Lot's of complicated parts being put together and one parameter or assembly error can result in a bearing or rings seizing. Hopefully, the mechanic will backup his work.

I just bought a 1980 Californian 34 LRC with twin Perkins ST.63544M engines. I had them serviced and my local diesel mechanic recommends that I replace the heat exchanger/manifolds soon to ensure reliability. In the meantime, I'm just doing light duty cruising @1000rpm. I can't seem to locate these parts other than to have Marine Exhaust Systems of Alabama (see above thread) fabricate custom ones. Any other ideas out there or does anyone else need the same manicoolers? Perhaps we could get a group of us together and order in volume (from Mesa) to bring the cost down.

Have you tried Trans Atlantic Diesels | Perkins Diesel Engines | Perkins Engine Parts | Cummins Diesel Engines

Have suggested to Perkins several times over the years that if they are in the Marine Engine business they need need to recast parts for these engines. NLA is not a satisfactory response for barrels and exchanger housings that can be produced in small batches cost effectively with modern casting capabilities.
Can I get a couple of hundred more voices howling at the moon?
And TAD has always been very helpful finding and refurbishing used parts.