Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

It's 60 degrees and sunny here today, so I thought I would check on the Daytona in storage. To my surprise all of the pink anti-freeze coolant was gone from the reservoir. :eek: I have twins and just the strbrd motor did it. What has gone wrong here? Is this a big problem? Any input would be great...

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Closed cooling system has a leak???

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Where would be the most obvious place to check for the leak?

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

leak somewhere ....could be a blown headgasket .....has it got hot ? More likely a small leak somewere ..

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Last season the motor got hot a few times due to debris in the oil cooler restricting water flow to port exhaust manifold. The guardian system shut it down though before any damage. Cleaned it out then it ran fine and didn't notice any leaks until just now.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

See if the oil level has gone over the "Full" mark.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Yikes !!! :eek:

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Hello i have the same problem ,living up north here in Chicago i was freaked out it might be the engine block ......Heres the GOOD news
With the 496 closed cooling on the ride side of the engine where the air pump system is
you will see on the Heat exchanger a hose fitting ( cross-over) the grommet /gasket is the cause of your leak The leak is caused by the rubber grommet expanding and shrinking with temperature change ,You need to have it replaced this is a unofficial mercury Service bulletin . Some people have reported that re-filling it back up in the spring ,has not reproduced the leak and there find for the summer /I do not recommend this action
Get it corrected while your out of the water

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

If your heat exchanger is cracked..the antifreeze will disappear out the back of the boat and be replaced by lake water...It will never overheat..

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

This is probably almost definitely the problem. Both my 496's on my last boat did this and it is a Plastic/rubber grommit that is described above. Mercury covered it and they know of the issue.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Thank you Evil for backing me up on this

My advice is factual ,My boat has the current problem.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

mg503 is the winner finnally an intelligent answer on this site.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

I guess I am only somewhat intelligent? :D

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

That happened to a friend of mine and it was the heat exchanger...........

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

It's the grommet if it happens over the winter. Count me in, as only my port does this. Filled it up last spring and no problem for the season. I haven't noted if it's run out this winter. I'll have to look the next time I'm over in the building.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

I filled the coolant back to fill line on Fri and it all ran back out over the weekend. It was 65-75 degrees this weekend, so I thought it might seal up. I think I found the gromet on the left if you're facing the front of the motor. What's the trick in removing the heat exchanger and does it just sit down into the rubber grommet without loosening or tightening anything? This small little stuff like this sucks.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

This post is an insult to myself and everyone else who has taken the time and energy to attempt to help other members with problems.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Ed, I can certainly relate to your frustration. I try to help as much as possible on this site, but you always seem to have some smart a$$ come along and think their cute. I still need a little help with my problem and any advice would sure be appreciated... :D

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Anybody else have this happen and what did you do to fix it?

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Mercury Marine had some problems with the grommets under the heat exchanger on the 496's developing leaks after sitting and use. I believe they had a recall through the Mercury dealers to repair them with new grommets. Check with your local Mercury Marine dealer or your boat builder. Hope this helps.
Ray @ Raylar

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

I really don't have any decent Mercury Marine mechanics in my area, so I thought this would be something I could tackle. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined, so I'd like to learn to do some of these things on my own. I could probably figure out how to remove the heat exchanger, but would like to hear from the pros how to do it most effectively?

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Just out of curiosity....has anyone had any problems yet in the boating community with the orange antifreeze? I know that ALOT of the guys on the GM forums i visit have switched out the dexcool Or "deathcool" as they call it cause if the system get some air in it the stuff starts to sludge and will block the cooling passages!!! I'm not talking about just a little air exposure but letting the level drop enough that it gets into the radiator etc.....
I changed mine out on my 96 yukon when i did the water pump cause it was showing signs of sludging when i pulled off the pump!! And i am anal about keeping levels right! Maybe it was the previous owner i dont kow but i didnt want to take any chances!

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Wally, I had the same issue with my girlfriends Jimmy. Coolant got low and turned to sludge. Even the heater hoses got plugged. I drained the system, flushed with clear water, several times, added a system cleaner, drained and flushed some more, then refilled with new dex. Now, it seems to be happening again. This time (after it is clean) I will use regular anti-freeze. :(

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Harper220

I replaced the grommets on one motor this spring for this problem exactly. I had both motors out over the winter and so my bilge was sparkling and after the first time out this spring I noticed pink water in the bilge and traced it down to these grommets. I did not know anything about asking merc to pony up for the grommets, I just bought new ones. They are about $7 each. They are not hard to replace, but you will get a lot more antifreeze in the bilge. I believe there are 3 hoses you will need to remove from the heat exchanger and the 2 big hose clamps that hold the heat exchanger in place. Once it is loose, rock the exchanger back and forth as you pull up. Put a little grease on the new grommets when installing them and put everything back together.

The first step would be to make sure there is antifreeze in the bilge and that this is for sure your problem. I would imagine it is. You could also take a clean paper towel and wipe it around where the grommets are sealing and see what you come up with.

Hope this helps,
Bill

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Thanks Bill, this helps a lot. It sounds like I can handle this one... :D

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

I just had a 496 installed in Feb and I noticed a few drops of coolant in the bilge but not the whole reservoir. Maybe the temps are not as extreme in my locale.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

Ok, here goes.. I just finished pushing, pulling and cussing to finally get the heat exchanger off. I pulled both grommets out and completely cleaned them up as the one on the left had a little white scale build up. I put everything back together and filled the reservoir back up with dex-cool and here it comes again, except I think it was coming out of the little hex plug on the left just below the large hose that goes into the bottom of the heat exchanger. So I pulled everything back apart and removed the plug and found that it has a ton of scale and lime build up. Could this be the only other place it's leaking from? It was very tough to see up in there, but I'm pretty sure that's where the leak stemmed from. When I removed the plug, of course all the coolant came out. I'm going to clean up the plug and teflon tape it. Anybody else have any other ideas? Cuz, so far this has really sucked chasing a little leak... I've got about 3 hours into it so far.

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

I had this identical problem with my 2003 496 Mag HO, after winter storage the Anti Freeze tank was always a quart or two low. After reading this forum string I ordered a new pair of grommets (I couldn't tell for sure that it was leaking from there, but for a few bucks thought I'd give it a try. The replacement part number is 26-865066, they were $7.85 each. I compared them to the old units and they are indeed different. There is a molded o-ring on the outside of both grommets but the new ones the o-ring was much thicker than the old ones. I installed them and will have to wait until next winter to see if they fix things.

fyi,

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

You want my professional drinking opinion on this :drink: :drink:

Re: Why would pink coolant drain out of 496 mag?
 

exactly! same program here. Only my port leaked down...2 winters in a row, and definitely redesigned with the embossed o-ring effect on the new part#