Volvo Penta V8-380 Coolant Flush

[SeattleA28]

Hey All - Got a service / maintenance question for y'all.
Boat is hauled out for full drive service. Curious how often folks flush their coolant in these fresh water cooling engines. VP recommends every 200hrs or every 4 yrs, but I don't hear much about people doing it. People seem to mention engine oil changes, drive lube, plugs, etc, but I never/rarely hear about coolant flush.

Appreciate your thoughts and insights.

[jhnmdahl]

That's probably a very reasonable time, and maybe even somewhat conservative, unless you have some reason to suspect something has happened to foul the coolant prematurely. I'm raw water cooled, so don't do it myself, but others should chime in with their experience too.

[SeattleA28]

Thanks. The tech inspected the coolant and said it looked good (no gelling, etc) so no need to flush. I'll have then check again next year. Spring can't come soon enough...

[bruceb58]

I change my coolant in my autos at 50K...I am conservative but they get way hotter than a boat engine. It's cheap and easy...why not do it at 5 years.