I thought I would post this experience in the chance it might help someone else....
On Memorial Day weekend the admiral and I were supposed to meet 18 other boats for a weekend raft up. As we were stowing the gear prior to departure I started the engines so they could warm up. The port engine began blowing a strange white smoke from the exhaust port which I quickly determined was antifreeze burning off.
So after a couple of simple deductions I determined I had a cracked manifold. After shopping around a bit and getting advise about aftermarket vs Merc I bought a set of OEM manifolds and elbows from Doug Russel Marine on ebay.
I had done this job before years ago but the engine was on a stand out of the boat I was working on. This would be a bit tougher. Anyone with a twin engine Sundancer knows what I mean. Below is a pic of the crowded engine room.
I knew that the most important thing was going to be something to hold the manifold in place while removing and installing the bolts. I bought some 3" and 4" bolts and cut the heads off and then cut a slot for a screwdriver in the end. You can see them in this next pic. It turned out the 4" worked the best.
They worked perfectly and the job would have been very tough without them. Once I had all the old off it was just a matter of removing the needed elbows and other hardware from the old manifolds and elbows and installing them in the new ones. The hardest part of the whole job was getting the elbow bolt holes lined up with the holes in the manifold to start the bolts.
Other that the usual cuts and bruises that come from working in a Sea Ray engine room that contains a lot of crap the job went well and I have had no problems.
On Memorial Day weekend the admiral and I were supposed to meet 18 other boats for a weekend raft up. As we were stowing the gear prior to departure I started the engines so they could warm up. The port engine began blowing a strange white smoke from the exhaust port which I quickly determined was antifreeze burning off.
So after a couple of simple deductions I determined I had a cracked manifold. After shopping around a bit and getting advise about aftermarket vs Merc I bought a set of OEM manifolds and elbows from Doug Russel Marine on ebay.
I had done this job before years ago but the engine was on a stand out of the boat I was working on. This would be a bit tougher. Anyone with a twin engine Sundancer knows what I mean. Below is a pic of the crowded engine room.
I knew that the most important thing was going to be something to hold the manifold in place while removing and installing the bolts. I bought some 3" and 4" bolts and cut the heads off and then cut a slot for a screwdriver in the end. You can see them in this next pic. It turned out the 4" worked the best.
They worked perfectly and the job would have been very tough without them. Once I had all the old off it was just a matter of removing the needed elbows and other hardware from the old manifolds and elbows and installing them in the new ones. The hardest part of the whole job was getting the elbow bolt holes lined up with the holes in the manifold to start the bolts.
Other that the usual cuts and bruises that come from working in a Sea Ray engine room that contains a lot of crap the job went well and I have had no problems.
