My baby is getting fixed

[H20 Toie]

Thankfully AJ found out that i had a cracked header before i lost the motor. getting headers is a problem nowadays but hopefully the one i got will work

fingers crossed we can even run her this weekend

 

[Wizard29]

What headers were on it that cracked?

 

[H20 Toie]

CMI

 

[schweeng]

CMI? cracked at collector? sucks with such low hrs. You try Teague? If CMI he is their largest distributor. Good luck bud

 

[Wizard29]

Interesting. Not sure what brand mine are, but basically the same setup. Where did they crack and how did you know you had a problem?

 

[rivrrts429]

Are they steel inner and stainless outer and the steel corroded from salt? Or maybe they froze at one point?

 

[Done-it-again]

Weld them up, just need to fill the tube with gas so you can tig weld the outside...

 

[hallett21]

Is there a reason headers are not just solid stainless? Wouldn’t that have less of a chance of failure?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Is there a reason headers are not just solid stainless? Wouldn’t that have less of a chance of failure?

Youd have a 800 degree pipe lighting everything on fire in the engine compartment if they weren't jacketed and water cooled.

 

[H20 Toie]

I had a water pressure issue when i got the boat with the one motor. looks like an impeller had grenaded at some point and they didnt get all the parts out. so the header was not getting enough cooling.
it ended up cracking inside the tube not at the collector.

The old CMI headers made for Mercury Racing were known to have failures. ( which is why people have them pressure tested every couple of years. but the newer ones and the ones direct from CMI are much better.

Before Desert Storm i took the Cig over to Barrett for service and just to check everything out. Being the Guy he is he took the header off to check it and found out that it was cracked, ( him doing that saved me a motor )

Also last year on the miami to key west run we were running the boat pretty hard and that header got hot, ( again from not enough water flow)

AJ said it was leaking before then but that trip did not do it any favors

Parts that Mario found in the cooling system

 

[Wizard29]

I had a water pressure issue when i got the boat with the one motor. looks like an impeller had grenaded at some point and they didnt get all the parts out. so the header was not getting enough cooling.
it ended up cracking inside the tube not at the collector.

The old CMI headers made for Mercury Racing were known to have failures. ( which is why people have them pressure tested every couple of years. but the newer ones and the ones direct from CMI are much better.

Before Desert Storm i took the Cig over to Barrett for service and just to check everything out. Being the Guy he is he took the header off to check it and found out that it was cracked, ( him doing that saved me a motor )

Also last year on the miami to key west run we were running the boat pretty hard and that header got hot, ( again from not enough water flow)

AJ said it was leaking before then but that trip do it any favors

Parts that Mario found in the cooling system


View attachment 1119368

When I test drove my boat, I pulled the dipstick on the port engine and found a milkshake. Initial thoughts were that one of the headers cracked and was letting water back into the engine. Turned out to be a cracked head that ended up being replaced, but it seems like a milkshake could be a symptom of a cracked header too.

Curious to know what other symptoms a cracked header causes.

 

[hallett21]

Youd have a 800 degree pipe lighting everything on fire in the engine compartment if they weren't jacketed and water cooled.

Is there a protocol you’re supposed to follow to make them last longer? Flush them with antifreeze or something that won’t allow rust?

 

[H20 Toie]

When I test drove my boat, I pulled the dipstick on the port engine and found a milkshake. Initial thoughts were that one of the headers cracked and was letting water back into the engine. Turned out to be a cracked head that ended up being replaced, but it seems like a milkshake could be a symptom of a cracked header too.

Curious to know what other symptoms a cracked header causes.

well i know a couple of people have found out when the rod came thru the side of the block because of water in the motor

 

[H20 Toie]

Is there a protocol you’re supposed to follow to make them last longer? Flush them with antifreeze or something that won’t allow rust?

when running in the ocean you always flush the motors when you take the boat out and they will last for years and years. fresh water nothing needed
These just got over heated from lack of water flow

 

[J DUNN]

Another example of why you change the impeller EVERY year weather it looks like it needs it or not. Obviously it was the previous owner, sucks you have to deal with the issue. Glad it didn't get worse. Good job Barrett!

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Is there a protocol you’re supposed to follow to make them last longer? Flush them with antifreeze or something that won’t allow rust?

Others would know more than me about making these last, but the temp differential is the killer. Certainly flushing after salt water (or any) use will add longevity, but its not if these fail, it is when. They will all fail eventually.

if you have a water flow problem it will hurt their lifespan.

 

[Wizard29]

Is there a protocol you’re supposed to follow to make them last longer? Flush them with antifreeze or something that won’t allow rust?

Mine are stainless steel. I believe all or most of them are, so there isn't any rust to stop. Not a lot you are going to do to prevent it. Differences in temperature and all the vibration going on are what cause the cracks.

Best bet is to keep everything tight so nothing is wiggling around and make sure water pressure is good so nothing gets too hot. I pull my dipsticks frequently to check for water in the oil. Definitely don't want rods through the block like Dan just mentioned.

 

[Duramax]

Interesting. Not sure what brand mine are, but basically the same setup. Where did they crack and how did you know you had a problem?

I bet yours are Stellings.

 

[Apex svt]

well i know a couple of people have found out when the rod came thru the side of the block because of water in the motor

Is hydrolock the concern here? It seems like a motor would have to ingest an awful lot of water to cause major problems.

Hell, people have been spraying water/meth at motors for cooling for years. Which is 70% water unless you buy M1 or something. No ill affects.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Is hydrolock the concern here? It seems like a motor would have to ingest an awful lot of water to cause major problems.

Hell, people have been spraying water/meth at motors for cooling for years. Which is 70% water unless you buy M1 or something. No ill affects.

A cam that causes reversion will ingest a lot of water really quick.

 

[rivermobster]

Wow. That's a great diagnosis right there.

 

[RiverDave]

Boat. Valet dropping it off to get fixed

 

[GOTTBoat]

Thankfully AJ found out that i had a cracked header before i lost the motor. getting headers is a problem nowadays but hopefully the one i got will work

fingers crossed we can even run her this weekend


View attachment 1119364

Funny how your boat looks small sandwiched in there.

 

[Wizard29]

Boat. Valet dropping it off to get fixed View attachment 1119382

Must be nice to have a boat bitch to that extent.

 

[575cat]

Full staggered engine,s should have tail pipe support [ forward engine ] , they are heavy and move around A LOT no wonder thing,s keep cracking , this is one reason .

 

[BIGRED9158]

Boat. Valet dropping it off to get fixed View attachment 1119382

So now we can borrow a boat and a trailer

 

[H20 Toie]

So now we can borrow a boat and a trailer

Sure he has a nice chaparral you can borrow

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

@H20 Toie did you get the header repaired or replaced?

To all other inmates... I need to do further diagnosing but I may have a cracked header. Boat ran great all day then on my way back I started to overheat. Went through my paces of opening cooling lines and firing up the boat and impeller is pushing water. Whether it's enough I'm not sure. Replaced the impeller any way was still over heating. Ended up pulling the thermostat out to make it back on my own power. (Still no thermostat in) I noticed at idle in gear it starts running warm but when I put it in neutral in bump to 1000 rpm it cools back down. Starboard side is steaming until underway.

Now that I'm at home I'm going to try to back flush the system. I personally haven't lost an impeller and the one I changed on the water was Still in good shape. No evidence of sand lingering in the housing either.

Open to any ideas or leads on a good exhaust welder so I don't have to ship all the way back to cmi if needed. Thanks in advance.

 

[CLdrinker]

Boat. Valet dropping it off to get fixed View attachment 1119382

Is the RDP sponsorship paying for the repairs too

 

[Wizard29]

@H20 Toie did you get the header repaired or replaced?

To all other inmates... I need to do further diagnosing but I may have a cracked header. Boat ran great all day then on my way back I started to overheat. Went through my paces of opening cooling lines and firing up the boat and impeller is pushing water. Whether it's enough I'm not sure. Replaced the impeller any way was still over heating. Ended up pulling the thermostat out to make it back on my own power. (Still no thermostat in) I noticed at idle in gear it starts running warm but when I put it in neutral in bump to 1000 rpm it cools back down. Starboard side is steaming until underway.

Now that I'm at home I'm going to try to back flush the system. I personally haven't lost an impeller and the one I changed on the water was Still in good shape. No evidence of sand lingering in the housing either.

Open to any ideas or leads on a good exhaust welder so I don't have to ship all the way back to cmi if needed. Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure a cracked header would cause an overheating condition. Did you check the oil to see if water is getting in there?

My first thought is maybe a head gasket, but kind of weird it's warm at idle then cools down when run up to 1,000. I had a head gasket let go on a 496HO I had. Would be cool at idle, then heat right up when any load/RPMs were applied.

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

As far as I can tell from the dip stick I have no water in the oil. I check that every morning before I fire up. I'm thinking flow issues in between the header and thermostat.

Thanks for the heads up I will probably change the oil just to be sure if my flush doesn't reveal anything