Cleaning exhaust manifolds

[thundercraft177]

Well I pulled the manifolds and found that they are partially restricked and is the probable cause of my issues. Now how do I clean these myself. I know I need to put acid in them from what I have heard. What else? It is built up pretty good but not completely blocking. I am looking for things that I might be able to buy at lowes, home depot or walmart.

 

[Don S]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

DO NOT clean them, replace 'em.
They get clogged up from rust and corrosion mostly from the inside of the manifolds themselves.
Once you clean them, you are taking away any chance of an early warning system to tell you you have bad manifolds and risers............. before water starts getting into your engine which can really destroy your engine instead of just the manifolds and risers.

 

[thundercraft177]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

I understand that but this is normal the manual tells me of it and says for salt water use clean them every 2-3 yrs. these are in real good shape just need to be cleaned.

 

[Don S]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

Let me guess, Clymers manual, right? Or maybe Seloc?

And how do you know they are in real good shape? you can only see the outside of them.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

Do yourself a favor and take Don S's advice. I have never seen anything in print specifying cleaning every 2-3 years for saltwater use. I have seen many write-ups, West Marine comes to mind, recommending replacing them every 2-3 years. If you have corrosion to the point of restriction, you're playing with fire if you don't replace them. Even if you clean them out and even if they pass a pressure test today, they will definitely fail in the near future. Then you will have to buy new ones and a long block. You will get no warning when they fail. Your motor will bog down, hydrolock, and things will bend and break. Do a Google search on riser failure and you can read about lots of people who were where you are now, made the wrong decision, and wrote about the subsequent total engine failure. That should convince you if Don S hasn't...

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

Here's a discussion on the same topic. Replace don't "clean" the manifolds/risers.

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/exhaust_risers.htm


Regards,

Rick

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

2-3 years in salt make them damn good small boat anchors within a year

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

Muriatic acid is what you seek.......
But, save time & money & peace of mind & replace them....
Salt water & RWC systems are a salesman dream come true.....
You might squeeze another year out of them...
Or not......
Roll the dice.....
If you have scale, I'd wager that your block is not far from replacement as well......JK

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Cleaning exhaust manifolds

Muriatic acid is what you seek.......
But, save time & money & peace of mind & replace them....
Salt water & RWC systems are a salesman dream come true.....
You might squeeze another year out of them...
Or not......
Roll the dice.....
If you have scale, I'd wager that your block is not far from replacement as well......JK