hole in exhaust plate??

[stuart0]

Iv'e recently purchased a 1980 mercury 90hp six in line. The plate on the left hand side with about seveteen bolts fixing it has a small patched area with what appears to be sealant or something. Iv'e ran the engine and it's not leaking anything at the moment. Would it leak water and exhaust gases? Can anyone advise weather it's ok to repatch it with some weld glue.I gather the engine will be wrecked if those bolts break when they attempt to remove the plate.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: hole in exhaust plate??

Stuart, It is certainly acceptable to patch the outer cover with anything that will work. However, under the outer plate is an inner exhaust baffle and under that is the inner water jacket cover. Leaks in either of these two plates will allow water to enter the cylinders. The question is, if the outer cover is bad, what shape are the inner covers?<br /><br />If you do pull the cover off, use a propane torch to heat the bolts, and then gentle (hand or air)impact to loosen the bolts.<br /><br />PS. the inner water jacket bolts are usually the most prone to breaking!

 

[KCLOST]

Re: hole in exhaust plate??

Water will exit that hole, Exhaust gases will not. The cover on the outside is the water jacket cover, underneath it is the water passage, underneath that is the exhaust cover, and exhaust chamber...