Sea-r-cy
08-14-2012, 03:04 PM
Back in June, my starboard engine started the 4-2 code, which meant "it" had happened. The "it" on this engine is a design flaw, a steel plug in the exhaust aluminum casting. After a few years of saltwater, the electrolysis eats away the casting, the plug will eventually fall out. I tried a temperary fix, a thick epoxy mix coating the entire steel plug and lapping over onto the aluminum casting. This patch held for the remainder of snapper season, probably 50 hours or so.
The professional "fix" is a complete new part. Expensive, and quite a job to replace. ($938 for the engine holder set) + labor. Having twins, I could easily spend over $3000 for the job.
Just today, I left the dock and made it only 3 miles, the starboard engine started coding 4-2 again, and promply died. Another day of fishing ruined.
My fix is quick, cheap, and easy. The photos show the progress of the fix. Basically, I ground away all the old aluminum, fashioned a plate out of 12 guage aluminum, then drilled and riveted it to the housing. The rivets are blind-end all stainless. I used high temperature silicone to seal between the parts.
This method of repair should give me several more years of use. It isn't pretty, but it will hold and seal off the exhaust gasses.
(sorry for the blurry photos, but you still can see the process)
Sea-r-cy
The professional "fix" is a complete new part. Expensive, and quite a job to replace. ($938 for the engine holder set) + labor. Having twins, I could easily spend over $3000 for the job.
Just today, I left the dock and made it only 3 miles, the starboard engine started coding 4-2 again, and promply died. Another day of fishing ruined.
My fix is quick, cheap, and easy. The photos show the progress of the fix. Basically, I ground away all the old aluminum, fashioned a plate out of 12 guage aluminum, then drilled and riveted it to the housing. The rivets are blind-end all stainless. I used high temperature silicone to seal between the parts.
This method of repair should give me several more years of use. It isn't pretty, but it will hold and seal off the exhaust gasses.
(sorry for the blurry photos, but you still can see the process)
Sea-r-cy