When is it time to replace the manifolds?

[pwelch]

As some of you may know, this spring I purchased a 1996 Pursuit Denali with a Volvo Penta I/O that had a little over 200 hrs on the meter. As a precaution, I replaced the risers but let the manifolds be. How will I know when its time to replace the manifolds? Do I get subtle warnings or will it be a major crisis? Peter

[Sandiego]

Best bet is to pull em and inspect em. Gaskets are cheap and easy to replace. It's also a good time to replace your wet exhaust hoses at that time.

[dry doc]

tough question...the hoses at least can be given
some degree of physical exam, but the manifolds
cant..and by the time you pull them (labor and
materials), you should probably go with brand
new...."in for a nickel, in for a dime"...i had
a long talk this spring with my mercruiser mech-
anic who deals day in and day out with i/o as
searay dealer of size, and he said they arent
seeing manifold problems inside of 11-12 years,
but usually do by 15...thus, next winter, after
about 1000 hrs and 6-7 years of use, i plan to
straightaway go to new manifolds...i will tell
then just what the manifoldtopsy showed, ie
am i just being wasteful of my money or very
shrewd about "pm"??? dan

[Mumblerone]

dry doc...been meaning to ask you. Does dry doc mean your a doctor that no longer drinks? Or is it where you boat is? Does it mean you a doctor that is thursty? I'm totally confused. If you could hear me speak; you'ld know why they call me Mumbler.

Boston Whaler, "MUMBLER", 24' Outrage, twin 175 HP Evinrude Ocean Pros. Snowball, the cat...

[BK4515]

Before they fail - Dont know the answer, but I found out the hard way. Volvo 3 years old, puchased used everthing looked good, well cared for boat. One year latter have water in the pistons - failed manifold. Cost about 11,000 all said and done.
Have given up on inboards and bigger boats - running a Shallow Sport with Yamaha 150 now - no blue water but use it more.
Good Luck

[CB Haws]

For some reason I seem to think Vulvas have raw water cooled manifolds even if the engine is freshwater cooled. For that reason three to four years is about all. Mercruisers have antifreeze running in the manifolds if freshwater cooled. Therefore 10 years or more is not out of the question. In ten years the engines should be finished anyway. 200 hours a year equals 2000 hours on gassers.

[dry doc]

mumbler,

i am a physician and my subspecialty (of
internal medicine ) is addiction...thus, when
people decide to "dry out", they come on in
for a visit to me....also, because of my under-
standing of the pharmacology and physiology of
solvent ingestion, i do not induce transient
dementia personally by the use of chemicals...
that is meaning #2...i have had a vasectomy,
so you could throw that in for #3....the boat
was selected with hi-dri use in mind, as my
`72 whaler was hi-dried for 20 years with rather
dramatic preservation demonstrated...that is #4
....and lastly, the ACTUAL origin: i took a test
ride for a hour in january in the chesapeake of
the parker 25 cabin boat that interested me...
it was not a nice day one bit, and for a card-
carrying center consoler, the cabin was a full
revelation not unlike paul on the road to damas-
cus!...i also was disappointed in the amount of
pounding (14 deg) but amazed at the lateral
stability when at rest in large, rolling seas...
i said to penny, "this is a platform second only
to a drydock"...we agreed right there to take
the boat and name it, the drydock....the obvious
above-referenced factors led to deleting the
last letter of that noun....voila dan

[Emily Rose]

pwelch,

I also have a VP I/O. Mine is a 98 that is kept in the water all season. What I have been doing is watching the engine temp. I run 160-165 degrees consistently. When she starts to creep up to 170-175, then I will replace the manifolds and risers.

Dave