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Leaking water from between head & exhaust manifold


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I have just been told by my dealer ( only one in State ) that water leaking out ( externally ) from inbetween the engine heads and the exhaust manifold is not covered by warranty and is a wear & tear issue....? Anyone else had this said to them.

I was also told that there isn't a gasket between the head and the manifold. This sounds dubious to me as I have seen what looks like the gaskets to suit on Bakes & Skidim web sites.

I would definately like some clarification on the gasket issue if someone has the knowledge.

I know its an easy fix but sometimes I feel that " wear & tear " while something is under warranty is a load of BS.

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Warranties are a beautiful thing if you do not have to use them. The make no common sense sometimes. I would be screaming at Malibu and step over your dealer.

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An interesting leak since there are no water ports that flow water between the cylinder heads and the exhaust manifolds on the surface to surface contact. There could be a leak coming from one of the exhaust manifold bolts, those should have some rtv at the tip of the bolt to seal the water at the root of the threads. The seal between the manifold and head is to keep exhuast gas from escaping and normally there is a gasket, but rtv could also seal that surface.

You might find it easier to track the leak and fix it yourself, either seal the bolt or tighten a hose clamp on one of the water flow hoses or check the exhaust manifold itself for any leaks between the clamping surface of the 2 peices.

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This is more info. (The white stuff is crystallized salt water) It is most likely a corrosion issue and will not be covered on a warranty. Have you been flushing after each use? You will likely need to replace the manifolds. You should be looking at a closed cooling system although it will not fix the exhaust system as you will need to flow cooling water through the exhaust manifold to cool them so flushing is still a must after salt water use.

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I have closed water cooling, and as you have said this ' closed ' water does not cool the manifolds. I also use a product called Saltaway and flush for minimum of 15 min after every day out. The wife complains that the Bu sometimes gets more attention than her....... so I'm very paticular/strict in the way I look after my Sunscape.

Was a public holiday here on Wednesday so armed with a tube of Ultra black RTV and 2 riser gaskets I pulled off the manifolds and risers ( man they are heavy ) and inspected the exhaust & cooling passages. They were all pretty good ( nothing that would be cause for concern ) so I just gave them a good clean out and put a stone on the riser to manifold surfaces to make a perfectly flat seal. Put it all back together and ran boat in backyard for 20min. No leaks so far. Time will tell.

If they corroded super fast in the future i will be investing in a set of stailnless steel manifolds ( manifold & riser are 1 piece ) from these guys ( 1hr down the road from me )

http://www.hitekmarine.com.au/polished_indmar.htm . I spoke with them yesterday and they also claim slight power increase due to better exhaust chamber flow ( some data on their web site also ).

Thanks for all of your responses.

This is more info. (The white stuff is crystallized salt water) It is most likely a corrosion issue and will not be covered on a warranty. Have you been flushing after each use? You will likely need to replace the manifolds. You should be looking at a closed cooling system although it will not fix the exhaust system as you will need to flow cooling water through the exhaust manifold to cool them so flushing is still a must after salt water use.

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