exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Hi...I just purchased a 1985 Princecraft 16 1/2 foot aluminum runabout with a 1989 Force 85 hp. I knew it "might" need an impeller when I bought it but tried to save $15 bucks by running it in a garbage can to check for water being pumped out the telltale....short version of the rest of the story is that there wasn't any water coming out so I ran it for a few minutes thinking it just needed time to prime the pump....I think I overheated the beast...although I never got an overheat alarm. I ran out and purchased the impeller and installed it, when I started it next time it was pumping water like it should, however I noticed water seeping from several of the exhast cover bolts and spraying out what appeared like a vent at the bottom of the exhaust cover (turned out that was a bolt hole with no bolt in it), I took off the exhaust plate and saw the gaskets had failed. My concern before I put new gaskets on relate to the stainless steel baffle; it is warped, I mean it won't lay flat, maybe an inch or so out of flat but not uniform. I would like to know if I should just throw new gaskets on either side of this and bolt it on hoping that clamping pressure will prevent a leak or buy a new baffle (what do they cost?)...it seems they are destined to warp with exhaust blasting on one side and water running on the other....any thoughts would be appreciated.....sorry for the long first post.....<br /><br />Tim (Winnipeg, Canada)<br /><br />Oh....forgot............the shop thought I should replace the head gasket as a precaution so I have one of those on order....

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Hi Kenora<br /><br />Whenever that plate is removed...it is warped. As long as there are no holes burned into it, it will be fine. Just bolt it back into place.<br /><br />PS...I took some service school courses in Winnipeg.<br /><br />TMD

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Thanks for the quick reply, I was hoping I wouldn't have to add that to my -purchase- list.<br /><br />Tim

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Well, I changed the exhaust cover/baffle gaskets ($3.90 each; cheap), the only hard job was cleaning off the old gasket and it gave me a great opportunity to see the pistons/cylinders (all in nice shape), after I tackled that I changed the head gasket (just in case it was fubared), it hadn't failed and was an easy change as well ($41.50; reasonable). Again the tough part was cleaning off the old gasket residue.......total time about 3 hours to disassemble, scrape, clean, gawk, reassemble, and torque in place.....thanks for all the help!<br /><br />Tim<br /><br />ps; I got a bolt ($1.00) to fill in the missing one at the bottom of the exhaust cover and it runs water tight!!

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

kenora, glad to hear your engine is looking good. Where did you get your parts. Did they have any Chrysler parts.

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Thanks.............I shopped at Ronds Marine in Winnipeg.............I did a Google search and found them at....<br />www.rondsmarine.com<br /><br />all those prices were in Canadian dollars too......that should make it very discounted for those spending greenbacks.....<br /><br />Tim<br /><br />I tried the link and it didn't work???....but the search will give you a location and phone number....

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Hey...you are mentioning my competition here <br /><br />TMD

Re: exhaust baffle warped and other issues

Sorry bout that....I was just answering the question bout where I bought my parts...if you were in Winnipeg I would use your services exclusively.......<br /><br />Tim