Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
I've had a few people PM me about the water reversing kit. so here it is in public.

Mercury found a lot of the in-line 6 engine manifolds were cracking and were unable to identify a cause. Investigation found that the problem occurred when a boat had been running for a while and was suddenly bought to a stop. What they found was that because the water entered the manifold at the front, when the boat's bow was up an air pocket would be created at the top of the manifold at front, near cylinder #1. With no water there this area became extremely hot. When the boat came off the plane, and sat more level, water would suddenly fill the void and crack the casting.

To overcome the problem the Merc engineers came up with a very clever fix (I think it's clever). They changed the direction of the water flow in the manifold and effectively forced the water to flow 'uphill' when the boat's bow was up. They did this by changing some parts and adding a couple of hoses.

1. Remove the short hose from the thermostat housing to the front of the manifold and replace it with a hose that goes to the back of the manifold.
2. Replace the blanking plate at the back of the manifold with a plate the same as the one at the front of the manifold. It has to be mounted sideways.
3. Remove the exhaust elbow and fit a blanking plate over the water galleries between the manifold and the elbow. Has to have a small (1/8") hole for air bleed.
4. Remove one of the plugs on the side of the exhaust elbow and fit a 90 degree brass fitting.
5. Run another hose from the brass fitting to the port plate on the front of the manifold.
6. Pat self on the back for a job well done....:D:D:D

Cheers all,

Chris..........
 

ziggy

Admiral
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Messages
7,473
Re: Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

i thought about pming ya too about that notion..... but didn't. thanks for posting to the public what it's all about as i didn't undertand what ya were refering to either........ now what to do with the info. this is the first i've heard of this issue on an L6 engine....... thanks for the heads up......
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

It came out as a service bulletin in the mid 80s, but I can't find a reference to it anymore. I had to replace the manifold on my old 165 and the kit came with the new manifold, complete with installation instructions :D

Chris...........
 

starsnstripers

Lieutenant
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
1,330
Re: Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

sooo Achris any chance of a diagram to accompany that discription? lol and what do you think i shoud do about my front motor mounting prob? thanks
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

sooo Achris any chance of a diagram to accompany that discription? lol and what do you think i shoud do about my front motor mounting prob? thanks

I can't post diagrams because I'm running into iBoats through a proxy server. As for the front mount, I'd set it up in the right position and drill and tap a pair of new holes. But that's me....

Chris..............
 

bigblocksarefun

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
197
Re: Manifold water reversing kit, Mercruiser in-line 6

It came out as a service bulletin in the mid 80s, but I can't find a reference to it anymore. I had to replace the manifold on my old 165 and the kit came with the new manifold, complete with installation instructions :D

Chris...........

http://www.marinepartsman.com/Mercury-Marine-service-bulletins/MerCruiser/1983/EN_19.PDF

This is a link to the Service Bulletin for this modification, just in case someone is searching for it.
 
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