(ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

[arsenalpsu]

1984 115hp in-line 6cy mercury ser#6441514: I have some water leaking from around my Cylinder cover on my "tower of power" listed above. I plan to remove the cover and replace the gasket this fall. It looks as if i can remove all the bolts and just replace the gasket. Is this as easy as it looks? Any tips or suggestions please?? Also, when i replace the gasket should I apply any grease or oil to it before replacing the cover? Any issues I could run into doing this?

I do know that when screwing the bolts back on they shouldn't be too tight as they can break off very easily. Any help is appreciated!

Thank you!
Jon

 

[Jeff_G]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

If you are speaking of the rear gasket.
Remove the cover and throughly clean the cover and the block. Clean the threads throughly. If the cover is real corroded, replace it. If warped badly straighten it carefully against the edge of a soft wood table, or work bench
Use some black RTV, available from any auto supply and put a THIN coating on both sides of the gasket. Torque the bolts evenly in a circular pattern from the center outward.
I also use a touch of perfect seal, Mercury's gasket sealer, or Permatex Aviation Gasket Sealer on the bolts before I put them in. It seals the threads, prevents corrosion which those bolts are prone to.

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

I am talking about the rear gasket, where the spart plugs are. Are these cover prone to warping? It's not a serious leak, am I better off just leaving it as is as i could unravel something i'd have to replace?

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

bump...

 

[outboardnut]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

sounds like you are looking for a band aid......

you can try cleaning up the leaking area and band aid it with waterweld, JB weld, or similar epoxy putty.

Comes in a little round tube...cut it to the size you need...mix together...and putty on.

If it's a real small leak(like dripping) it may not hurt to just leave it alone and let it leak.

Above advise is BAND AID and not the right way of doin' it....but it sounds like that is what you are wanting....

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

I don't want to just bandaid it, i was just wondering if pulling the cylinder cover off would or could lead to other problems. Thans for the thought though. I think I'm going to just replace the seal.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

Those 1/4-20 water jacket cover bolts tend to break, when you try to remove them. You can easily turn a simple job into a nightmare.

Unless it is really bad, I would use some silicone to fix the leaks. if you are determined to remove the cover. look at erh block and see if you can slips nuts behind the block casting, and drill thru the block to replace the bolts.

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

Chris,

So you would just cover the leaking areas with silicone? What type would you use? Do you think it will hold or push out from the pressure? How about that recommendation further up in the thred to use epoxy puddy?

 

[Jeff_G]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

If you have a leak silicon/rtv will not hold. Some two part epoxy may for a short while if you take it down to bare metal. If it is a fresh water motor I would try to remove the bolts, a little heat plus some penetrating fluid will help. Salt water engine, you will break some bolts.

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

That was my though as well, the silicone would blow off from the pressure. I'll have to run it on muffs and really look at how bad it is. If it's just a few trickles should I even bother with it?

 

[Jeff_G]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

I few drips I would leave it. A little mineral build up and it may stop on it's own. If it is bad enough to wet the plug wires then repair.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

Guys, Silicone will easily seal most leaks on that waterjacket. The water pressure on an inline motor is very small.

 

[Jeff_G]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

A properly running inline will have about 10 psi at WOT.

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

Well I'll give it a shot, I mean I can't hurt anything by trying the RTV silicone. If it doesn't work I can just peal it back off. I think i'll stay away from the epoxy though.

 

[Zrt1200]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

On those little 1/4-20 bolts I use a propane torch, Its just enough heat to help loosen things up but not hot enough to hurt any thing. I found this out from a mechanic.

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

Get a tube of that crank case sealer that yamaha uses ( yamabond I think it is called) Or the stuff polaris uses. Great stuff. Do it right do it once.

 

[turbinedoctor]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

I am in the process of a complete rebuild of an 84 90hp. I broke 5 of the cover bolts. 6 hours later and I still have one more to drill, grind and tap out.

Moral of the story, don't try to remove them unless the leak is bad and you have the time and patience to remove broken bolts.

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

I am having the same issue with my 73 inline 6. Except my leak is more severe. I was given all of the warnings about the bolts that you have heard above. My experience, however, was totally different. I just put a ratchet on one of the bolts to see just how much I was going to have to torque the heads and they came off rather easy. I was very surprised. With a little maniulation of the bottom cowl, I got to the bottom three bolts and the jacket was off. I scraped the old gasket from the block and put a new one on. Permatex Silicone Sealant works great and is highly recommended by the best of the best. Just make sure that you do follow the directions on the tube. My follie was the curing time. I didn't wait long enough and I still have a slight leak in mine. I plan on learning from my $12 buck mistake and doing it again / right this week sometime.

If you do have problems getting those bolts off, I suggest some pb blaster soaking for a day or so and them some heat if all else fails!

 

[turbinedoctor]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

GA medic. Congrats on your sucess. I have removed two of these covers and on the first one I only broke 2 bolts and with a pair of Vise grips on the stud left I was able to work them back and forward with some lube to get them out. The second one was a different story. I tried PB blaster, Kroil oil, Sea foam, WD-40 and even heat. Three still needed drilling, grinding and tapping.

Like you said, lowering the cowl is a must. If you dont have a manual for your engine let me know and I can give you the torque specs and pattern. Remember that the manual recommends torquing in steps, i.e. 20" lbs then 50"lbs and finally 80" lbs. These are not the torque settings for this cover but an example of how they recomend to step the torque up.

 

[arsenalpsu]

Re: (ANY "TOWER OF POWER" EXPERTS) - cylinder cover gasket question

OK- i ran it on muff this weekend and found the leak. It's coming from out from the top cylinder around the spart plug. It's a small steady stream that comes out and travels down past the other 5 plugs. No squirting all over the wires, just down to the bottom of the cow. Is this something i should bother with or just leave it? I don't know how I would patch it with silicone or JB.

Thanks!