So, I did it (with a lot of help from a crusty old boat mechanic in northern NY) – replaced the risers and manifolds on my 2001 Pursuit 2860 with VP 7.4L GSI. Did it in the shed with a propane heater and 17 degrees outside temp….nothing like holding heavy cast iron parts on a cold day, while climbing around the engine compartment….I used OEM for both the manifold and riser. My crusty old mechanic (ode to Mr. S. Danforth) was less concerned with riser to manifold connection then folks on this board, sanded them but wasn’t, how shall I say super anal about it. The VP instructions were clear that no sealant should be used with the “new” style gaskets…Fingers crossed come spring.
To back up, this was a used boat from FLA, that still had original exhaust (two things I said I would never do, buy a boat from saltwater and Florida….oh well) I had it brought up last spring to Lake Champlain and used it over the summer, to sort of shake it down. During the summer replaced the sea water pump, thermostat and oil cooler. She ran well, after the pump and t-stat replacement, temps stayed consistent, but knew this was job #1 going forward. The manifolds looked very good, the risers on the other hand were toast, the water jackets were somewhat compromised, but the nipple/discharge going into the rubber hose broke apart under the slightest pressure. Cast iron is brittle and that was perfect example. The boat was kept on a spring fed river for a number of years and had a flushing connection so for a raw water-cooled engine the water jackets were pretty clear all things considered.
I also replaced the power steering cooler with an eye towards replacing as much as I could of anything exposed to salt. I couldn’t keep power steering fluid in the pump, since the oil cooler was bad, I figured I should replace this cooler as well. Of course, the old PS cooler was fine, it was a leak from the hose connection. I hope I didn’t burn up the PS pump, since I stopped adding fluid at the end of the season because it felt like I was just dumping PS fluid in the bilge….
So, this isn’t a completely self-congratulatory post, we ran in to one issue. There is one small hose that comes from the fuel pump to the port riser with a little threaded brass elbow – yet another cooling line. Well of course we missed it when we put the plugs in and mounted the port riser (tapped on the engine side). So, since we didn’t want to take it all apart again, we installed the elbow on the starboard riser. I figured I would ask here if this is an issue. The brass elbow was clogged (we cleaned it) but all I could think not much cooling taking place there.
I did find a used thermostat housing that is in much better shape than the current one, probably swap it out in the spring when it is warmer. Thanks for any insight folks can provide. The information I gain on this site is really helpful. Happy New Year!
To back up, this was a used boat from FLA, that still had original exhaust (two things I said I would never do, buy a boat from saltwater and Florida….oh well) I had it brought up last spring to Lake Champlain and used it over the summer, to sort of shake it down. During the summer replaced the sea water pump, thermostat and oil cooler. She ran well, after the pump and t-stat replacement, temps stayed consistent, but knew this was job #1 going forward. The manifolds looked very good, the risers on the other hand were toast, the water jackets were somewhat compromised, but the nipple/discharge going into the rubber hose broke apart under the slightest pressure. Cast iron is brittle and that was perfect example. The boat was kept on a spring fed river for a number of years and had a flushing connection so for a raw water-cooled engine the water jackets were pretty clear all things considered.
I also replaced the power steering cooler with an eye towards replacing as much as I could of anything exposed to salt. I couldn’t keep power steering fluid in the pump, since the oil cooler was bad, I figured I should replace this cooler as well. Of course, the old PS cooler was fine, it was a leak from the hose connection. I hope I didn’t burn up the PS pump, since I stopped adding fluid at the end of the season because it felt like I was just dumping PS fluid in the bilge….
So, this isn’t a completely self-congratulatory post, we ran in to one issue. There is one small hose that comes from the fuel pump to the port riser with a little threaded brass elbow – yet another cooling line. Well of course we missed it when we put the plugs in and mounted the port riser (tapped on the engine side). So, since we didn’t want to take it all apart again, we installed the elbow on the starboard riser. I figured I would ask here if this is an issue. The brass elbow was clogged (we cleaned it) but all I could think not much cooling taking place there.
I did find a used thermostat housing that is in much better shape than the current one, probably swap it out in the spring when it is warmer. Thanks for any insight folks can provide. The information I gain on this site is really helpful. Happy New Year!