4.3l shutter replacement

[dsorensen11]

We just bought a 2010 Monterey with a 4.3l mercruiser. After removing the prop I found a peice of metal that I have been told is part of the water shutters. I have two questions. Why would the shutter have melted? I assume something must have overheated in the past. What other issues should I be looking for that may be related to this problem? Also, I am trying to get the exhaust apart so I can look for any more shutter parts that need to be removed and to replace them with new ones. How do I get the exhaust apart? I loosened the clamps on the two rubber joiners that connect the exhaust pipes, but nothing even budges. How difficult is it to get these things apart or am I going about it the wrong way?
Thanks for any help or information.

 

[Volphin]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

We just bought a 2010 Monterey with a 4.3l mercruiser. After removing the prop I found a peice of metal that I have been told is part of the water shutters. I have two questions. Why would the shutter have melted? I assume something must have overheated in the past. What other issues should I be looking for that may be related to this problem? Also, I am trying to get the exhaust apart so I can look for any more shutter parts that need to be removed and to replace them with new ones. How do I get the exhaust apart? I loosened the clamps on the two rubber joiners that connect the exhaust pipes, but nothing even budges. How difficult is it to get these things apart or am I going about it the wrong way?
Thanks for any help or information.

Shutters won't melt (the old ones are stainless steel). However the old pivots do corrode in the exhaust stream and they make their way to the bottom of the Y pipe. The drive must be removed to remove the leftover metal or if you are lucky, they are still in the Y pipe. You will need to remove the manifold elbows, and the two clamps at the very bottom of the exhaust tube where it connects to the Y (on both sides) to replace them. The rubber sticks pretty good to the Y pipe, so loosen the clamps all the way and start wiggling it. It will come free. I just wrote a post on the new plastic/rubber shutter design and how to install them. Do a quick search for it and it will tell you how.

V

 

[dsorensen11]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Shutters won't melt (the old ones are stainless steel). However the old pivots do corrode in the exhaust stream and they make their way to the bottom of the Y pipe. The drive must be removed to remove the leftover metal or if you are lucky, they are still in the Y pipe. You will need to remove the manifold elbows, and the two clamps at the very bottom of the exhaust tube where it connects to the Y (on both sides) to replace them. The rubber sticks pretty good to the Y pipe, so loosen the clamps all the way and start wiggling it. It will come free. I just wrote a post on the new plastic/rubber shutter design and how to install them. Do a quick search for it and it will tell you how.

V

Thanks Volphin,

I was under the impression that the shutters were made of rubber with just a metal insert to give them strength and hold their shape. I assumed that what I found was the metal insert that had come loose after the surrounding rubber melted (for whatever reason). The boat only has two seasons on it with 80 hours and fresh water use. It seems odd to me that the shutters have failed already.
I will keep trying to free the rubber sleeves from the y pipe and see what I find. I was hoping I could find all the parts of the shutters and avoid removing the drive.

 

[fishjumped]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

used a strap wrench at the loostened hose clamp's x4 and was able to get the rubber hose coupler to turn and leveraged it out fairly easy

 

[mr-steve-jones]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Be prepared to cut down the plastic lugs on the new style shutters if they don't fit. One side fitted fine on my 4.3LX, but the RH side casting on the Y pipe was a poor shape from new.

I got one of my snapped stainless old broken shutters out with a flexible spring finger grabber tool (used for retrieving nuts from engine compartments) Got lucky, but it saved removing the bellows.

 

[dsorensen11]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Shutters won't melt (the old ones are stainless steel). However the old pivots do corrode in the exhaust stream and they make their way to the bottom of the Y pipe. The drive must be removed to remove the leftover metal or if you are lucky, they are still in the Y pipe. You will need to remove the manifold elbows, and the two clamps at the very bottom of the exhaust tube where it connects to the Y (on both sides) to replace them. The rubber sticks pretty good to the Y pipe, so loosen the clamps all the way and start wiggling it. It will come free. I just wrote a post on the new plastic/rubber shutter design and how to install them. Do a quick search for it and it will tell you how.

V

You'll have to bear with me as I am new to this world. When you refer to the manifold elbows, do you mean the cast parts that bolt onto the top of the manifolds, or the elbows that are between the two rubber boots that turn down and connect to the Y pipe? I am assuming you mean the pieces that bolt onto the manifold. I initially thought you were referring to the elbow shaped pipes that turn down to the Y pipe. However, with only the clamps on the rubber tubes removed, things are still really tight and it seems that the only way to get anything loose would be to remove the piece from the top of the manifold (manifold elbow?).

 

[Volphin]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

You'll have to bear with me as I am new to this world. When you refer to the manifold elbows, do you mean the cast parts that bolt onto the top of the manifolds, or the elbows that are between the two rubber boots that turn down and connect to the Y pipe? I am assuming you mean the pieces that bolt onto the manifold. I initially thought you were referring to the elbow shaped pipes that turn down to the Y pipe. However, with only the clamps on the rubber tubes removed, things are still really tight and it seems that the only way to get anything loose would be to remove the piece from the top of the manifold (manifold elbow?).

Yes, the elbow I'm referring to attaches directly to the top of the manifold with 4 bolts. Some call them risers, but that is an actual spacer between the elbow and the manifold found on some engines. The exhaust elbow is the cast aluminum piece that is connected to the Y by a rubber exhaust tube. I find it easier to remove the manifold elbow, then loosen the clamps at the bottom to the exhaust elbow and remove it as a unit. Sometimes I have to remove the manifold elbow from its exhaust tube as well. They just get so darn tight and stiff, it is hard to get them off sometimes!

Hope this helps a bit... sorry if I was confusing!

V

 

[dsorensen11]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Yes, the elbow I'm referring to attaches directly to the top of the manifold with 4 bolts. Some call them risers, but that is an actual spacer between the elbow and the manifold found on some engines. The exhaust elbow is the cast aluminum piece that is connected to the Y by a rubber exhaust tube. I find it easier to remove the manifold elbow, then loosen the clamps at the bottom to the exhaust elbow and remove it as a unit. Sometimes I have to remove the manifold elbow from its exhaust tube as well. They just get so darn tight and stiff, it is hard to get them off sometimes!

Hope this helps a bit... sorry if I was confusing!

V

Thanks Volphin,
I will give that a try this weekend.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Would he not have the dry-joint exhaust manifolds being such a new engine? If so, those manifold elbow gaskets are expensive. I would not take those off unless I had to. Just something to check before you starting removing things.

 

[dsorensen11]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

Would he not have the dry-joint exhaust manifolds being such a new engine? If so, those manifold elbow gaskets are expensive. I would not take those off unless I had to. Just something to check before you starting removing things.

From what I can find, these do seem to be dry joint manifolds and yes, the gaskets seem pretty pricey. I would happily leave the exhaust elbows intact if I thought I could get the pipes apart that way. Anybody ever accomplish this without removing the manifold elbows?

 

[achris]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

From what I can find, these do seem to be dry joint manifolds and yes, the gaskets seem pretty pricey. I would happily leave the exhaust elbows intact if I thought I could get the pipes apart that way. Anybody ever accomplish this without removing the manifold elbows?

It can be done, but it's not easy...

Loosen the 4 clamps on the lower of the 2 rubber boots and slide it down the y-pipe.
Loosen the 2 upper clamps on the upper rubber boot and slide it, and the short aluminium pipe, off the end of the elbow...
That will give you access to the shutters...

Chris......

 

[FLANDY]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

I was finally able to remove the exhaust elbow bellows today on my Merc 4.3L. And I got to tell you, it was not an easy task, they were a real pain in the b*** to remove. All 4 clamped connections were stuck together pretty bad. OK, what I did was loose the 8 clamps, then pry (with a long, flat screwdriver) under the exhaust pipe elbow and the exhaust hose to slowly separate them. I had to apply a lot of pressure (and muscle) to get all connections loose, they seemed as if they were glued together! I sprayed a little bit WD-40 under the rubber bellows to aid with this. At first I was afraid of tearing off one of the bellows and then had to replace it, but even with a lot of force, they held pretty good. So, the only way I was able to get off the cast iron elbows and hoses, (after prying them as explained before), was by rocking the whole assembly back and forth, up and down several times, and then lifting (with the screwdriver under the lower bellow), the pipe elbow UP first, then prying the elbow BACK from the top rubber hose which connects to the riser. Hope this helps.

 

[dsorensen11]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

I was finally able to remove the exhaust elbow bellows today on my Merc 4.3L. And I got to tell you, it was not an easy task, they were a real pain in the b*** to remove. All 4 clamped connections were stuck together pretty bad. OK, what I did was loose the 8 clamps, then pry (with a long, flat screwdriver) under the exhaust pipe elbow and the exhaust hose to slowly separate them. I had to apply a lot of pressure (and muscle) to get all connections loose, they seemed as if they were glued together! I sprayed a little bit WD-40 under the rubber bellows to aid with this. At first I was afraid of tearing off one of the bellows and then had to replace it, but even with a lot of force, they held pretty good. So, the only way I was able to get off the cast iron elbows and hoses, (after prying them as explained before), was by rocking the whole assembly back and forth, up and down several times, and then lifting (with the screwdriver under the lower bellow), the pipe elbow UP first, then prying the elbow BACK from the top rubber hose which connects to the riser. Hope this helps.

Thanks to Achris and Flandy for your suggestions.
I got the first one apart by pulling the lower boot down over the Y pipe. Quite a wrestle but it finally came. No sign of the shutters anywhere, just the metal bar across the pipe that served as the hinge. Not sure how I'm going to find the missing shutter parts. Is there any problem with ignoring them or can they do some damage to the bellows or drive?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: 4.3l shutter replacement

You already found at some of the parts/pieces when you removed the prop. Have you pulled your outdrive? If not, do so and the remaining pieces may be there.