Exhaust Flappers too tight

[Rivergator]

I was wondering @Drcoffee, in your video you mentioned that these flappers were Mercury parts. You mean they were genuine Mercury/Quicksilver parts? Since mine were not I was thinking about returning my crappy parts and spending the 80 or 90 bucks on the real OEM stuff, but if you already did that and they still don't fit, no point in me doing it. I already contacted the seller of my parts and told him about the problem and I'll see what he has to say.

 

[Rivergator]

Thanks @achris, yeah I am aware of the problem with the original one piece metal flappers and the pin wearing thru. If I were to make my own, improving on that would be part of the challenge. What I noticed on my old ones was that the pins were actually in pretty good condition and so were the ears that the pins go through, but both of the flappers were broken in half and the broken pieces were gone. Couldn't find them anywhere. Who knows when that happened, but I am sure that exhaust systems hasn't been opened in at least 10 years until now.

 

[Drcoffee]

I was wondering @Drcoffee, in your video you mentioned that these flappers were Mercury parts. You mean they were genuine Mercury/Quicksilver parts? Since mine were not I was thinking about returning my crappy parts and spending the 80 or 90 bucks on the real OEM stuff, but if you already did that and they still don't fit, no point in me doing it. I already contacted the seller of my parts and told him about the problem and I'll see what he has to say.

That was not my video, but someone else who found the revised part wasnt a perfect fit. If it were me, I dont think I would have started grinding on my exhaust to fit a plastic part. They range from $15 to $80. And the Y pipe is much more $$ to replace.

=> where did you buy the flappers from?

 

[Rivergator]

It is pretty much clear now that part number 807166A3 is a manufacturing error across the board. They are a faulty design no matter where you buy them from. Whether it is Quicksilver, Sierra, after market, made in USA, made in China or Timbuktu or anybody else it does not matter. THEY ALL DON'T FIT. The last set I received (my third) looks very well made. On sight they appear to be of good quality and just what I needed, but they all are too big and won't fit into the Y pipe. Now, could my Y pipe be the faulty part and way out of specs? I don't know but I also don't believe it. There are too many complaints about this very same problem and then there are others who say they had no problems, fits just fine. Go figure! I will keep my last set and see if I can modify it so it will fit my exhaust pipe. If you buy these flappers be prepared to do some modifying. I hope Mercury and Sierra and anybody else that is manufacturing these flappers look into the matter and make some corrections and rewrite the production specs. Err on the loose side. No harm done. Attached are pictures with the measurement.

 

[tank1949]

It is pretty much clear now that part number 807166A3 is a manufacturing error across the board. They are a faulty design no matter where you buy them from. Whether it is Quicksilver, Sierra, after market, made in USA, made in China or Timbuktu or anybody else it does not matter. THEY ALL DON'T FIT. The last set I received (my third) looks very well made. On sight they appear to be of good quality and just what I needed, but they all are too big and won't fit into the Y pipe. Now, could my Y pipe be the faulty part and way out of specs? I don't know but I also don't believe it. There are too many complaints about this very same problem and then there are others who say they had no problems, fits just fine. Go figure! I will keep my last set and see if I can modify it so it will fit my exhaust pipe. If you buy these flappers be prepared to do some modifying. I hope Mercury and Sierra and anybody else that is manufacturing these flappers look into the matter and make some corrections and rewrite the production specs. Err on the loose side. No harm done. Attached are pictures with the measurement.

Or,. you measuring tool is not accurate?

 

[Rivergator]

I just got around dealing with my flappers a week ago. As I mentioned before in my case modification is definitely necessary and here is what I had to do. I removed a good 1/4" from the ring (see where the crack is) to reduce the OD of the ring, so it will fit into the Y pipe. However, this mod also slightly shifted the position of the plastic snaps so I had to do a little filing there too to get them to snap in to the holes in the Y pipe. I hope this will work and last but I won't know until everything is back together and the engine is running.

 

[Lou C]

Well what a trial trying to get a relatively simple thing to work! I wonder if you could simply remove the exhaust bellows and replace it with an inboard style flapper to keep water from rushing up the Y pipe. I have seen someone do that with a Volvo SX after Volvo stopped using the OMC Cobra style flappers used on the early SX models….