Restoring my Y pipe

[Rivergator]

With online prices for Mercruiser parts escalating I decided to have my Y exhaust pipe repaired. Unfortunately, It is not something that is offered already by some clever entrepreneur, but it was a brain fart I had and something that I would certainly look into doing if I was 20 years younger, had a lathe, a milling machine and the skills to weld aluminum. Nothing that can't be acquired or learned, so I would consider it. It could be a nice little side business to make some extra money when in retirement and to keep your mind from getting too lazy. So I prepared the Y pipe by removing as much corrosion as possible from the various places, made the replacement parts and fitted everything and then took it all to my welder who welded it up very nicely. Again I spend a few hours grinding and filing and restoring the shape of the repaired areas and mounting plate so that it will properly mate to the gimbal housing. Now I took it back to a machine shop and had them resurface the mounting plate. As a final step I finished the job by drilling the 2 bottom mounting holes and painted the whole thing. This Y pipe now is as good as new, totally free of any corrosion and I would say I saved at least a hundred dollars if I had bought as good a pipe on eBay. Total cost: $185 ($60 welding, $25 aluminum stock, $100 resurfacing). I know, this is borderline not worth it. You can still get a good, usable Y pipe for around 200 bucks on ebay, but if I could do all of this myself it would certainly be a rewarding little side business. $25 in material plus my labor and since I am retired I would consider my labor fun.
Explanation:
Pic1,2,3 prepared pipe and made parts to be welded. Pic4,5,6 back from the welder but it needs to go back to redo a few spots. Pic7,8 shows how bad the corrosion damage was, especially pic8. Pic8 before and pic9,10,11 after. Not bad I would say.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It would make sense if you have access to aluminum scrap and a machine shop and machine yourself. money doesnt make sense if you have to pay for the machining

here are a few with a 5 second google search

$120 on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/265298114827

$200 for a big block version. https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bpo/d/ozona-mercruiser-454-exhaust-pipe/7400995050.html

$350 for a brand new one https://sarasota.craigslist.org/bpo/d/bradenton-mercruiser-exhaust-pipe/7399548087.html

 

[Rivergator]

It would make sense if you have access to aluminum scrap and a machine shop and machine yourself. money doesnt make sense if you have to pay for the machining

here are a few with a 5 second google search

$120 on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/265298114827

$200 for a big block version. https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bpo/d/ozona-mercruiser-454-exhaust-pipe/7400995050.html

$350 for a brand new one https://sarasota.craigslist.org/bpo/d/bradenton-mercruiser-exhaust-pipe/7399548087.html

I am sorry Scott, but I totally disagree. You only repeated what I already said in my post. The money would be VERY lucrative if I could do all of this myself and made a little business out of it. Even having to farm everything out and as picky as I am for $185 I have a PERFECT Y pipe which passed my inspection and I still came out ahead. What you showed does not even come close. 2 of the ads are on craigslist in central Florida and they usually want cash and you pick it up. I live in Mobile Alabama. The one for $200 shows some corrosion on the Micky Mouse ears. Why would I buy this one for $200 when mine cost $185 and is perfect. The one on ebay is a good deal for $120 and the exhaust looks good but you may have overlooked the $100 shipping. I guess my pipe looks better by the minute, doesn't it. I put these pictures and post up to inspire others to try to do the same to rescue otherwise good components. It's not very difficult and if you happen to have the equipment and knowledge spending 25-30 bucks on material and look at your labor as a hobby, it's a damn good deal and fun doing it.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... That's a mighty fine job,.....
Probably deeper than I would go, even though I do, do the weldin',....
My "Machine Shop" is a grinder, 'n a drill press,......

I am tempted to remake a y-pipe to point forward, under the deck height, for the Atlantis project with the forward motor/ jackshaft drive,....
It's either that, or 4" straight out the back, right at water level,.....

I like the Rumble, But,....
I spent over 20 years tryin' to quiet down the ole tin fishin' barge, with the 4" straight off the risers, 'n out the transom.....

 

[Rivergator]

Ayuh,..... That's a mighty fine job,.....
Probably deeper than I would go, even though I do, do the weldin',....
My "Machine Shop" is a grinder, 'n a drill press,......

Thanks Bondo. LOL, that's about the extend of my machine shop, a grinder, a drill press and one hell of a vice. I just added the 12 ton shop press from Harbor Freight to my arsenal of weapons (my brother paid half of it). We will try it out on the weekend replacing the front wheel bearings on his Hyundai Accent.