1984 Contessa exhaust boot and possible water leak-gctid811497

[Domenico]

Hi all,

Been surfing the site and getting great info. Now I have a couple questions. took our 1984 Contessa 2850 with Volvo Penta 4.3 for a spin on our madden voyage. She ran for a couple hours about , just looking at the scenery on shore. Got to the end of the lake spun around to head back to the dock and opened her up to 17/18 mph for about 20 min then hear change in tone from the rear, out the back. Smoke started filling the cabin & coming out the throttle controls. After checking the wiring, which the smell was like rubber or electrical wiring all was fine under the dash. Looked in the engine compartment to find 1 of the exhaust boots had nice size hole melted in it. We duct taped it up and putted back to the dock. Did want to strain the tape.The next day I started to remove & replace the boot & its rock solid & the other one has a small hole in it to. Is it best to pull exhaust manifold, because it don't seem I could get them off with out cutting them up or put them back on with that small a gap. Is it possible they just broke down from age? I also noticed some water below water pump. Maybe 1in or so.The guy we got it from replaced the raw pump impeller but not the circulation pump. What's best way to test the pump? I've been told I can get a heavy duty Chevy water pump to replace it, is this a good idea?

Thanks,

Dale

[Domenico]

Couldn't post second pic. I have one, not so great, of water.

[2850Bounty]

DO NOT continue operating the engine until this has been corrected!

Some portion of your seawater system is not working correctly. Start at the stern drive and work your way forward.

Those are your 95mm exhaust-elbow-to-Y-pipe couplers.

You will want to order 95mm soft wall exhaust hose, and about 2" longer than each of the OEM couplers.

.

[SKUA_28_Contessa]

Thats a lot of boat for a 4.3! Sounds like you have a plugged manifold or riser. As 2850 Bounty said check out the water flow. Overheating and a fire are possible unless corrected.

[Domenico]

Thanks, I want to get those boots off so I can check out in there. Can I reuse the manifold gasket? It looks like that's the way to get to removing & replacing those boots.

[Ruffryder]

http://www.baylinerownersclub.org/in...ciera?start=50

[Domenico]

Here's a few pics

[Domenico]

Tried to upload some others but keeps saying upload failed.

[SKUA_28_Contessa]

The Volvo 260A is a 5.7 V8. Your pic size maybe exceeding the file,size limit here on the BOC. Also your wiring down in the bilge is a bit ugly, and wire nuts are really bad form on a boat as well as not adhering to wiring requirements.

[Pcpete]

X2 on the 5.7. You can and should pull the risers not just to create the slack to replace the exhaust hoses but also to check for restrictions in the water jackets. It's very common for rust to build up to the point of cutting off the raw water flow into the exhaust system. Often the first indicator is the engine will warm to a normal operating temperature, then after a time there will be a second rise of 10-20 degrees. You can soak the risers in muriadtic acid to boil out the rust, but usually by the time you get done cleaning the chambers you will find they are shot anyway. Do not operate the boat until you have this repaired and do not reuse the gaskets. Btw, in my experience, the marine gaskets are often of different materials than the automotive ones to compensate for the engine being constantly under load, always pulling a trailer up a steep hill so to speak.

[Neo]

Check the waterneck, waterneck bushing, washers, o-rings ($30-40 parts), while you are servicing.. If they are marginal and you are breached and sucking in air... this will definitely take out the wet exhaust tubes.

I found out the hard way, was fine putting around, happens when the boat planes out and drive is out of water.

I believe I read in the Heloc guide that these are a 3 yr service part: if someone knows better please correct me if i am wrong.

[Domenico]

Thanks for all your input. I knew I had little work to do when we got it but nothing major. I have some heat tube to replace the wire nuts and have the additional parts ordered. Tearing manifold off this weekend to clean them up to put the boots back on when they arrive. I want to make sure it's sea worthy before putting it in the Slip.I'll post the progress & try getting the other pics up.

Thanks again

[2850Bounty]

Dale, the two rubber units that you are referring to are 95mm soft wall exhaust "hoses"...... not boots!

A good marine hose supplier can bring them in for you.

Make DANG sure that you order these 2" longer than the OEM 95mm soft wall hoses!

You'll learn why later!

Dale, NO on the automotive engine circulating pump.

Your Engine is Raw Water Cooled, of which means that you want a Circ Pump with the bronze or SS impeller and the special ceramic seal affair........ in other words, the Marine Version!

Dale, your post #1 refers to a 4.3L engine, yet your photo shows an AQ 260A

Also, your AQ 260A engine does not have exhaust Spacers/Risers....... you will have exhaust Manifolds and Elbows only! (no spacer or riser is available for this exhaust system!)

You also show a Johnson crankshaft seawater pump. I cannot tell for certain, but I believe that this would be the F5B-9 pump. If so, you will use the 1027B impeller.

My suggestions:

Drain the drive gear oil and catch and inspect it.

Pull the transmission ONLY.

Examine the interior area of the flywheel cover "snout" (inside of the bellows area).

Examine the universal drive shaft bearing crosses (aka U-joints to some)

Replace the water neck fitting and the special beaded gasket underneath it. (this is a wear part and must be routinely replaced)

Replace shift cable at this time if need be!

Replace drive shaft bellows when going back together.

DO NOT re-use any O-rings! Use NEW OEM or Sierra OEM equivalent!

I would strongly suggest replacing the PDS bearings. However, this requires engine removal or at least turning it side-ways!

Do this once, and you'll be good for another 15 years or so!

Clean up your wiring. NO wire wing nuts!

DO NOT store the stern drive in the UP position!!!!!

Remove the seawater pump impeller during winter lay-up!

[2850Bounty]

"Domenico" post=811791 wrote:
Thanks for all your input. I knew I had little work to do when we got it but nothing major. I have some heat tube to replace the wire nuts and have the additional parts ordered. Tearing manifold off this weekend to clean them up to put the boots back on when they arrive. I want to make sure it's sea worthy before putting it in the Slip.I'll post the progress & try getting the other pics up.

Thanks again

[color]blue wrote:
I would caution you against using wire connectors with the heat shrink tube attached to the fitting.

If at all possible, warm the engine up some prior to cracking the exhaust manifold bolts loose.[/color]

[Domenico]

Is this the gasket for the riser box I need?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-7L-350-Vol...hVdrg6&vxp=mtr


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