2002 MerCruiser Horizon 81L

"I need to change the exhaust

"I need to change the exhaust manifold gaskets that are situated between the manifold and the elbow riser. There are two of them, sandwiching a "turbonator". Is this job in the realm of DIY? It looks easy, and access is a snap on my Chaparral Sig 350. I'd like any tips, suggestions, admonitions, whatever anybody can send my way. Is this a common gasket failure for these engines? I think the torque on the bolts is 34 lbs, "X" pattern...thanks in advance!"

"Go for it. Use Merc gaskets a

"Go for it. Use Merc gaskets and a little perfect seal, brush on non hardening permatex. That seems a little early to need service but if they leak they leak."

"The only thing I'm a litt

"The only thing I'm a little nervous about is making certain I don't get any water inside...I have the Merc gaskets....the parts place told me not to use anything on the gaskets, just put them down as they are, and tighten down. Any thoughts?"

"Ever think about changing bot

"Ever think about changing both manifolds out for the stainless steel ones? I blew out 1 of those gaskets on mine at 252 hours when the boat was 2.5 years old, blowing the engine. I now have the SS manifolds, 6 year warrenty and no more gasket to worry about!"

"Yikes! The engine blew??!!! D

"Yikes! The engine blew??!!! Didn't think this was so serious!
No, I wasn't aware of SS manifolds...let me check to make sure I have an engine first..."

"It just went one day. Noticed

"It just went one day. Noticed a lack of power and a miss in one cylinder. By the time I got the boat home, the motor was frozen. The block was so bad, it couldn't be used for core charge. I got my manifolds through trickmarine.net. They're not cheap, but they seemed to have the best price."

perfect seal on the gaskets

perfect seal on the gaskets

"WELLLL.....I spent the day re

"WELLLL.....I spent the day replacing gaskets on three of the exhausts..the fourth one looks fine, no sign of any leakage of any kind. I started torquing down the studs, and to my absolute amazement, it came OUT! It's threaded on both ends, and there was no sign of stripping, i.e., metal filings, or distorted threads. I peered into the hole with a flashlight, and managed to pull out what looks like "heli-coil", if you know what that is. Could it be possible that MerCruiser made a mistake in their boring calculations, and needed to install heli-coils in all of the stud holes???? I found two more! This is, as you can imagine, a little unsettling. I'm wondering if this could be the cause of the gasket failures. Now, my boat will have to just sit until I figure out what to do next..is it possible that there is a coil KIT that goes to this engine?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I may start a new thread with this, just to get as much input/info as I can."