Normal problems for older 454bs

"For Rick Sweeten:
Rick, I’ve

"For Rick Sweeten:
Rick, I’ve been watching your comments on the Marine Engine message board and after reading your profile I now understand why you always have an excellent answer…..I have a rather simple question to ask…..having been a sailboat enthusiast for most of my live I recently bought a 1988 carver 38’ Santego and although both of the engines are in good working order I’m sure there are things that normally go bad if they are not taken care of……is there a list of those items that normally go bad that I could check on now rather then wait until they go bad at the wrong time??? Would appreciate your answer….BTW, both engines have 950 Hrs.



Thanks in advance



Sonny Harrison"

"Sonny, check your e-mail.

"Sonny, check your e-mail.

Thanks for the kind words.

Rick"

why not post your answer those

why not post your answer those of us who own 454's would like to see your answer. yor responses are always professional and use common sense .thanks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't m

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Sonny e-mailed me directly and I replied prior to seeing the post here.

Here is what I told him.



"Sonny,

The normal "wear" items are belts, hoses, pumps, etc. The hours are not a concern, rather their maintenance and current condition. I bought my wife a new Suburban last year, it now has 1400 hrs. on it. It's just breaking in.

Manifolds are the single most corrosive "non moving" part. These items need to be replaced, or at least disassembled every couple years, depending on the usage and type of water you are in.

Other than that, routine maintenance and use some common sence, if it's not broke, don't fix it.""

"Rick

You mentioned that ma

"Rick

You mentioned that manafolds need to be replaced or at least disassembled every couple of years. I have a 78 carver with 270 crusaders, in the two years I have had the boat I have not touched the manifolds and don't know when they were serviced. They have always been in fresh water.

What needs to be disassembled to check there condition?

What kind of problems may I run in to in the process?

Thanks for he advice."

"If you are strickly fresh wat

"If you are strickly fresh water you probably won't run into any problems with corroded bolts. This is the biggest problem with servicing the manifolds. One of the reasons for servicing them regularly is to keep the bolts from rusting and seizing, if a bolt is rounded or rusted badly, replace it.

What you are looking for is any signs of water leaking into the cylinders through the exhaust system. The most common area of failure is the mating surface between the manifold and riser. You should remove the riser, check the surfaces, clean them and install new gaskets. While the riser is off look down into the manifold. Make sure there are no rust trails there, indicating a leak. Also check for excessive scaling. Check the condition of the hoses and clamps throughout the entire exhaust system. If there is a doubt about a clamp, replace it. All exhaust hoses should be double clamped.

I suggest you do this every 2-3 years in salt water and every 3-4 years in fresh.

Good luck,
Rick"

"Rick,

Thanks for the advic

"Rick,

Thanks for the advice and thanks for the others that are asking questions....as I had mentioned in my first email this is my first power boat and probably will have a lot more question since all I'm use to is sailboats....thanks again for all the help and info...take care and Happy Sailing (sorry about that) Happy Boating.."