318 riser and manifold gaskets

"Hi, I have a question. I re

"Hi, I have a question. I recentely replaced my 1972 318 that was raw water cooled with a fresh water cooled one. I am still using the velvet drive/walter vee drive. The setup was running great, about 170-180 deg on the gauge, and you could keep your hands on all risers and manifolds without any discomfort. Last week , the motor wouldnt turn over. Make a long story short, pulled the plugs on the port side , and water was in them. I sprayed up the cylinders with trans fluid, and the motor turned over . ( the boat was only sitting 2 days between starts). My question is, I plan to change manifolds risers and the elbows. The end plate has an appx. 3' water tube in it. All three gaskets have a hole in the top portion, which on the osco site indicates raw water cooled, and shows for fwc, no hole in them. Should I just replace what was in there, or use the ones with no holes. It doesnt make sense how the water would flow through the manifold into the risers with no hole in the gasket. P.S the engine is fwc, but the manifolds are cooled with raw water, hence maybe the holes? I know its a long post, but any info would help, since I'm leaning to going with what was in there."

"The manifold/ riser gasket fo

"The manifold/ riser gasket for FWC does NOT have the top hole (and should be backed up by a stainless plate). The RWC engines will have the top hole--that's how the water gets out. Other than the BIG hole for the exhaust, that's all the holes you need.

Now, after being run a while, three 'slot-like' holes may appear in the gasket. These are not a problem, nor are they needed. They are covering up what are core removal holes needed to cast the parts.

Hope that helps,

Jeff"

"Thanks. I was wondering what

"Thanks. I was wondering what those slots were about. The only thing confusing me is that even though it is fwc cooled, the gaskets I took out have the top hole in them. The manifold is cooled by raw water, not fresh. I'm just going to replace them the way it was, It ran great that way."

"I think maybe Jeff thought yo

"I think maybe Jeff thought you had FWC manifolds. Use same pattern gaskets as the ones you took out and you should be fine. Also, before you bolt everything back together it might be a good plan to pressure test the manifolds."

"Thanks jim, I will use the s

"Thanks jim, I will use the same type gaskets that came out. Do you mean pressure test the old ones? I am getting brand new manifolds and risers."

OOPS! Skipped the part where

OOPS! Skipped the part where you're replacing the manifolds too... no sense pressure testing the new ones.

Good recommendation Jeff gave me when I did my manifold/riser work was to replace the manifold studs with new ones. I put anti-seize on the new studs when I installed them. Makes for easier removal next time around. Torque spec. for the manifold nuts is 30 ft/lbs. Torque up with alternating pattern at 10 ft/lb increments. After running the engine up to temp for an hour or so you should re-torque to 30 ft/lbs again since the gaskets will compress and seat-in a bit.

Good luck with the job!

"Studs also make it a LOT easi

"Studs also make it a LOT easier to put the gaskets and manifolds on.

Right, Jim?

Jeff"

Hi. Good to read this on the c

Hi. Good to read this on the cooling side. Does any one know if stainless steel or alum risers and 90 degree angles exist for Chryslers. Would appreciate some help. Jon

"Thanks for all the great tips

"Thanks for all the great tips guys.The studs on the block are like new, the guy I got the motor from was very meticulous, and he used stainless studs and nuts everywhere. It took me literally 10 min to pull the whole thing off, and no rust or corrosion anywhere. looking foward to seeing the UPS guy with my parts so I can get fishing again."

"There is a company in Austral

"There is a company in Australia that makes stainless manifolds and risers for GM, Ford and Chrysler engines but they are very expensive. They have listings on ebay from time to time."

Peter...Does Diecon engineerin

Peter...Does Diecon engineering ring a bell? The only outfit I've found before you mentioned this was Glenwood marine but they only make 440 manifolds...Thanks

"Thier name is Hi-Tek. Here&#

"Thier name is Hi-Tek. Here's a link to their website:

http://www.hitekmarine.com.au/index.htm

I WANT MINE POLISHED!!!!!"

How are stainless or aluminum

How are stainless or aluminum superior to the cast iron species?

I'm thinking weight as muc

I'm thinking weight as much as their design which is supposed to be more of a header.

"Australia calling...Diecon En

"Australia calling...Diecon Engineering are in Brisbane i have used them to repair heat exchanger and repair allum exhaust manifold. Do not know if they build SS risers and elbows, will check. Have all ready made with Hi-Tek and waiting for reply [ about 40 miles from my base ]. Have also some one who is interested in looking at production. When your $ regains its strength more opportunity for exporting to US. Will advise more when known. Enjoy reading the posts. Jon"