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LM318 Manifold Crack?

BRF

New member
Hi guys and ladies,
I would appreciate some advice, I have a 1976 Chrylser LM318 and noticed a thin brown line running from the top on the port exhaust manifold, please see photo.

The manifolds and risers are about 4 years old so I guess I'm up for a replacement. Do you think the boat can be safely driven for say 1/2 hour to the local marine mechanic or should I have it towed.

Alternatively, how big a job is it to replace the manifolds, risers and legs myself. I would probably we working alone so the weight of the manifold I thought could be an issue.

IMG_1580.jpg

Regards, BRF
 
Wow....That's incredible...!
Were it's at doesn't seem like a problem to get were you need to go.
There's no pressure just water flowing thru..
 
Hi guys and ladies,
I would appreciate some advice, I have a 1976 Chrylser LM318 and noticed a thin brown line running from the top on the port exhaust manifold, please see photo.

The manifolds and risers are about 4 years old so I guess I'm up for a replacement. Do you think the boat can be safely driven for say 1/2 hour to the local marine mechanic or should I have it towed.

Alternatively, how big a job is it to replace the manifolds, risers and legs myself. I would probably we working alone so the weight of the manifold I thought could be an issue.

View attachment 19307

Regards, BRF

How is it you guess they are 4 years old? Maybe older? That doesn't seem like a long enough time to deteriorate/rust out. I have a '71 LM318. The risers are at least 10 years old. But then again my bucket of bolts is a trailer Queen and gets a fresh water flush every time she RTBs.
I would certainly do this myself. Nothing technical about this job. Fairly straight forward. Depends on your physical condition. Another set of hands could be helpful at times. I would not pay someone else to do this unless I absolutely had to. By the way, you didn't mention if you actually planned to replace both sides. Highly recommend it. If you get into it and decide it is too much you can always tow your boat to your mech with your tail between your legs.
 
Thanks for the replies,

The maintenance log supplied when I bought the boat shows that the last time the manifolds, legs and risers were replaced was 4 years ago. The surveyor suggested that they would need replacing in about a year, I only got 6 months.

Just to clarify the boat itself is 42 years old and has been in salt water all that time moored at a marina in Sydney.
 
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