New Canadian Member

[VINCENTBR]

Hello Everyone!

I recently purchased a 1974 Alberg 30 in great condition. The Atomic 4 in the boat is the original engine and runs great. But have an issue lately where a hole has developed in the exaust manifold close to where the flange end. I removed it from the boat and patched the hole with JB weld. It worked for about two weeks and is now leaking exaust again. Does any one here know if maybe the manifold can be repaired by brazing or welding? The rest of the manifold looks to be in very good condition at least on the exterior. I would like to save the manifold if i can.

Any ideas and or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Al Schober]

Most (suspect all) A4 engines are installed with the flywheel end high. The usual coolant piping also supplies water to the manifold - in at the high end, out at the low end. This is unfortunate as any air in the system gets trapped at the high end. Answer is to reverse the flow in the manifold - in at the low end, out at the high end.
Oh yeah, some of us also have the exhaust outlet at the high end!

[VINCENTBR]

Most (suspect all) A4 engines are installed with the flywheel end high. The usual coolant piping also supplies water to the manifold - in at the high end, out at the low end. This is unfortunate as any air in the system gets trapped at the high end. Answer is to reverse the flow in the manifold - in at the low end, out at the high end.
Oh yeah, some of us also have the exhaust outlet at the high end!

That makes sense to me , this forum is a great place!

[marthur]

I see that you are looking for a manifold in another post. That is definitely the route I would take--I think the cast iron manifold would be difficult to repair. Don't be afraid to drop the money on a new casting from Moyer Marine, it would last many trouble free years.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Do an advanced search (from the forum home page) by the term Thatch modification and read up on it. Mouse over the underlined term to see what the THATCH MODIFICATION is.

ex TRUE GRIT

[edwardc]

The manifold has some pretty thin interior walls on the cooling jacket. If it has rusted through on the outside, chances are that the interior parts are in bad shape too. A leak there can have much bigger consequences, such as introducing water/coolant into the cylinders and the oil.

Because of the high temperature swings, JB Weld is unlikely to hold up long, as it has a different thermal expansion coefficient than the manifold.

And, as was mentioned, cast iron is very difficult to weld properly without cracking as the weld cools.

All of this means that you really do need to replace the manifold with a new one. Do it right and cry once. The alternative is getting stranded somewhere, with the engine in worse shape than it is now.

[VINCENTBR]

The manifold has some pretty thin interior walls on the cooling jacket. If it has rusted through on the outside, chances are that the interior parts are in bad shape too. A leak there can have much bigger consequences, such as introducing water/coolant into the cylinders and the oil.

Because of the high temperature swings, JB Weld is unlikely to hold up long, as it has a different thermal expansion coefficient than the manifold.

And, as was mentioned, cast iron is very difficult to weld properly without cracking as the weld cools.

All of this means that you really do need to replace the manifold with a new one. Do it right and cry once. The alternative is getting stranded somewhere, with the engine in worse shape than it is now.

Hello
Yes, I have come to that conclusion after reading many posts here.

Thanks to all of you for the advice.