Hello Everyone,
I am new to this forum after having purchased a Santana 27 (1971) that came with an A-4 engine. The PO went over the engine with me, and we managed to get it running with some encouragement, but it needs some work. In particular, the PO suspected that the water lift muffler is faulty, and that is causing water getting in the oil every once in a while. Replacing the muffler was too much of a project for him, so he had been replacing the oil very frequently instead.
I am in the process of a fuel system upgrade (bought a new fuel pump from MMI, installed new fuel lines, fuel filters, a primer bulb, cleaned carburetor, etc.. ), so I haven't been running the engine much. However, the other day when I was debugging rough idle, I noticed that there was smoke coming up from the back of the engine where the exhaust flange is. I turned the engine off, and hasn't run it since. Inspecting the exhaust system it appears that the water lift has been repaired before with what looks like a not very good weld job. I suspect that the weld has cracked, and now exhaust gases are escaping through it. I will try to attach some pictures, but this is my first post, so bear with me.
My first question is if anybody knows what type of water lift muffler this is, and if this is an acceptable configuration? Reading the MMI manual, and also reading other threads, it doesn't seem usual, and I am wondering if I should completely rebuild the exhaust system, or try repairing this existing water lift muffler.
The other question I had is related to the exhaust line from the muffler to the back of the boat. On my boat it appears that the line is installed so that it has a steady climb all the way to the back of the boat. So the water/exhaust mix has to fight gravity for the length of about 6ft or so. The water is coming out in bursts, as opposed to a steady flow. I suspect that this is not very good for my back-pressure, and I wonder if I need to alter this. There is not a whole lot of room to route the exhaust line in any other way, so perhaps that is the reason why it was done like this in the first place. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
~Laszlo
I am new to this forum after having purchased a Santana 27 (1971) that came with an A-4 engine. The PO went over the engine with me, and we managed to get it running with some encouragement, but it needs some work. In particular, the PO suspected that the water lift muffler is faulty, and that is causing water getting in the oil every once in a while. Replacing the muffler was too much of a project for him, so he had been replacing the oil very frequently instead.
I am in the process of a fuel system upgrade (bought a new fuel pump from MMI, installed new fuel lines, fuel filters, a primer bulb, cleaned carburetor, etc.. ), so I haven't been running the engine much. However, the other day when I was debugging rough idle, I noticed that there was smoke coming up from the back of the engine where the exhaust flange is. I turned the engine off, and hasn't run it since. Inspecting the exhaust system it appears that the water lift has been repaired before with what looks like a not very good weld job. I suspect that the weld has cracked, and now exhaust gases are escaping through it. I will try to attach some pictures, but this is my first post, so bear with me.
My first question is if anybody knows what type of water lift muffler this is, and if this is an acceptable configuration? Reading the MMI manual, and also reading other threads, it doesn't seem usual, and I am wondering if I should completely rebuild the exhaust system, or try repairing this existing water lift muffler.
The other question I had is related to the exhaust line from the muffler to the back of the boat. On my boat it appears that the line is installed so that it has a steady climb all the way to the back of the boat. So the water/exhaust mix has to fight gravity for the length of about 6ft or so. The water is coming out in bursts, as opposed to a steady flow. I suspect that this is not very good for my back-pressure, and I wonder if I need to alter this. There is not a whole lot of room to route the exhaust line in any other way, so perhaps that is the reason why it was done like this in the first place. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
~Laszlo
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