removing turbo and exhaust riser

[Dalton]

17 year old boat, exhaust riser is pitted I’m told. The port side has been replaced. Also told my turbo needs looked at. It seeps a little oil at high rpms.

So I’m wondering how tough it is to remove these 2 things.

Things to do to prepare for removal.

I’ve read some nuts/bolts may be stuck so once off I may need to cut them? Any tips and advice is appreciated.

 

Topic

[Rob Schepis]

Not Dry

Yes, use an anti-sieze

[james]

I just returned from my boat and put a wrench on the exhaust elbow to turbo connection bolts.  Even after 9 months, they are already getting very hard to move.  To avoid major frustration down the road, I’m going to make a point of backing them out and back in every few months.

Any thoughts about using antisieze on these bolts?

[Rob Schepis]

Removing Exhaust Hose

Ken the exhaust hose is thick walled with very little give so think about it almost as a section of pipe, once you do break the bond at the end of the hose with a tool how do you deal with the couple inch overlap where the hose was clamped?  If you can get the riser off then you can twist and slide the riser out first and then for sure the hose can come out next but to take a big rigid exhaust hose out that is sandwiched between two fixed connections…I don’t see that happening.  Yes in this pic we’re talking a much shorter piece of hose but maybe it gives somewhat of a visual as to what I am getting at.  And how old is the hose you want to cut?  Even if you get it out undamaged are you going to want to put it back?  With a properly designed and built riser this should be a one and done project..

[Dalton]

See the pic attached. I have about 4-5 feet of just free standing hose that is just held up by what looks similar to a seat belt strap. What would be difficult about removing this hose? it just being stuck/attached to the riser or maybe a different boat had no give or room?

[james]

Yeah, I was going to do it myself, but got stuck at the bolts holding the exhaust and turbo together.  So I undid the air and water lines, the lubrication line and left the rest to the mechanic.  I watched him bust his hump for 6 hours wrestling those big exhaust hoses off, then getting the turbo housing’s out of the boat.  700 seems like a pretty fair deal for two engines, that environment.  The bolts are such a bad spot, that I’ll probably back mine out once a year and retighten them with antisieze.  If you can separate the exhaust riser from the turbo, then you can twist things around and get those hoses off easier.  If the things are stuck together, then it is tugging and all the tricks in the book.  Good luck.

 

[Dalton]

And here I thought the opposite. I thought the exhaust hose would be the easiest of the whole thing. Looks like it would just pull right off! The previous owner paid a certified cummins mechanic $2500 to remove and have a new riser made & installed. I think the risers cost around $1800 to have made so $700 in labor which may not be terrible if this is all a big hassle. I like doing it all myself but want to pick my battles. Part of my “allowance” when I bought the boat was this $2500 since the survey brought this issue to light.

But then the turbo could have some issues & from what I understand rebuilding a turbo isn’t terribly difficult.

And I’m guessing here but I don’t think the turbo/exhaust has ever been taken apart in 17 years/ 500 hours. I would imagine those bolts are practically welded together at this point.

[james]

Having just done some of this work on my boat, I can offer you some insights.  The coolant hoses are easy to get off.  The exhaust hose is a nightmare of a job, you may have to cut them to get them free.

If the exhaust elbow to turbo connection hasn’t been loosened in a while, you will almost for sure have to cut or torch them off.  The wrench below will help, but the trick is getting enough leverage.

the combination of exhaust elbow and turbo charger is a very heavy and tough to maneuver in a tight space.

 

https://www.craftsman.com/products/craftsman-10mm-wrench-6-pt-combination

 

 

[Dalton]

Thats what I thought. Thanks again.

[Rob Schepis]

The problem bolts would be the 4 bolts holding the riser to the turbo exhaust outlet flange, so yes if you remove the turbo and the riser from the exhaust manifold as a complete unit then you could work on the bench.

 

[Dalton]

Thanks guys. Been a great help so far!

Last question. The stuck bolts you are referring to can be done in a garage if I take out the whole unit correct? Or are the bolts you are referring to the turbo bolts needed to disconnect from the engine?

[Rob Schepis]

Ken,

I noticed the “green” on the ends and what is likely the original hoses.  Just something to be mindful of, not cause for emergency.  That is a high pressure point in the raw water loop coming right off the pump (nice new SMX pumps in your case).

So the tanks sound like saddle tanks within the engine room space.  If you’re running long trips the tanks could warm up quite a bit and create a warmer engine room.  Have you ever measured engine room temperature?  What is up above, salon space? or other enclosed living space?  The fuel coolers are normally not needed but there are exceptions.  I guess the only real way to tell if this an install where fuel coolers are needed is to bypass them and do a normal long run and see how warm the tanks get (can you keep your hand on them comfortably or measure with an IR gun) and also if you notice any drop in performance reaching WOT.

And yes on keeping that engine room warm and dry.  I have Wolverine pan heaters and I did a post about marine age here when we first started up the forum.  Not sure if you have seen it?  A good quality heater like you mentioned may be a simpler short term or long term solution than the Wolverines depending on oil pan access.  But the Wolverines sure are nice for cold morning starts here in the Northeast this time of year.

Duane,

Good to hear and patience is certainly part of the equation!  Of course 7 out of 8 bolts I was able to tap-tap the hammer on the wrench and get them free without issue.  #8 was a PITA and required Mapp gas torch and candle wax but she came out as well..

 

[Duane Maher]

Did my riser  last year as Rob Schepis said, a good wrench, oil and a whole lot of patience

[Dalton]

The fuel tanks are about 20 inches away from each engine. Barely enough room for me to fit between (if I gain 10lbs I’m screwed).

So with this info do you think  I should get rid of the fuel coolers? I like the idea of less stuff that I don’t need and cleaning it all up some.

[Dalton]

[Dalton]

I don’t need fuel coolers. Boat is located in San Diego where it rarely breaks 90 degrees. I’ve looked at the fuel cooler delete kit but I honestly don’t know enough about it yet to decide.

To be honest, I can’t even tell what you are referring to in that picture (it showing its marine age). I can post some more pictures.

As far as fuel, I will always have them 1/2 filled or more in my tanks unless something very odd happens to where I can’t get fuel.

A side note, I was in the engine room of a very nice Riveria this weekend and he had a little portable heater in his engine room (made by west marine) and his engine room was nice and dry. Seemed like a great idea. Is this recommended?

[Rob Schepis]

Ken,

FYI, was just having another look at the last engine picture you posted and noticed the lower end of that fuel cooler is showing it’s marine age.  Do you need them?  Where are your tanks located?  Do you normally run around with low fuel levels?  Here’s a shot from Tony’s library as well as a shot of one of my B’s w/o the fuel cooler.

[Rob Schepis]

Based on that last photo you posted things looks pretty good overall so I would not say that the turbo looks the way it does from external exposure (such as water coming down through a leaky deck or engine room vents that allow a salt mist into the engine room) so the turbo is clearly rusting from the inside out likely from salt water exposure to the cast iron.

[Dalton]

Thanks Rob, that makes more sense. I’m still unsure why the turbo looks like it does but I’ll figure it out when I get the thing apart.

Here’s another pic of just the engine overall. Not as bad as my original pictures. And I’ve done a lot of cleaning since then so it looks ok now.

 

 

[Rob Schepis]

Visible Leak…no, not unless you actually did see water coming out externally.  The riser could fail internally by deterioration of the metal itself and/or the welds and that would result in leakage between the wet section (jacket) and the dry section.

[Dalton]

This is actually the worst looking part of the engine room. The rest of it looks pretty decent. Thanks for the picture and other information!

As for water spraying out, as silly as that may seem to ask, this is a whole new world to me. The turbo housing looks rusty and during the survey they mentioned something along these lines ( I could be mistaken ). So no, I wasn’t kidding when I asked that. How does a person know a riser is going bad? In my mind, they saw something during the survey. So I’m told its going bad and I see rust on the housing so the logical thing is there is some type of leak.

Am I way off base here?

Keep in mind, I am fairly mechanically inclined. I’ve put in your raw water pumps among lots of other things on this boat plus have worked on cars most of my life.

[Author]

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