Exhaust Elbows
Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 10:43 am
While doing my winter inspections I found that the steel pipe used to redirect and connect the exhaust hose sections and the anti-siphon loop had lost the battle with thirty years of hot saltwater. My 39 express has 3 inch exhaust from the 4JHE. I found the problem by sticking an awl thru one of the threaded pipes connection two 90 degree elbows.
I replaced all of the steel pipe with centek composite fittings. For the 180 degree turn which redirects the exhaust back toward the stern (the express has a v drive) the turn was not in plane so I cut two centek 90 degree elbows and used West to mate the pieces. This allowed me to make a very tight 180 degree turn which was out of plane and would fit in the original space allowed. It also removed about 50 pounds from the boat.
The pipe looked fine from the outside but once disassembled showed a great deal of rust. Might be a good idea to thump the steel fittings with a hammer just to make sure. In my case I guess I can't complain about them only lasting 32 years.
I replaced all of the steel pipe with centek composite fittings. For the 180 degree turn which redirects the exhaust back toward the stern (the express has a v drive) the turn was not in plane so I cut two centek 90 degree elbows and used West to mate the pieces. This allowed me to make a very tight 180 degree turn which was out of plane and would fit in the original space allowed. It also removed about 50 pounds from the boat.
The pipe looked fine from the outside but once disassembled showed a great deal of rust. Might be a good idea to thump the steel fittings with a hammer just to make sure. In my case I guess I can't complain about them only lasting 32 years.