Quicksilver maniforld welding

northern

Well-Known Member
Jan 17, 2007
3,512
Anacortes Washington
Boat Info
380 Aft Cabin 1989 Charts Timezero radar Furuno
Engines
Twin 454 strait shaft
I have one bolt tab that broke off the heat exchanger where it connects to the engine. Has anyone ever had this welded back on. The piece that broke off is solid and not burn by exhaust gas but the break is covered in carbon from the exhaust. Break is 1/2" long and piece is 3/8" thick.
Does any one know what material the heat exchanger is made of. It is cast and could be aluminum or pot white metal.
 
I’m not sure what it’s made of but,
Does a magnet stick to it?
That could confirm or rule our aluminum.

Another option is to briefly hit it with a grinder and see what color the sparks are.
 
Good point it looks like the material my the stern drives were made of on my OMC 1982 boat.
 
Take it to a welding whop that has TIG capability and let them determine the base metal.

It would be just like Mercruiser to make the housing out of aluminum then chuck it full of brass tubes them expect it to last until the warranty expired. My guess is that the heat exchanger housing is cast bronze.
 
Northern...you have 7.4s, right? I've never heard of aluminum manifolds in 7.4s. They tried that experiment in the 8.1s when they first came. Must be aftermarket parts? There was a company who made stainless exhaust components for 7.4s. A friend tried them and had nothing but problems. VERY expensive and futile experiment.
 
Heat exchanger is on the KW quicksilver generator. the 7.4 heat exchanges I replaced from mr cool.
 
Whoops....sorry. I messed that one up. Was thinking manifolds.

Heat exchangers are copper, aren't they? I'd bet a radiator shop that does marine heat exchangers can repair that easily.
 
The manifold is integral with the heat exchanger. It is all one piece cast. The material is not bronze the tubes in it are probably bronze. The material is non iron base it is a white metal. It looks like the same material the legs on stern drives are. If any one has welded legs it might be the same process. I had an old leg once that the mechanic used epoxy based material and it worked. The repair was for a hole so no strain on the area.
 
Update
Took heat exchange to reputable machine shop. They welded the bolt tab back on and machined the surface. Looks good. Cost $450 CDN or $340US.
Material is aluminum and was easy to weld
 
More update
Took the heat exchanger to my favorite rad shop with pictures of what it looked like when I took it out and also a detail drawing from the service manual of the generator. They were skeptical of what they could do. They had to hand make all the gaskets. Got it back a couple of days ago looks good. Cost was $380 CDN or $280 US. In the spring we will find out how it works. Sure beats getting a new generator. Only corrosion was the end cap. I had replaced that in 2009. Got part from ASAP. They no longer have the part.
 

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