Olson 34 G$% D$%* F%$#&*G Exhaust Riser removal

Sooo,

Any other Olson owners had to remove the exhaust riser/mixer? I can not figure out how to get it out without either removing the whole exhaust manifold, or using a hacksaw to cut the connecting pipe, or cutting the bulkhead to create some more room. Something I'm missing? hopefully?

MarcusJtown said:

Sooo,

Any other Olson owners had to remove the exhaust riser/mixer? I can not figure out how to get it out without either removing the whole exhaust manifold, or using a hacksaw to cut the connecting pipe, or cutting the bulkhead to create some more room. Something I'm missing? hopefully?

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We have the stock Universal M25XP. When we bought the boat the surveyor found that the elbow was rusted through (under a nice looking coat of paint... !) and the broker arranged for a mechanic to replace it on the seller's dime.
The work was done pretty quickly, but I was not present to watch. Boat was in Alameda California and I was back in Portland arranging for a truck to bring it home.

I do know that nothing was changed/modified in that area of the engine compartment, aft port side. That is the side away from the top-hinged cover and is harder to work in compared to the starb. side where the fuel filters live.
I might pull the screws and take the cover off completely, for starters. I can imagine that the little access door in the head compartment to get at the alternator is no help at all for this.

Have you a photo to post?

Good luck,
Loren

I can take a picture tomorrow. The problem is that the riser can't slide back far enough to come off the studs in the manifold. I also don't have an access hatch in the head, which would be nice, but probably not far enough back to access it anyway. I think what I'm going to do it hacksaw through the threaded pipe connecting the riser to the manifold, and then put the new unit together with a shorter pipe. I only need about another 1/2", and right now the connecting pipe is about 2", so I have room to spare. My knuckles have taken quite a beating the past two days.

P.S. I had been cursing a blue streak at this thing for about 15 minutes when I decided to grab a beer and sit in the cockpit for a minute. When I went topsides, there was a very nice family with two small children looking at the boat next to mine in the yard, which was for sale..... Mom did not look pleased...

P.S. I had been cursing a blue streak at this thing for about 15 minutes when I decided to grab a beer and sit in the cockpit for a minute. When I went topsides, there was a very nice family with two small children looking at the boat next to mine in the yard, which was for sale..... Mom did not look pleased...

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Ah, the difference between a crude, hard drinking Olson owner and we polite, family oriented Ericson owners. :0

OK, this time. Marcus got caught... we didn't.

Tom Metzger said:

Ah, the difference between a crude, hard drinking Olson owner and we polite, family oriented Ericson owners. :0

OK, this time. Marcus got caught... we didn't.

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LOL!
Not that I've ever had such a day working on our boat...

Thanks for a chuckle, and hope that in the fullness of time Marcus will look back and even smile a bit at the knuckle-busting memory of it all!
I hope his tetanus shot is up to date, too.
(Sigh)


Cheers,
Loren

ps: on the whole subject of Really Effective Swearing.... Here's a link to some great word sets to practice when facing a recalcitrant engine part.
http://www.museangel.net/insult.html

pps: anyone else here remember having to purge the F-word from their everyday language after coming home rom active military duty?
My o my, but it took me weeks of catching myself almost using that great all-purpose word as we did while on active duty. It was our noun, verb, adjective, and could even be used to divide multiple syllable words!

Loren Beach said:

pps: anyone else here remember having to purge the F-word from their everyday language after coming home rom active military duty?
My o my, but it took me weeks of catching myself almost using that great all-purpose word as we did while on active duty. It was our noun, verb, adjective, and could even be used to divide multiple syllable words!

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And therein lies the problem, USMC 1998-2006, which means I cuss like a sailor, only much more effectively!

I had to remove the exhaust elbow on our O911 a couple of years ago, but we have the Yanmar engine. I don't remember it being all that difficult to remove. Our problem wasn't so much that the elbow had clogged or corroded, but that the little 90 degree fitting where water is injected into the elbow was jammed full with the cooked corpses of all sorts of little sea creatures. Dear god the smell was horrible.

I recommend wearing rubber gloves as that stinky juice didn't want to come off of my hands for days.

On the subject of swearing, I've had to clean up my language more recently as I have a 2 year old who will repeat stuff. I have to be extra careful when driving, as I have tended to call other drivers who do stupid things less than pleasant names.

I ended up just hack-sawing through the black iron pipe that connects the riser to the engine. It's pretty obvious that this is all assembled prior to the engine being installed in the boat, as there was just no room to slide the riser back and off the studs. Installing the new riser was easy, as I was able to use a 1" shorter section of pipe, which was all the room I needed. Hansen Marine in Marblehead Massachusetts had the parts in stock.

Exhaust mixer

I had considered replacing mine as a pre-emptive measure. After looking into it, I bailed on the idea. Thanks for the details, and supplier. It's back on my list.