One of the other things that failed during this last passage was the
metal flexhose connecting the exhaust manifold to my dry exhaust system.
Blech, soot in my nice engine compartment. :) However, as soon as I saw
it, I thought "high-temp silicone tape!" I got some from West Marine a
while back on a whim, and decided to try it out.
The leak was very large - in fact, the flexhose cracked more than 360°
around (it's a spiral), and opened up to about a 1/4" gap, about 2' away
from the manifold. I idled the engine, then wrapped the tape around the
flexhose, and - presto, no more leak. It took me another 6 or 7 hours to
get in, and I ran the engine for most of it, with a few blips at max RPM
(ya do what ya gotta do to get out of the way when a BIG FLIPPIN' SHIP
comes down the channel at 20 knots.) The tape looks just like when I put
it on - no melting, or even signs of being heated.
Given that diesel exhaust gas temps run in the 1100-1250°F range for a
properly-loaded engine, and this little bit of plastic is only two feet
away from the manifold, color me impressed. It put the exhaust
replacement project into the "do ASAP" category instead of an emergency,
and being able to shift emergencies into "must do" tasks is a REALLY
good thing. In fact, when I replace the exhaust pipe, I'm not using
flexhose anymore - it's proven itself useless. Instead, I'm welding a
16" extension to the manifold fitting and sliding a silicone hose over
it. Noise absorption, a flexible coupling to a hard point, and *much*
easier than trying to weld to a short, difficult-to-access pipe stub.
Oh, and for the BIG win: if there's a Walgreens near you, you can score
this tape for pennies. They have it in their novelty section, 5 rolls
for $10 (WM is something like $17 for one roll.) Yep, same stuff. I've
got 6 rolls now, and will probably never run out.
--
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