29 OUTLAW

A while back Baja Daze was wondering why one side if his transom had more exhaust soot than the other. I mentioned the possibility that one of his Capt Call flappers might stick in the closed position sometimes without his knowledge. I mentioned this because I have the exact problem with one of mine. The work-around for me is to always start the engines with the flappers closed then flip them open after the engine is running. They always open properly this way.

Go to the link shown below and click on the thumbnail picture of the H2X. Take a close look at his exhaust. I'll bet the owner of this boat sometimes wonders why the left side of his transom has more exhaust soot than the right side.


http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/4/4/34671144.htm

CigDaze

Wow...It's pretty obvious looking at that picture.

Indeed, my port side almost always has more soot than the starboard side. People have told me that it's a trait inherint to the 496's and the way the plumbing works, but this might be a reason another valid reason.

Before heading out I usually have the hatch open to do the routine fluids checks and sniff test and I always pay particular attention to the solenoids operation when I turn the key.

If I visually witness the solenoids moving from closed to open, is there still something internally that you can't see not opening?

Thanks 29!

Here's a portion of the pic 29outlaw was referring to in his post.

Dock Holiday

Man is that water pretty!

I would like to be there right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On my 36 they stay open all the time. And you have to hit the switch to close them?

Took a little getting use to after having two boats where you had to hit the swith to open them.

29 OUTLAW

Hey BD,

If you see yours open and stay open from outside you should be OK. My "stuck" one makes the typical "clicking" sound, goes to the open position, then instantly snaps back to the closed position. In other words, it opens but won't stay open (only sometimes though). Sometimes it will stay open fine.

With the engines running however, no problems at all. They always open and stay open

In terms of soot - when I run on the hose I notice less water coming out of the port side pipes than coming out of the starboard pipes. This is reverse of what you stated - go figure

SSComp

Usually if the electric solenoid sticks even due to a mecanical problem the solenoid will burn up after a while. The smell really bad. Replacement is about $60. I ordered from Corsa.

CigDaze

29 Outlaw,

Not the opposite, We have the same condition: I said I have more soot on the Port side. When on the hose, I get more water out of the starboard than the port just like yours. I attribute more soot to less water.

And yes, I can watch the flaps open and stay open.

CigDaze

29outlaw,

One more curiosity of mine: When you run yours on the hose, I assume you have the hose fittings in the engine compartment like mine does. When running the engines on the hose, do you also have water coming out of the lower unit water pickups?

And what are your typical temps when running after a few minutes?

CigDaze

Looks like this:
[Thanks Dock]

garshev

From what i've noticed on all 3 of my bajas and for that matter all mercruisers in general is after a hard run at WOT one side of the thru hull exhaust steams (generally the starboard side). The other side runs cooler for some reason. Maybe that could have something to do with it ??

CigDaze

Thanks garshev.
On 496's, it seems it's the other way around. I get the steam/soot on the port side. This is also the side with less water flow. It has something to do with the new closed-cooling plumbing.