Baja_man

Still trying to figure out how this would affect anything when it is stored on a lift. I remember you telling me this before.

emilsr

I'm certainly no expert and he was talking over my head half the time, but the way he explained it was you're more likely to get condensation when the boat is stored on the water. The turbulators are there to collect and burn off condensation before it gets back into the motor....at least I think that's what he was telling me.

neva satisfied

I am no expert either however this may be a case of overkill by Merc. I read somewhere that the turbulators only came into play when a boat was used at very cold temp such as just above freezing. This would make sence. Maybe someone has some more insite on this.

emilsr

That's my understanding as well; if you only boat in warm weather it isn't an issue. In my case we actually do go out in cool weather sometimes, was in the high 30's to low 40's last Sunday when we got on the water.

Raylar

No, thats correct, turbulators are there to collect condensation and burn it off when the engine is restarted.

A boat slipped or stored over water, especially around salt water where the condensation can build up and drip down onto the stock iron head valves and such that are steel and not stainless.

This type of condensation buildup can rust exhaust valves, intake valves, valve faces, valve seats and cylinder walls and quickly damage an engine with compression loss, sticking valves and such.

If your boat is a trailer queen that gets flushed after every use and is stored dry then the turbulators can usually go with no real problems from condensation.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Allicat38

I have been reading this thread and the tubulator rings are located under the riser. you can remove the riser ,remove the rings and reinstall with new gaskets. This is similar to gutting a catalytic converter.

Baja_man

So do I really need them? I boat only during summer months...May thru Sep.....boat is stored on hoist.....inland fresh water. I have been debating the new CMI's but would I expect to possibly see some damage?

Raylar

If it were my boat and it sat on a lift over the water for a few months or so, fresh or salt, and it had stock iron heads I would leave the turbulators in.
Get our Raylar aluminum heads with our special valves, seats and guides and you won't need turbulators at all!
You'll also have a lot more power!
Put CMI's on a Merc 496 with captains call, silent choice etc, or drop type s-tubes to clear intergrated transoms and I can just about guaranty stock iron head valve and cylinder water and rust damage.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

emilsr

Thanks for your input Ray! You may have saved me a lot of trouble down the road....and a good down payment on a Raylar package if I still have this boat when the warranty runs out.

neva satisfied

I hope BOBL does take a set of turbulators and cuts them back and then dynos the motor. If shaving them back to roughly the half way point helps produce positive results and yet still provides some protection against condensation, this would be a nice solution. I guess we'll have to wait and see.