I smell shat in the proverbial woodpile !!!:eekdrop:

If a manufacturer like Lightning is making headers for a company like Hardin/CP to their design and specs., I would always bet Lightning has signed a non-disclosure/non-compete and as such he cannot by the law of the agreement disclose most any and all information about the product or offer it for sale. It is not a secret just something that is controlled by contractual agreements This does not make the product a problem or an issue really for users as they I would think are sold and hopefully warrantied by Hardin/CP who basically owns the design and the finished product. In this case Lightning would be a subcontractor.


As for what years Mercury Racing had problems with their design CMI headers you hear all sorts of guesses. I do notice that CMI offers the replacement GEN-X headers and advertises they are for HP525's, HP600sci's and HP700sci's and these engines all are the same Merc Sporttube header (same part numer in the Merc parts listings) and we have heard from owners here on OSO that all three of these engine families have had header leakage issues.

JMO

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Thanks Raylar! I'm not concerned about the quality either way. I just want to understand the situation. I think 5k should at least buy me that

I was changing the oil on my 600SCi's last night, (They have 100 hrs on them) and looked at the headers everywhere I could, didn't see any apparant issuses, ( I know, the leaking problem is on the inner tube....) and they looked to be in great shape...... If I could only go by the looks...... :(

Just my two cent opinion.

Since your engines are 2006 600sci's and have I guess been used about 4 years or so even with only 100 hours I would remove the headers and pressure check each one for leaks now.
This will be a bit of work and expense, but the cost ot rebuild or major repair one of those 600sci's will be much greater and at least that way you will have some peace of mind for a while.
If you setup is a staggered engine setup the likely hood of cracking has been shown on other stsaggered installations to be what appears to be greater from the wiehgt of the extended tips on the forward engine.
Again, Dean its your call , but my thought is back to that old cliche " When in doubt, check it Out!"

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

RAT,just go with the hurricanes,enjoy your boat,hardin,cp,are good people to work with,,,dont over think it,,lol

you can pressure test them fairly easily while they are still on the boat...

It's kept me out of trouble several times.... Just my .02 cents.


joe

I was thinking the same thing. Why take them off? I don't.

I should remember that they can be pressure tested also while still on the engine-good catch!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

It would be EXTREMELY appreciative if some could give some detail on how to do the pressure test while on. I've seen some picks of the header off the engine in a bucket full of water but that really didn't do it for me.

thanx