CMI Tails.....pressure test???
 

I am wondering if you can actually test these somehow. I just got 2 sets from another member and 1 of the tails appears to have been leaking at a weld near the flange.

How can I test the rest?

fixx
 

go to home depot and but one of those sewer stoppers that you fill with air,,make sure its the longer one and shove it in the tail to cover the water ports and fill the stopper with air...take the other end where the hose goes on and your going to have to adapt it down so you can fill it with about 10 psi of air,,i use a piece of hose with a valve stem for a rim for you cars tires...then i fill the bath tub and set the tail pipe in the tub and look for air bubbles..

This is what I did to pressure test...

And we ended up having all 10 headers bad which lead to needing to rebuild all 5 engines. (Two 600s and three 700s) Going to start checking headers far more often to be sure water is not leaking back down into engines.

that works good for the headers,but i believe the op is talking about the tailpipes.

Whoops read too fast. Just saw CMI and pressure test and all our Problems caused by bad CMI headers immediately came to mind

So sad we all go through this. I just pulled my last header that I have not bought yet. Sent to CMI, waiting to see what they say. I lost both of my 525's and this past yr my 700's to leaking CMI headers. Just unreal I tell you. Even had to buy all new pipes, and I pull the drain plugs after I flush each time. :fear:

ya,i can unerstand that,the merc specked cmi,s have ruined many of otherwise good engines.

Where is it actually stated that the merc speced CMI headers are of a lesser grade/quality to getting them directly from CMI? I've heard lots of debate on this topic but never really seen much to back it up

How in the hell are they still in business . Some of these leaks look to be caused by very poor welding . Lack of penetration and lack of proper fusion or knitting technique . This is either rushed welding , lack of welding knowledge or no pride in craftsmanship . They certainly need a QA department as apparently they have none . Looks good to me mentality don't cut it . I studied on the welds on my used Sport Tubes and this set seems to have been welded up by someone that knew what they were doing . The stainless looks to be good quality and the inner tubes show no sign of erosion or fatigue . These are of 04 vintage and have never leaked . My conclusion is if you were lucky to get a set welded up by a craftsman and properly annealed i'll bet they don't leak .

there is a thread about it,lots of information,if you do a search you should be able to find it.

I had problems in 2002 with a set of the E-top style on a 500 EFI ... $hitty welds. When I posted that, a guy (owner at the time?) from CMI told me I was full of $hit. I think the post is still on here if you search. I posted photos of the leaks and it went silent - nothing as bad as those posted by PremierPower (WOW!!). I would recommend pressure testing anything with the letters CMI in it, based on my experience. Had a couple others that leaked at the header/tailpipe flange (header side of the joint) due to poor welds. I'm glad I don't have any, anymore.

I find it amazing that even after all the engines that have been destroyed by their poor craftsmanship they still demand such a premium price . I guess they hope the pretty shine will blind everyone . :lolhit: :angry-smiley-038:

Those were on our Formula (600s). All 4 were equally bad. Picture shows how bad it left the engines. 4/6 headers on the Donzi were that bad and 2 not quite as bad. But enough to ruin all 5 engines. Just bought all new Gen X. They had better last. Def going to be draining headers after flush. One guy told us to dry fire for 5-10 sec to make sure that if any water did get into engine it gets blown out but I worry about burning up water pump impellers.

Can you say Class Action ? That pic makes me sick in the stomach . Don't you think it's time somebody takes action ? :angry-smiley-038: Or we could just boycott their product which is already being done to an extent .

I think that was already discussed (tried ??) a couple of years ago ... there was quite a long thread about that and the OSO member who was an attorney was trying to get names and details, but, if I remember correctly ( I could be wrong on this), the thread got shut down for inappropriate use of this website or not being a paid advertiser, or something like that. Not sure what the outcome ever was.

I thought there may be a reason no one spoke those words . Money = Mute and the rats walk.......

Premier, one thing you might consider doing would be install full time drains to the distribution tubes - drain the water overboard through bulkhead fittings or if you have Bravos and the engines are out, you could put the drains through the exhaust block-off plate. This mod drops water pressure a bit and leaves your headers dry while the engine is not running - good for the engine (no drain back even with small cracks) and good for mitigating header corrosion. I have one set of Merc e-tops by CMI with the steel distribution tubes that is 11 years old, no issues yet. I do pressure check every year with air. 15 psi for 30 minutes; must have no drop in pressure.

What good substitutes are there? I love the fact that stainless marine has a 5 year warranty but they don't have the look that belongs with these engines IMO. Are there any other GOOD tubular styles similar to CMI that have had proven reliability?

Hardin Hurricanes . I've heard no nonsense about them yet . Check them out at Diamond or CP . Yes , they are definitely jewelry and a must have for me also .

:hijack:

So, this sewer stopper thing, I am not 100% on what it is. Will an expandable pipe plug work?

The sewer plugs are used for 3" or 4" pipes when pressure testing new homes for plumbing leaks (missed glue joints, etc) as part of the building inspection process. They look like short thick rubber balloons, that you inflate with air. Might be able to find at Lowes or Home Depot, but most plumbing supply shops have them. The tails usually have water exit ports cut into the main 4" tube - you need to seal those ports. These rubber plugs are a couple of inches long, so you would position the plug inside the 4" pipe so that it covers these water exit ports, and then inflate the plug (with air) so that it seal off those ports. You would then pressurize the tail with either water or air (depending how you want to test - if you use air, you would then submerge the tail in a tub of water and look for bubbles, if you use water, you connect the tail to the garden hose using the inlet bung, and look for water leaks). You wil need to make either an air hose adaptor to go into the inlet bung (where the header to tail jumper hose is normally connected) or a garden hose adaptor, if you want to use water to test. Hope this helps.

Water leaks with these headers brings out a lot of emotion in a lot of folks on here. :eek:

I found one of those things at home depot. $28....I guess it is worth it though!

Well, I would like to thank you guys for the help!! Looks like just one leaker! Now.....repair or replace? It is a small spot on a weld near the flange. I think it can be fixed....what would you do?


Oh....and this is what I ended up using/making to test the tails......

Paul if you need it fixed and it's not a crazy contortionist angle just send it to me I'll fix it and send it back. Merry Christmas bud ttys

If you can fix it without getting a lot of heat into it, that is what I would do. Check the flange face for flatness after you are done. May need to have someone face it .... that is what my friend had to do after he welded all of the leaks on the header side flange face. We put water pressure to the header and it looked like it was "crying" at all of the pinholes on that face and several of the start/stop points of the factory welds at a variety of other places. He basically dug out the crap at the flange face, did a really nice job with a tig torch, and then re-faced the flange. No more leaks on that one! Unfortunately, over the past 13 years, he has repaired several leakers. He is an amazing welder/fabricator ... not much he can't do with a torch!