After running the boat 1st time this year I raised the hatch to see if everything was OK. I was shocked when smoke came pouring out of the bilge. All the guages were fine so I kept the engine running and waited for the smoke to clear up. I saw smoke coming from the starboard side manifold, can't tell if it's steam or exhaust fumes but it's definitely sneaking out the bottom of the manifold towards the front of the engine. I hope retorquing will fix it, any ideas? Maybe a bad gasket? Thanks

CHEAK FOR OIL LEAK FROM OIL STICK OR VALVE COVER AND IS WATER COMEING OUT OF EXHAUST?

I'll check for oil leaks tomorrow. There was plenty of water coming from the exhaust, at least at idle. I did notice that the starboard riser was noticeably hotter than the port side. Usually I can keep my hand on them all day without getting burned. Maybe water is leaking from the manifold at higher RPMs?

Well I had the boat out today and found zero oil leaks, just exhaust fumes blowing out from the exhaust manifold. The bolts were plenty tight so I torqued them a few more ft/lbs to be safe (hope I didn't compress the gasket too much). So what's next? Replacing the gasket? I really don't feel like ripping the exhaust apart, is there another way? I'm hoping I can gunk some hi-temp exhaust sealant where the manifold meets the head. I didn't see any water leaks or rust stains, does water flow from the head to the manifold?

I can't wait for these damn bugs to clear out, this season has not been fun or cheap so far. Dan

Only way I know is to pull the manifold and replace the gasket. I've never seen any goop that you force in there work.

I've never replaced a manifold before, is it difficult? Motor is a 2000 454mag. Besides getting to the bolts and dealing with the weight of the manifold, what else should I be concerned about? Should I use the OE gasket or is there something better? I plan on removing one of the two hatch lifts so I can get to everything easier. I think the battery should come out too, I'll have to crawl in its place for awhile to get the bolts loosened up. Can I leave the riser/manifold intact and just swing the manifold away from the head? Should I use a sealant on the gasket surface? What's the torque numbers? 30ft/lbs?
Thanks!

To replace the manifolds, get a couple of extra 3/8" bolts, hacksaw the hex off and use for studs to hold the gasket and manifolds in place while you thread in the bolts. Also-GET NEW RISER GASKETS TOO!!!!!!!!

Tonight my boat managed to piss me off yet again!

I took the exhaust manifold off, that was much easier than I thought it would be. The gasket was perfect. I looked around and noticed the manifold and head was oily, actually the whole engine was oily. That must be the CRC I used last fall to keep rust away. Is it possible that the stuff is still burning away? I've only had the motor running for 2hrs max this year. If there is a valve cover leak I can't tell because it's wet everywhere. All I know for sure is that the manifold and block is rusty (above all the exhaust ports) except for the rearmost port. Maybe the valve cover gakst is leaking back there I don't know. Dammit!! Now I have to replace the valve cover gasket just because.

Any insight to my bad luck?? On the brighter side, it looks like the valve cover is pretty easy to remove.