Ford Lehman hole in exhaust manifold

A temporary repair can be done with "Marine Tex" (grey) made by Travaco.

the quick fix wont work here. I will need a new elbow as well as a manifold...see the quarter sized hole and surrounding area...showed to a local welder and he wont even try to repair it. BTW I drained the engine prior to removing the elbow just to be safe.

Tangler said:

... see the quarter sized hole ...

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No

Looks like the gasket is still attached, but worn through at the bottom?

Tangler, re the "hole", do you mean the opening up at the top of the right hand vertical opening?
I`m not seeing gasket, maybe the remains of gasket sealant at the edges. Is the manifold off, have you given it a good clean up to clearly see what`s happening?

Greetings,
Mr. T. That's one heck of a place to have a hole! Without welding, about the only way to repair that would be to bolt a patch on....To help those that can't see it, stick a pen or pencil through the hole.

bottom centre left...like 3/4 circle right through the manifold...the elbow might have some life left with a good cleaning but not really worth it ...RT..would you say this could be welded? I was going to continue to remove it tomorrow and try a couple of other shops for repair. I have requested availability from Bomac and AD. I know 30 years ago caste was a difficult weld but I am completely out of touch with any improvements in the tech since I was in it.. Anyone have any parts laying around?

Greetings,
Mr. T. I'm the wrong person to ask about welding. The one thing I CAN say for sure is "it's broke!" I did a quick search for welding cast iron and you're absolutely correct. A lot has changed in the last 30 years. Seems there are new "sticks" available as well as new MIG techniques but I haven't got a clue what is possible.
Surely there is some expertise in Vancouver. It may take some time to find a person/firm able to do the repair and guarantee same. Keep in mind, a high tech repair may be as much as a new replacement. Whichever, I wish you the best.
One thing you may explore is a bolt or clamp on patch of some sort. VERY difficult to suggest anything without actually seeing the part in person. This is one of those "think outside the box cases".

I am a welder and I would not take the job. I've tried a variety of methods without success. Ironically, 30 years ago I watched my now deceased father repair a thin cast iron intake manifold off of Ford Ferguson tractor that was broke into 3 separate pieces. I've never repeated his feat and am not ashamed to say he was a better welder than I.

The elbow is a relatively inexpensive part from AD or Bomac less than $250 if memory serves. It is my understanding that the manifolds no longer exist so replacing it is going to require some digging.

Daddyo said:

The elbow is a relatively inexpensive part from AD or Bomac less than $250 if memory serves. It is my understanding that the manifolds no longer exist so replacing it is going to require some digging.

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I paid I think around $160 for it 18 mos ago from AD.

I might be seeing this wrong but what I see is a thin area at the bottom of the manifold that has eroded or corroded away about half the gasket seating area about an inch wide. I don't see a hole, and the description of the problem does not include any comment about a large exhaust leak.

If there were a "quarter sized hole" in the manifold, the exhaust leak would have been absolutely unmistakeable and would have been the center of attention long before it got that large.

If what I see is what I think it is, a corrosion pit that has compromised the gasket seating surface, brazing can fill the cavity and a few minutes with a file will renew the sealing face.

To me it looks like the end surfaced can be milled like I did to mine.
Unless I am not seeing what the real problem is.

No update?

Does the thing have a hole in it?

Cant believe u cant see that hole...circular area just left of centre bottom in the pic. my thumb fits through it...no gasket there...the bottom of the flange in that area is gone...rotted. So I got the thing out and took it to a company called industrial engines here and he will try to repair it. I did this after Bomac emailed me to say the manifold is no longer available. today I get an email from Bob smith ADC to say they have them in stock! If I can get it fixed I save $1000...or Bomac loses $1000...same thing either way..what gives with those guys? I sent them a complaint...dont they know what they sell?

and yes Rick...we did wonder where that smoke was coming from...but after a few minutes the exhaust seemed to find its way out the exhaust system and disappeared so it went unnoticed mostly and the smell was written off to the fact that the boat was old, bilge odor, etc...that thin area that looks corroded...is...right thru. Well I wont know until tomorrow if its even fixable. They were going to "tank" it and see if there is enough material left to do something called "spray welding"?

Tangler

Insure the welding shop looks the thing over very carefully. I'd not want to be in some of the PNW waters with a catastrophic failure lurking.

If anyone is interested, I found my pictures of my burned-through exhaust elbow. Could not see it from looking until it started leaking. I recall the replacement as being circa $150 from AD.

I see what appears to be a thumbprint sized depression at the bottom left center of the manifold. I appears to have reduced the gasket contact area and that may permit moisture and a small exhaust leak to get past the gasket but I still do not see a hole.

A thumb sized hole would smoke you out of the boat in seconds and leave the engine room looking like a coal mine.

Mixing the elbow pics and leak stories just confuses the issue.

Belzona repair?

That would probably work for what I see but I think I would prefer to just build up by brazing and mill or file the gasket surface.

In any event, a good soak in the tank and a bead blast job are in order before making any decision.

RickB said:

That would probably work for what I see but I think I would prefer to just build up by brazing and mill or file the gasket surface. In any event, a good soak in the tank and a bead blast job are in order before making any decision.

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looks to be a easy fix to me & way cheaper than new. You guys in salt have way more corrosion problems but not having to shovel snow may be worth it. Had the riser & elbow off of the port engine last year & they still looked new no sign of any deterioration of the metal, original 1987 parts. I know my boat has been to the Bahamas twice from Chicago with a PO.

Tangler said:

... Bomac emailed me to say the manifold is no longer available. today I get an email from Bob smith ADC to say they have them in stock! If I can get it fixed I save $1000...or Bomac loses $1000...same thing either way..what gives with those guys? I sent them a complaint...don't they know what they sell?

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Could be AD has old Bomac stock. Anyway,it has to be worth trying a repair.

can you belive this one? pretty lucky!!

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s9/ford-lehman-120-manifold-sale-so-cal-13263.html#post204733

I took it to Industrial Engines Annacis Island Here in BC and they tanked it and the elbow and did a total reno on the manifold right down to the gaskets and red Lehman paint...it looks great and is back in service for about $565...now on to the water pump impellors

$160 plus shipping, American made, eBay

Tangler said:

I took it to Industrial Engines Annacis Island Here in BC and they tanked it and the elbow and did a total reno on the manifold right down to the gaskets and red Lehman paint...

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What does that mean?

What did they do to the thing?

How did they fix the bad spot?

I know Xs...for the elbow only...Rick they hot tanked it and the elbow after removing 2 other fittings I left on the manifold...there was some rust in the damage that had to be ground out before braising, filling spraying..whatever they did to fill a large hole...it appears very solid now...they pressure tested it before I could get it back and they replaced the fittings with new gaskets,installed the elbow on the manifold for painting too ( I had delivered it separately) and gave me the gaskets to mount the manifold to the block...it was still better than $1000 for some retro fit manifold from AD. You think they charged too much? this is Canada you know...

oh yeah...they also ground the mounting surfaces and ground a new flange section for the lower part of the manifold where it had rotted off at the hole (see earlier pic) so there was a fair amount of labor involved. they charged me 5.5hours shop time

Tangler said:

You think they charged too much?

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No, I don't often begrudge a good craftsman his fee. I am just very curious about the "hole" and how they fixed it.