[mbowser]

I'm currently battling war number 2 with my Westerbeke w21 that until 2 weeks ago, hadn't been started in 5 years. With all of your help I got it running nicely again, but even though I replaced every hose in the cooling system, lovingly bled the fuel system and replaced all the filters, oil, and fuel, the red beast of doom would not accept my penance and wanted more from me.

It turns out that the seals in/on the exhaust manifold were a bit of a mess and it leaked quite a bit of coolant into the bilge after running the motor for 10 minutes. I identified the leaks (pretty much every gasket on the manifold) and after an epic battle that made dogs whimper and children run, I was finally able to remove the entire manifold from the motor. I stripped it down, cleaned it out, gave it a nice bath, repainted the manifold, and replaced all the gaskets (8 total, 4 for coolant, 4 for exhaust).

Now I'm ready to reassemble and noticed that during the struggle to remove the manifold, I had to rip out some of the heat resistant wrapping material on the exhaust header (or the big iron looking thing with a mixing elbow at the aft end of the engine that I'm calling the header). I want to replace it, but I'm not sure what to get. There seem to be fiberglass, titanium, and 'lava' wraps for automotive use that I can get on Amazon, but I want to make sure I have the right thing before I order.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm certain that the beast will demand the finest cloth in the land to go with its shiny new manifold paint.

 

[deniseO30]

I didn't blush! Most seem to be wrapped with typical FG woven tape and wired to keep it in place.
Here's the manual. I think page 19 is what you want to see. Assuming your engine is similar.
http://www.westerbeke.com/installationmanuals/installation_manual.pdf

 

[Capt Len]

Back in the day we just wrapped asbestos rope around it but now we get custom made aluminium coated glass fiber jackets complete with lacing grommets and hooks.OR wrap it with fiber glass tape or rope lagged with aluminium silicate (water glass) Test for leaks and tightness of bolts before wrapping.

 

[ECS-IB30]

I went down to the local advanced auto and bought header tape ($20) it was enuf on a roll to wrap mine (smaller engine) and have half left over - secured with safety wire and does a great job - been in place for 2+ yrs with no sign of wear - for this application, no special Marine gear needed (read much cheaper)!

 

[JimsCAL]

In the "old" days they would use asbestos wrap. Can't get that anymore. I suspect ordinary fiberglass might melt at exhaust temps. Watch the temperature rating. Something from the local parts store designed for exhaust systems should work. You only have to wrap up to point where the water is injected at the mixing elbow.

 

[mbowser]

I went down to the local advanced auto and bought header tape ($20) it was enuf on a roll to wrap mine (smaller engine) and have half left over - secured with safety wire and does a great job - been in place for 2+ yrs with no sign of wear - for this application, no special Marine gear needed (read much cheaper)!

I was hoping that I could go the automotive route, much cheaper and easier to source. I'll give it a try. Thanks. Now if I can only get the manifold back on the beast.