Any reason to wrap mixing elbow ...

[Scott T-Bird]

You seem to have pretty good 3 sided access. Of course the oil filter is on the side with more limited access.

There seems to be an awful lot of belt dust, or there used to be a lot. When you relocate the MC-614 it might be a good idea to check its settings and lower the belt manager setting. MaineSail has a good article on doing this and since you will be removing the regulator anyway, taking it home and hooking it up to a 12v power supply makes it very easy. Just tell Sue the new 12v power supply was an essential tool. It will also allow you to play with your MFD at home over the winter. That story worked well with my Susan.

I do have a battery that I use for winter projects! I'm guessing the regulator has already been set to reduce belt dust. The grime seems to be from the past, not the present. The P.O. is an electrical engineer. That said, I've got my own preferences and electrical projects to consider.

Aside from the cleaning project, I will take off the gear case and replace the gasket to (hopefully) cure the oil leak. While the pulleys are going to come off, I may as well put on a sexy new serpentine pulley. That's in the works. And, I'm now more curious about the mixing elbow. I may as well pull it off and inspect it. I can replace the insulation if need be. Most of the hoses will be replaced, but the pair that feed the exhaust and the pair that feed the water heater exchanger appear to be ok for now.

 

[rpwillia]

FWIW, I use aluminum foil as an outer wrap over the muffler insulating tape. It is cheap and readily available and helps protect the wrapping as well as keeping a little more heat inside the elbow. I have my original elbow and it is still working great , most likely because I am in fresh water 98% of the time. I did not notice it, but you should have a loop going into the top of the elbow that supplies cooling raw water from the raw water circuit that comes off of the heat exchanger after it has cooled the coolant. That water is sprayed into the elbow to cool it and the exhaust so it can pass through the rubber exhaust hose and go overboard. One common caution is if you are cranking your engine more than 30 seconds you do not have exhaust gases pushing the water overboard through the exhaust and it can fill up the muffler and back up into the elbow and then back to the exhaust valve and the engine at which point you need to drain the exhaust or risk locking up your engine.
Here is the link to the discussion that Jesse, one of our 310 superstars, started on a replacement "do-it-yourself" exhaust elbow from ordinary parts. Custom Exhaust Riser/Mixing Elbow

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I did not notice it, but you should have a loop going into the top of the elbow that supplies cooling raw water from the raw water circuit that comes off of the heat exchanger after it has cooled the coolant.

Yes, we did discuss this issue. The hose from the HE runs forward and thru a bulkhead before returning and terminating at the downstream end of the elbow (on the front side - hidden from view). I'm supposing that there is a vented loop on the other side of the bulkhead. I'll be climbing in there from the lazerette and exploring soon enough!

 

[thinwater]

Insulation also reduces corrosion. It seems to be related to both condensation and heat flux, and the exact mechanisms are hard to track down. But it always helps. We see this in refineries and boiler systems all the time.