Mickey McHugh, where are you?

[Richard Stidger]

I attempted to send you an email and found that the address that I had was no good and also that the address in the HOW site here is the same.What I wanted to know was about cleaning the exhaust elbow on the Volvo MD22L.Can you describe the proceedure, tools, and technique that you use to clean the exhaust elbow on the Volvo MD22L?It looks easy to remove- just 4 nuts and the exhaust and water hoses. Will I need a new gasket or am I likely to be able to reuse the original?I have heard that sometimes these elbows clog so badly that they cannot be cleaned, but replaced instead. Is this Volvo elbow easy to cleanout?Thanks. And if it's OK, please send me your new email address to grstidge@localnet.comRich

 

[MickeyMcHugh]

Answers

Rich, Sorry about the delay. I've been working overtime and thru lunch so I have not checked HOW in a while. Email is yacht_yaga@hotmail.comSo far, the elbow has been easy to remove, clean and replace. The first time after 300 hours there was some build up but now it doesn't seem too bad. I clean it once a year. I use an old screw driver to scrape the inside. Once I repainted the outside too. I've always used the same gasket and so far no problems. I do replace the exhaust hose clamps since I had noticed some rust around the clamps and elbow from the leaking saltwater so I can really 'clamp' down on the hose. It's cheap insurance.Just made the 25 mile run down to Galveston last weekend in NO wind there and back and the motor was running great, 'knock on teak'. Still getting 7.25 knots from 2600 RPM. I did crank her up to 3100 for ten minutes with no smoke or vibration and the temp stayed at 175. I only saw 7.8 knots so I don't think the additional half-a-knot is worth the extra load on the engine .

 

[Rich Stidger]

Thanks, Mickey, for the answers and new email

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