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Exactly. The cracked filler neck was leaking at the base. I fixed it with Marinetex, but it was probably leaking for a while by the time I got the boat - so the damage was done. The manifold is at a local radiator shop now. They are going to clean and boil it, replace the filler pipe and pressure test it. This is not cheap, but a new manifold would cost me $1,500.

I am using the yellow Benzomatic MAAP cylinder (see the picture), but it still has not enough BTU to go beyond 600 F.

My alternator bracket is fixed to the water pump (on the front) and the manifold (on the side). By the way, the bracket is a little too big for this alternator: There is a gap about 1/4" between the alternator mounting ear and the bracket. Whoever mounted it did not care, so there was a lot of vibration. I added a washer on each side to take out the gap. This helped to reduce vibration a lot!

I do have enough grip on the manifold side. I was able to extract one stud from the manifold after heating it up to 600 F. The second one did not budge. I can't heat it more with my Benzomatic blowtorch - doesn't go above 600. The manifold is too big of a heat sink. I need a bigger blowtorch. On the engine side it broke flush with the cylinder head I will try Hansen spiral extractor over the weekend. If it doesn't work - I will go with a helicoil. Luckily for me, the broken studs are accessible through the engine port in the shower. I have a good chance to fix it without pulling the cylinder head.

And yes, I do have the new style bracket. I know the old bracket could damage the studs. These studs, however, did not break because of the alternator.  They broke when I was trying to pool the rusty manifold from the engine. If you look at the picture, you can see where water from the cracked filling pipe was sipping into the stud holes.

The good news is: I was able to pray the old riser from the manifold. The bottom stud rusted and welded itself to the flange (see the picture). It took 3 hours, blowtorch, chisel and pry bar. The bad news is: Two of the studs that fix manifold to the cylinder head had broken. I have to extract them. I hope I can do it without pulling the head out. Project for another weekend.

Stu,

The riser was not attached to the muffler. It decided to detach itself somewhere between Pillar Point and Golden Gate (see the picture). We pulled into the guest dock of Brisbane Marina near San Francisco with the exhaust smoke coming out of the cabin and sea water gushing into the bilge. In the retrospect, we were lucky it failed completely like this. If it was a smaller crack, water from the muffler, unopposed by the exhaust pressure could enter the engine and this would be the end of it.

Now, the good news: I was able to pull the manifold out. The bad news: Two of the studs had broken and stuck in the cylinder head. I will have to spend another day driving two inserts into the stud holes. Hope I can do it without taking the cylinder head off. If somebody has experience with that - please share!

Patty knives, utility blades and painter scrappers did not work out. Trying to unscrew studs with a counter-nut did not work either. Ended up stripping the thread on one of them When we had the engine assessed before we got the boat, the mechanic reported a leak in the manifold filler pipe. I had fixed it with plenty-o-marinetex, but I guess the damage was done already. Some of the studs had  rusted and welded themselves to the manifold. What did work was a blowtorch, rubber mullet and a 5 feet crowbar.

I will post some more pictures later.

Thanks.
I got the Trident pump hose from Catalina direct.
Now I have to pull out the old riser and the leaky exhaust manifold and then hopefully put everything back together :)

Thanks for the pointer. I looked it up. It says unscrew nuts from the studs - and the manifold slides off. In my case it doesn't slide off. It is not moving at all. As I mentioned, there was a leak. Probably some of the studs rusted and got chemically welded to the manifold. It is going to be interesting...

The exhaust manifold is leaking at the filler pipe. There are signs of an old repair job around the pipe connection. I talked to a local radiator shop, and they say they can fix it if I bring the exhaust manifold to the shop. I figured while I am replacing the riser, it is a good time to pull the manifold out. However, after unscrewing bolts from the studs, I found that it is not moving at all. Any advice on how to pull this thing out?

After spending a day in the engine compartment, I found that the muffler was not damaged and will probably work for a few more years. The exhaust riser, however was totally busted (separated at the nipple welding seam). I have ordered a new one already.

Thanks everybody for response.

Ahoy Sailors!
I was thinking about replacing Aqualift Muffler on my Ctalina 34 Mk 1.5 (1994). The thing is: CatalinaDirect doesn't have them right now. I've been told the current vendor discontinued production and they are in search of a new one who can build it to the spec. Meanwhile they are out of stock and have no estimate for the new arrivals. Given the circumstances, I started looking for alternatives and came across Centek Vernalift (http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1&id=3370202). According to the manufacturer, it works with diesel engines up to 40 hp and exceeds ABYC specifications. And it costs just $175 (vs catalina $400). Looks like a good alternative to me except for one thing: According to the specs, it is D 10.4 x H 10.16, which roughly gives 450 cubic inches. Catalina Aqualift is 12x11x6 - roughly 800 cubic inches. This is almost twice the volume. I would hate this thing to overflow and flood the engine. What are your thoughts on this? Are there any alternatives to Aqualift aside from building your own with fiberglass and epoxy?

Thanks for the pointer. I will give it a try.

Hi everybody,

I am replacing the forward hatch on 1994 C34. In the instruction that came with the hatch they say I should use stainless still fasteners to fix it to the deck. However, the frame looks aluminum. From what I know using stainless steel on aluminum is usually a bad idea since salt water will promote electrolysis leading to severe corrosion. Does it mean the instruction is wrong or am I missing something?