NO DRAMA GUARANTEE!!! Real Jetboat thread

[Danhercules]

I just bought some shiny new headers.
Now the problem, I am gonna put a new cam in my motor along with new heads.
I know your suppost to break in the cam for 20 min at 2000 RPM. Will this blue the headers? Will water go through the headers?
Should I use my old ones for it? The old headers have bad cracks right by the flange, I dont wanna toast my new valves. The exahust is ported big time, so I dont know if that will hurt the valves with the crack in the old headers.
Thanks for the help.
Dan (sick of drama) hercules

[victorfb]

dan, have your builder break in the cam on the stand. if he cannot do that at his shop then find a place that can/will. that way your sure the motor is good before you install it in the boat and you saved the chrome.:D
you Drama queen...:p

[Mohavekid]

Dan, I learned this one from experience.
Don't break in the cam with the new headers!
I blued a nice new set of rewarders all to hell in about 30 minutes when I broke in my cam. If you have the old ones, use them for the break-in and safe the purty ones for the river.:D

[HotRod Sprint]

Dan, since you don't care much for the old headers, why not take them to a fab shop and have the cracks welded. Use them to break in the cam, and then give them a toss. A few dollars spent for welding the cracks would seem like a good bit of insurance against toasting valves, and blueing the new ones.
Rod

[American Turbine Man]

I'm with you guys. I have been watching this forum for about three weeks, seems like too much B.S. and not enough jet stuff. I am new to this so, if do something wrong please correct me.

[Jungle Boy]

Originally posted by American Turbine Man
I'm with you guys. I have been watching this forum for about three weeks, seems like too much B.S. and not enough jet stuff. I am new to this so, if do something wrong please correct me.
Your right: Lots of various strong opinions and pissing matches. Me, I don't understand the desire to lake boat in the first place. Mainly cause the lake boat season here is short and I like to cover some ground when I go boating. If I lived down south, I'd be having me one of them 26 ft DCB with a couple of outboards. Yes that's right folks. Ok so maybe I'm a little sleep deprived and high on Columbian coffee.:D :eek:

[Oxnard]

Yeah right JB, we saw the way you parked that thing awhile back. You think we want you down here? Hell our insurance rates are high enough without your help. Now you insult this thread with all of these fine jetboaters with bullshit talk about wacka's.
You better take a trip back up to the 'sandbar' and ask that Rev-what's his name for forgiveness! LOL
Oxnard:D

[Jungle Boy]

Ok, you're right. I'd like the 26' DCB with a 540 blower motor. Something that can take some big water. :cool:

[victorfb]

Danhercules.
bring them old headers to my place. ill fix em for ya. though i still think you should break in the cam on the stand and not under the load of the pump. maybe one or some of the professional engine builders can enlighten us on weather its a good idea or not. anyone, anyone?:D

[Rexone]

Not a pro engine builder but I will contribute what I think I know ;) .... I'm sure the jet tech dept will correct me if I'm wrong.
Cam break in as I understand it is based on engine speed (rpm) not relative necessarily to engine load. However "any" idle time must be avoided therefore pretty much eliminating launching and running on the river or lake unless you fire and go immediately to 2K and stay there, do not stop for traffic, otters, logs, pwcs, not to mention other tuning / adjustment problems that possibly won't run good, probably won't plane at 2k etc, etc.
Run it on the stand or in the boat but don't idle it during the break in period. Use the break in time to check for fuel and water system leaks, check timing, general inspection, etc. Not a good idea to do first fire up in the boat going down the lake not watching the engine IMO.
Headers... any significant time running dry will blue the headers. Use the old ones.

[Foggerjet]

I'm glad Dan started this thread, I was wondering the same thing. I have more to the break-in question tho. I have built lots 'o' motors but all for a dry surface. When we build a car motor, after the cam break-in we try to vary the engine speed for a while, not holding a constant rpm for a long time. Now, in a boat where the engine is constantly loaded, Do you do the same thing? Like put around for a while and stab the throttle here and there? Boats don't coast very good, so you are either on the throttle or stopped. How do you guys drive during the break-in period? and for how long? My motor isn't like y'all fast guys but I want to break it in correctly. Also when do you do the first oil change? after cam run-in?
thanks,
fog

[HammerDown]

DanH one thing you can do and it's a old Harley Drag pipe trick is before the new headers are put on take some Hi-Temp Spray paint and put several coats in each tube(the head side). It will help to save the chrome. Not forever, but it helps. For some reason the Hi-Temp White paint seems to work the best.
I've broken in a few Jet Boat Cams on the Trailer backed down the ramp...between 1800-2000 rpm for 15-20 min. and the diverter full up. Every now and then I would move the R's around also.

[Danhercules]

I was plannin to do it in the boat, out of the water, NOT connected to my freshly rebuilt pump. I think I will weld the old one, sounds like a good idea. I accually never thought of that.
See, there is good info on here.
Hey Rex, Thanks!!!!! I am a happy man!!:smilespi: My wife was not, she did not like them in bed last night!

[Boater Bill]

If you had gone roller, you wouldn't have this dilemma.:rolleyes:

[hack job]

kind of what i was thinking:p

[460rogers]

Down here in Texas we run our motors on the garden hose.
When tuning or breaking in a new motor I hook the hose to the motor keeps from blueing pipes and from burning exhaust hoses.
I never run them dry logs costtoo much.

[cyclone]

Originally posted by Danhercules
I was plannin to do it in the boat, out of the water, NOT connected to my freshly rebuilt pump. I think I will weld the old one, sounds like a good idea. I accually never thought of that.
See, there is good info on here.
Hey Rex, Thanks!!!!! I am a happy man!!:smilespi: My wife was not, she did not like them in bed last night!
Dan-o..You can borrow my drag pipes for the break-in. Gimme a call and come pick them up. They are ceramic coated and are already dull from not running water through them. You wont be doing any more damage to them than i've already done running them dry all summer long. :D Oh you got a BBC right?

[flat broke]

I was starting to get worried, but after Dan said he would not be breaking the motor in connected to the pump, I got a lot happier. I would run the headers dry during break in as you don't need any other issues to look out for while dialing in timing etc. Too much of a risk connected to the garden hose, and unexpected engine stops with water running through the bassetts.
Run em dry, not connected to the pump, and don't use the shiny new ones... Sounds like a winning plan to me.
Chris

[Danhercules]

Originally posted by cyclone
Dan-o..You can borrow my drag pipes for the break-in. Gimme a call and come pick them up. They are ceramic coated and are already dull from not running water through them. You wont be doing any more damage to them than i've already done running them dry all summer long. :D Oh you got a BBC right?
Do you have magic headers that can bolt up to a BBC and a BBF???
Just kidding. I have a Ford. Thanks a ton for the offer. I think weldin them up is what its gonna have to be.

[cyclone]

ah that's too bad. But before you go through the trouble of welding those ones up, i would ask around. Ill bet someone has an old set laying around that they wouldn't mind loaning to you.

[Rexone]

Originally posted by Danhercules
I was plannin to do it in the boat, out of the water, NOT connected to my freshly rebuilt pump. I think I will weld the old one, sounds like a good idea. I accually never thought of that.
See, there is good info on here.
Hey Rex, Thanks!!!!! I am a happy man!!:smilespi: My wife was not, she did not like them in bed last night!
thanks for the biz Dan.
We should start including flowers with each set of headers. Probably would sell lots more headers. lol.
btw if anyone is needing Bassetts I'd get them soon. A substantial price increase is coming from Bassett I expect around the first of March.

[FoMoCo]

Hes what I do when I have to run water through the Headers in the drive way. I would first go with what you have said and dont hook up the pump. Second I would hook a Garden hose to your water inlet of your motor with either a lever type shut off valve or a friend at the water spiket and just raise the amount of water pressure up when you put the motor up to 2K rpm. before you lower the idle, lower the water pressure till the headers clear out, then you can lower the idle down. I have down this many times with out problems! But now I have shut off valves right in fornt of the header water inlets, so I adjust it there.

[LUVNLIFE]

Originally posted by Boater Bill
If you had gone roller, you wouldn't have this dilemma.:rolleyes:
I was going to be the smartass and say the same thing. Go Billet. You beat me to it.:D :D

[CrdStang]

Cyclone,
a word to the wise, don't use ceramic coated headers to break in a new engine. Small particles of metal come out of the exhaust all burning hot and stuff. It screws up the ceramic coating (assuming the inside of the pipe is coated, obviously). I only know this 'cause I read it in the documentation I got from Jet-Hot. They warranty against practically everything, but not breaking an engine in...

[moneysucker]

Originally posted by CrdStang
Cyclone,
a word to the wise, don't use ceramic coated headers to break in a new engine. Small particles of metal come out of the exhaust all burning hot and stuff. It screws up the ceramic coating (assuming the inside of the pipe is coated, obviously). I only know this 'cause I read it in the documentation I got from Jet-Hot. They warranty against practically everything, but not breaking an engine in...
As cyclone knows, and I found out along with my brother, Jet hot turns color when running dry all season. My drag headers have the same problem and jet hot will upgrade to the 2000 coating for a small price but they won't look shiny to start with then look like I primered them. At this point after running all season the breaking in of an engine on headers that have been running dry is not really going to dammage them any more. That is good to know for next round when I run water to them. I am trying to keep them shiny this year.
Cy

[jerry billet]

I always break in motors in the drive way. Car or boat. There is enouph tuning to worry about, don't need any other distractions.
If you can weld them up and use the garden hose, helps keep everything cool. You willbe working around the motor and checkingstuff. Always help to keep a hot pipe cooled off. HYou need water for the motor anyway. You don't run that dry do you?
Jerry

[American Turbine Man]

I would like to offer this piece of advice. If you break it in on the boat ramp be sure to back in far enough to float the boat level. I broke the cam in one time on the ramp, I backed in just enough to submerge the intake. Bad idea. The ramp angle was steep enough that the oil went to the back of the oil pan. What happened is the oil was aerated and since the cam is lubricated by splash, the cam was flattened on the ramp.

[Blown 472]

Originally posted by American Turbine Man
I would like to offer this piece of advice. If you break it in on the boat ramp be sure to back in far enough to float the boat level. I broke the cam in one time on the ramp, I backed in just enough to submerge the intake. Bad idea. The ramp angle was steep enough that the oil went to the back of the oil pan. What happened is the oil was aerated and since the cam is lubricated by splash, the cam was flattened on the ramp.
Good point.