New Barr manifolds have loose chunks inside the water channels, L6, 165

[ttownthomas]

I'm replacing the manifolds and risers on my twin Mercruiser 165's (1972). I got the first manifold off and over to the bench and was getting ready to swap over the carburetor brackets. When I unboxed the new manifold I heard some rattling inside. I tuned it over and a chunk of loose cast iron (grey and rough looking) was sticking out the end. It is about half the size of a book of matches. I thought "this is not good" and looked inside the water channels with a flashlight. There appears to be a loose part deep in there too. So as a comparison I unboxed the other manifold and it has a rattle inside it too. I cant see any obvious holes or damage anywhere. What is normal here?

 

[Lou C]

They have a tech support line, call or email them I think they should take them back...

 

[ttownthomas]

Yes they do have a tech line which is close today and they have a tech line at the distributor I bought from. It is also closed today. I guess I’m just wondering if this is normal? If it is normal I will keep moving forward. I suspect it is not and I’m on to next weekend.

 

[Scott Danforth]

not normal

 

[Levinz11]

Replaced my 4.3 dry joint manifolds and risers last month with new Barr stuff. Mine had small fingernail sized chips of metal rattling around inside. I was able to shake most of it out. One chunk is still in there despite my best efforts. I was kinda bummed but no problems yet.

 

[ttownthomas]

They Said it’s not uncommon to have a few small pieces to get dislodged during shipping. Those pieces are a byproduct of the casting process. But the large piece that I was talking about is an usual and they replaced the manifold