I originally posted this in the general maintenance but realized it would be better here.

I just pulled the port Crusader 454 out of my 1993 carver 638 santego. My engine got hydrolocked and it appears I did some bottom end damage. Hoping to confirm it next week.

I am fairly confident the water ingress was from the intake manifold. I have always had water drain from tithe cockpit floor onto the cover of the carb but we had some major rain storm and it must have leaked enough water to fill a cylinder.

I am preparing for the rebuild and starting to think about replacing exhaust system or keeping the old ones. The exhaust ports on manifold, riser, and elbow are completely dry but I have every reason to believe they are original. I have a raw water cooled boat that has spent its entire life in Wisconsin boating on fresh water.

My mechanic said if they look good than it’s not worth the $2000 to replace. From everything I hear on the internet, it sounds like it is completely nuts to put 33 year old manifolds, risers and elbows on a freshly rebuilt engine. I don’t know how much I will be into the rebuild but I am assuming at least $5000, so I would love to save money where I can but the last thing I want to do is blow up the motor again.

I was hoping to get some opinions from seasonal fresh water boaters that have or haven’t replaced their exhaust system.