On another note, since the work on the engine has been done i seem to have lost the audible beep when the ignition is turned on, should i be concerned about this chaps?
Were they the dry joint manifolds or the wet joint ones?
If they were 11 years old they were right on the cusp of when mercruiser switched from wet joint with all the issues that they had to the much more robust dry joint.
How did they fail? At the gasket between manifold and riser?