NJ328SS

Hi again all. First off a thank you to alldodge for helping me in my last post. I got my Monterey in the water and am just awaiting new trim senders so i can get them working.
I've been doing a ton of research on this 2011 Model 8.2 Mag HO EC's and I've read a good bit of posts on this forum from a few members that speak to some of the issues that arise with these engines.

First off, my engines were part of the service bulletin back in 2011 and the issues were addressed. Now, that leads me to my first question- do those vent valves (the plastic tubes mounted on the risers) need to be replaced periodically as well? I thought I read they should be replaced every season/100 miles but at $125 each, that's a $500 bill that seems a bit absurd to spend each season. I know these were a modification to prevent vacuum lock and if necessary i will change but I'm curious if this is something that can be pushed off? I know the PCV Valve is a seasonally changed item and at $30 each I have no problem putting new in each springtime.

Now.... onto my exhaust. This one seems like a f*** headache! My 2011's do unfortunately have the three cat design with the separate collector/manifold piping. This boat is a 2012 and has factory original exhaust. 352 hours on the engines all in freshwater but now I'm bringing it to saltwater and considering it may be time to replace these preventatively. My cats are still fine, there's NO way I'd be spending $12,000 for 6 cats per engine ever on cats so they're irrelevant to this issue but I'm wondering am I able to "upgrade" to the gen 2 one piece manifolds that were introduced a few years later? If they fit up to my engine and attach to the y pipe the same I'd prefer to switch over to the new setup. I would run them cat-less (Because $5,400 for two cats is absurd), so I would need a solution for the inevitable CEL's I would get. If the one piece manifolds do mate up to my engine I know I would need matching risers, but what about the elbow tube between the riser an y pipe? I'm hoping this is something I can convert over to the newer style as manifolds/risers/tubes of the new style are about $2,000 cheaper than the old two piece design for just the manifolds, collectors and risers (no tubes).


My main goal is making sure these engines stay reliable as I plan on putting plenty of hours on them and I don't want to be eating $125 oxygen sensors 2 or 3 times a year like my old 4.5MPI EC engine used to do during the season. Any other recommendations other than the standard yearly oil, filters, PCV, etc?

Thanks,
Dylan