Cracked Exh manifolds: where r u?

For what it's worth, this was a common problem on the 323 GTX (B6T motor). Not sure they ever found a solution.
 
eddiejoe56 said:
Mine Calaway manifold cracked between each runner and I had OEM "S" and "J" pipes. The lower "J" pipe bracket was also broken. This was after about 45,000 miles, but I commute 95 miles a day.
My same manifold bolt popped its head, and the extreme passenger lower bolt was missing entirely. I was able to easy-out the broken bolt, but another bolt broke trying to take it out, the easy-out did not work, it broke off inside. I had to hand drill around the broken easy-out, then Jen-Weld the hole in the head, and then drill & tab for the new bolt.

I believe the manifold cracks are due to stress from thermal expansion of the head flange. Short runners can not take alot of stress the way longer runners could. The manifold flange cuts might help, provided the bolt holes are bossed and larger washers are used under the bolt heads.

Do you really feel thatyy bossing the holes are necessary? I never have seen any info regarding that. Any input would be appreciated!
 
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I have done some more research....found that the WRX had a very similar problem....most likely this problem does stem from uneven thermal expansion, so I don't think a "bracket" is the complete solution. Also, with the variety of part combos everyone has (ie OE vs aftermarket s-pipes, j-pipes, and soon manifolds) making something to work with all would be impossible.

One thing I did find with the WRX.....many of them solved the cracking problem by coating their exhaust manifold. This is somehing we have used on the race car from day one and have never had (and hope not to have any cracks). The correct type of coating improves the performance of the exhaust and turbo system by keeping the exhaust gases flowing faster. It does this by preventing heat transfer to the manifold and keeping it in the gases themselves. (This is an oversimplification). In turn, this seems to also help prevent the cracking problem. Not 100% sure whether this is from evening out the heat or not allowing the manifold to get to the temps were cracks will form...I know for sure the manifold still gets hot as I have experienced in the race car!!!


Anyway, I am looking to get a cracked OE MSP manifold so that I can repair it and have it coated....will then test as this should be the ultimate in determining if this will work for the MSP.

If anyone is interested in the coating for their manifold PM or email me and I will give you the info.....Attached is a pic of the coated OE MSP exhaust manifold on the race car....
 

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SOME MORE INFO REGARDING MANIFOLD RELIEF CUTS:

quoted from clusrsx.com

"they are slots we cut into the manifold for stress relief. It helps to ensure a perfect seal at the gasket, no exhuast leaks! an exhaust leak on a turbo car (whether from a leaky gasket or a cracked manifold) can make the turbo spool up ~2000 rpm later, and will drop power close to 150whp"

http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=417788&page=4

Page 4 of that thread regarding the stress cuts.

Some more info:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=114390&referrerid=15458

Here are some pictures also.

Side note:

I dont really see a need to boss the holes of the manifold. Does anyone find bossing (reinforceing) the holes necessary given the application. I think washer at the end of the bolt should suffice. Any comments or ideas on bossing the holes??
 

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Kansei said:
Is the coating ridiclously expensive?

Cost depends on some options, but to have it coated inside and out should cost less than $100. It is well worth the money though.
 
low_psi said:
Cost depends on some options, but to have it coated inside and out should cost less than $100. It is well worth the money though.

oh ok that's pretty cheap. hope they have a way of getting off the caked-on carbon on the inside before they coat it :P I'd probably save up and have them do my corksport downpipe while I was gettin stuff done.. maybe my turbine too :P
 
MP3racer said:
Not sure on that one....the race car runs for up to 3 hours at a time consistently in the 4000-7000 RPM range. The exhaust manifold is glowing red. So hot in fact that when we blew a motor the fragments of the block actually dented the underside of the mainfold. Through all this we have not had any cracks yet.

As far as welding the manifold, I'm going to look into it. The manifolds were made out of a special alloy and may require a slightly different technique than usual.

Has anyone else welded one up with good results yet?


a race cars manifold is made out of pipe. not casting. casting has impurities in it and under the right amount of heat and flex will just give out. and you cant just weld casting it has to be preheat'd and welded with a certain rod. nickel i believe?!?!? not sure exactly.
 
kys10x said:
a race cars manifold is made out of pipe. not casting. casting has impurities in it and under the right amount of heat and flex will just give out. and you cant just weld casting it has to be preheat'd and welded with a certain rod. nickel i believe?!?!? not sure exactly.

You are correct that many race cars use tube manifolds...however, due to the rules we have been using the OE Calloway cast exhaust manifold on our race car with no problems to date....

As for the welding, yes it does take some special care when welding on cast parts, especially when they are made of exotic alloys like the one the OE Calloway manifold is made from....we have talked with Calloway and received the necessary info.....
 
we are talking about ceremic coating, correct?

i just took my manifold and s pipe last week to get coated grey, should be done in a couple of days
 
JCell said:
we are talking about ceremic coating, correct?

i just took my manifold and s pipe last week to get coated grey, should be done in a couple of days

Well, yes, I was referring to ceramic coating but as with anything there are various levels and types of ceramic coating....where are you having it done??

The race team uses Swain Tech Coatings in Scottsville, NY. They are very helpful and have a ton of experience. I'm trying to work out a deal for members here....
 
BTW, would anybody here who has responded with a cracked OE exhaust manifold like to sell it? I'm looking for a cracked manifold for a research project.....

Thanks!
Tom
 
a local place called Jet Coating, i saw some of his work and was impressed by it. and the price wasn't that bad either
 
JCell said:
a local place called Jet Coating, i saw some of his work and was impressed by it. and the price wasn't that bad either

It should be a triple layer process, ie three different materials....otherwise ask what experience they have with turbo exhaust manifolds and decide for yourself...
 
JCell said:
a local place called Jet Coating, i saw some of his work and was impressed by it. and the price wasn't that bad either

Also, as shown in the pic I displayed in a previous post, having the exhaust turbine housing coated is very beneficial....keeping the heat in allows it to keep spooled up....just beware, can be a pain to put back together
 
yes, the owner mentioned this as well, but i don't feel confortable taking the turbo apart
 
JCell said:
yes, the owner mentioned this as well, but i don't feel confortable taking the turbo apart

I here you...can be a PIB to put back together.....If you are interested, while your manifold and pipe are apart, I'm finishing some R&D with ARP on a kit of stainless studs/bolts/nuts for the exhaust manifold and s-pipe...
 
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