has this manifold had it`s day ??

[Russc]

As i`m sure you can all tell with other posts from me i`m not exactly an expert in these things and it`s years since i`ve pulled a car apart.

But in porting the wastegate i`ve dragged the manifold off but i`ve found a couple of cracks.

Wasn`t blowing before i took it off but as it`s such a sod to get off and on again is it just a matter of time before it dies??

Or are these repairable??



bigger piccie of the left hand crack

[Specky]

Is that a crack at the one o'clock as well...

TTFN

[GeoffSmith]

How successful are cast iron repairs these days Dave?

[Specky]

How successful are cast iron repairs these days Dave?

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that manifold, just to see how bad those cracks are... NDT head on again...

Personally I Wouldn't repair or refit it...

It looks buggered...

TTFN

[Russc]

I had a feeling that was going to be the conclusion especially when i posted the piccie, does look bad.

And yes there is another one at 1 o'clock

[GeoffSmith]

Cheer up, it could be worse:

Esprit manifold.

[Russc]

Ouch !!! yeah in a way it`s saved me some hassle taking it all off now. Would be sods law that i put it all together and then it went.

[F1 LOTUS]

I think Doc Fizzix rewelded his a while back???
Mine's cracked also - toying with the idea of designing a new one to suit the range of Garrett Turbo's...

[abmunro]

toying with the idea of designing a new one to suit the range of Garrett Turbo's...

Go for it!!

I'd be very interested.

I bought a nice Stainless steel one for my GTiR.

Very nice.

[dapinky]

Well, call me a cheapskate if you want. but when i did my head gasket, i found similar cracks - and asked these same questions, but it appears that there is no deffinative answer to the problem, other than £300 for a new one.

I looked into welding, but couldn't find anyone local to give it a go, and wanted to get it all back on the car......

....so i sand (grit) blasted it to a nice shiney grey colour, smeared a bit of 'chemical metal' on the cracks and put it together.

one year on, and my temporary repair is still solid!

PS - if anyone knows a good Cast Iron welder. please let me know as i now have a spare manifold (also with slight cracks!).

[Russc]

Nah not tight at all. I must be honest and say i thought of the same. However as Lotus had them in stock i thought i`d take the advantage and put a new one on while i still can.

I`m going to keep the old one "just in case"

[Elanlover]

Perhaps someone who has removed their manifold can answer a somewhat related quesiotn for me. The shiny plates on the sides of the manifold - are they heat shields? Can they be removed? I ask because I'm considering having a manifold ceramic coated and I suspect they'd want those removed before doing the work. Thanks!

[Russc]

I can answer that for you.

Yes and yes the bolts do have a tendancy to sieze though so keep some spare time for the possability of having to drill them out.

[GeoffSmith]

PS - if anyone knows a good Cast Iron welder. please let me know as i now have a spare manifold (also with slight cracks!).

What about trying some of this Dave?

[dapinky]

I remember stumbling accross that one when i first encountered the problem - then i read all about it (well, their advert, anyway!) and decided that my skills and tools were insufficient to make the whole process cost effective.

I would need a different set of nozzles for the gas rig, and with the filler rods, decided it would be easier to find a 'local' tradesman to do the job for me

Then i did the temporary repair and forgot all about it till i got my spare manifold and found similar cracks!

Cast welding seems a bit of a black art to me - with stupid temperatures involved to avoid cracking, but not too hot to invoke distortion.

Does anyone know if ceramic coating can be done over chemical metal??