Re: Cracking of late manifolds

["Jay Mackro" <jmackro@domain.elided>]

From: Colin Cobb <cobmeister@domain.elided> wrote:

>The exhaust manifold on my '89 Spider Grad (46,000 miles) has suddenly and
>mysteriously developed a short crack. For a short term fix I'll have the
crack
>welded but, as long as I'm messing with the manifold anyway
>Anybody have any source suggestions for another good exhaust manifold?
>Has anyone else experienced cracking in the exhaust manifold? Any
suggestions
>or advice?


Well, I hate to simply say "yea, they all do that", but cracking of the late
4 cyl
manifolds is pretty common.  I fixed the manifold on my '77 spider with some
muffler cement, a piece of tin can, and a hoseclamp.  Of course, it was
supposed to be a short term fix, but it's held up for about 10 years now
(probably longer than the original manifold remained crack-free.  As you
might
guess, I gooped up the crack and surrounding area with muffler cement,
wrapped a bandage of steel can material around it, and secured it with the
hose clamp.  If your crack is in an area that can't be "bandaged" this fix
won't work.

The best manifold to substitute would be one from an early 2L engine (ie,
'72 - about '75 US version - later for Europe).  These are a more free-flow
design than the later ones which were compromised to work with the
catalytic converters.  Of course, if you have emission inspections where
you live, some custom work will be required, and the cat will probably
negage any flow advantages of the manifold.

Jay Mackro

------------------------------