Thread: Is this normal

My front manifold is cast and my rear manifold is stanless

Is this normal or not my first reaction was what the F^ck
At any rate there getting welded so i can hog em out a bit and there also fixing a crack hopefully

Ok it had my welding instructor scratchin his head and honestly had never thought bout it or look at them so ya

Yes, normal.

But be careful welding the cast, if that is what you are doing. Welding cast iron is not as easy as other steel as it is prone to cracking. If not when you weld it, when it heat cycles a few times.

Also, with the mods you are looking at doing, why not just get a set of headers?

Honestly headers are what is wanted I just need to wait till january and get them
The head issue i ran into cost me a bit more then expected along with some financial issues at home just couldnt afford them

As far as the welding of the mani a very experianced instructor is doing in not me I passed the welding class but cant weld for sh!t

Originally Posted by wickedintent79

As far as the welding of the mani a very experianced instructor is doing in not me I passed the welding class but cant weld for sh!t

I have met a lot of very "experienced" college instructors that can't do things as well as they should.

But just offering a word of caution to clean up the welds and check them yourself for cracks before you put them on and run into a tuning nightmere.

yea i plan on checking every thing and this guy is good Ive seen his work and other cast manis he has fixed im buying headers in january any way

Originally Posted by kfish

think about it. the front manifold is cast because its exposed to more of the elements than the rear. cast is more durable than stainless.

Not totally true. Depending on what elements. In some cast is better, in others several grades of stainless are better. I work with metal all day, and most of my customers prefer stainless because of it's durability.

What I simply pointed out to the OP is that cast is hard to weld correctly and not get cracks. Even "very experienced" welders can have trouble getting crack-free welds in cast iron. Especially manifolds that are constantly going through heat cycles. It was just a note for the OP to check things and keep it in the back of his mind if having trouble tuning.

Hell my exhaust guy is AWESOME...custom madrel bending, etc...but he won't even TOUCH cast iron anything...saying it is not worth the hassle to get it right...since there are so many factors in making it the way he wants it...hence why I got rid of my entire catback when I first got the car for a custom system he made. As for the manifolds...I hog out sets I find in junkyards and clean them up and coat them in high temp header paint. Great for people that don't want to go through the header process that wants better performance on TEHCHEEP

Thanks for the offer but ill get by Im gettin some ssac's in january
Just gotta get the car up and running
Ill find out if the mani's got fixed tomorow

Just run open heads. LOL