350i Stainless steel manifolds & Centre box.
Discussion
Dogmanandy said:
Might be a good time to get them heat wrapped before you put them on Mark, you will feel the benefit of keeping the engine bay cooler especially in the summer and it will protect your starter motor and hide the damage on the downpipe. Andy
Not a bad idea...Would it be better to get the copper cool-it wrap?..ZigaHaving just fitted a new set of ss manifolds myself, I would say that damage is a deliberate DIY bodge. The original mild ones have a flat in that position to allow them past the chassis rail. My new ones didn't have the flat spot so I had to undo the offside engine and gearbox mounts and Jack the engine up to allow the manifolds past.
You will probable have to undo the starter too. If it's anything like mine and not been off for 25 years you might find the bolts seized. I ended-up rounding the socket head caps off and having to weld a cut down Allen key on to get them out. Steve
Oops - just realised the damaged is on the wrong side, still, you might have to Jack the engine up as I described.
You will probable have to undo the starter too. If it's anything like mine and not been off for 25 years you might find the bolts seized. I ended-up rounding the socket head caps off and having to weld a cut down Allen key on to get them out. Steve
Oops - just realised the damaged is on the wrong side, still, you might have to Jack the engine up as I described.
Edited by SLB on Monday 20th January 21:10
I used thermotec exhaust wrap with metal ties and coated with high heat silicone spray- aluminium colour to protect the wrap from dirt and oil ingress (seals the wrap). I fed the manifolds in almost vertically on both sides and fed the down pipes around the gearbox, being careful not to let the manifold clamps snag the gearbox. On the starter motor side I loosened the starter solenoid rather than removing the starter motor and positioned it to allow the manifold to be fed into place. Note the manifold then has to be pulled forward to the front of the engine, then the solenoid repositioned and bolted up prior to finally aligning the manifold, sliding in the metal gaskets and installing the bolts. I was rather fortunate in some respects as I had the body off but seeing as the manifolds sit inside the chassis then you shouldn't have a problem. It is worth getting the front wheels off and the front of the car off the ground to allow the manifolds some ground clearance when feeding them in especially on the starter motor side which is a much longer manifold and can be a ba$%@rd. Do the passenger side manifold first as it is a lot easier and gives some satisfaction before you do the other side, its almost a job for a gynaecologist....
Thanks for the advice chaps..Sounds a bit of a mission...The car is actually going in for some work that needs doing, The steering rack is coming off for refurb and so are the wheels...Also the plenum is going to come off to sort a leaky fuel rail where the rubber hose joins the rail together just above the EAV..Also a bit of investigating is needed as i heard a rather loud clunk from the front N/S where turning right a bit sharpish earlier...Ziga
SLB said:
Having just fitted a new set of ss manifolds myself, I would say that damage is a deliberate DIY bodge. The original mild ones have a flat in that position to allow them past the chassis rail.
Oops - just realised the damaged is on the wrong side, still, you might have to Jack the engine up as I described.
I'd agree with it being a bit of monkeying; the top chassis rail is very close to the manifold at the nearside rear and it wouldn't take much engine rock for the pipe to be clouting the chassis (engine mountings may have been perished as well). Could be someone's had a crowbar in there trying to stove-in the manifold a bit.Oops - just realised the damaged is on the wrong side, still, you might have to Jack the engine up as I described.
mrzigazaga said:
Be nice if it stayed that clean....I was thinking of getting the centre box opened up and some of the stuffing taken out but i actually like the tone of it as is...Of course that could change at any time....
Funnily enough I cut mine open and put more wadding IN!. In terms of gas flow it's a virtually straight-through pipe; the section through the silencer is perforated and wrapped in Rockwool/ wire wool which IIRC takes out the high-frequency components so removing the wadding would add treble, if that makes sense If you like it deep then don't change it.Needless to say, the pipe is stainless but the wire wool probably isn't: I used a kilo of stainless wire wool in mine, the thick end of £40
On the plus side, the exhaust should outlast the car.The tricky bit is welding the can up afterwards: it's a double-skinned construction and of course on a used exhaust it's full of soot which gets pulled into the weld...
Wedg1e said:
The tricky bit is welding the can up afterwards: it's a double-skinned construction and of course on a used exhaust it's full of soot which gets pulled into the weld...
Guess it will be a straight through then....
..Im going to leave it as it is as i like the sound of my V8...
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