AJP 4.5 Manifold Removal engine in?

[schimg]

In the middle of a shed load of winter work on my 450 cerbera...looks like the headers are starting to crack so could do with coming off and being welded.

Now I have all of the suspension, induction, radiator, and the passenger side engine mount off the car...can't get the drivers side one off as the machine screw hex head has been destroyed by a previous owner....I intend to get this sorted over the next couple of weeks...

Question is how much of a mare is it to get the headers off with the engine in?

The car is axle stands at this height...


here is another shot to give an indication of height from floor..



Which side do you remove first?

Do they come out from the top...or need sliding underneath?

thanks in advance


Oh whilst I am thinking about it...does anyone know the size of the U-clamp that holds the oil filter to the chassis...mine is so manky you can't make out the size..I want to replace it with a stainless one..

Edited by schimg on Monday 8th March 19:54

[Rufus Roughcut]

I removed my manifolds for welding last weekend.




Like you, mine is on axle stands and both came out through the top.

I used a couple of jacks to take the weight of the engine and gearbox and removed all four mounts, this allowed me to move the engine a couple of inches either way, they are still quite a tight fit. After all the effort you may want to consider wrapping them........



Oh and I removed the Driver side first, however I don't think it matters

Edited by Rufus Roughcut on Monday 8th March 20:42

[high52kojak]

I did mine before christmas as few cracks were evident.
Best to do the passenger side one first as this one requires less space than the driver side.
You have to remove the nearside engine mounting plate also, well I had to, its only five small bolts.
It is easier with two people so one person can push the engine across whilst it is slightly jacked up remove/refit the manifolds.
I had mine ported to match the ports on the head while they were out and also ceramic coated.

[jammy_basturd]

Do you have a welder yourself?

If you do I found it much easier to remove the water pipes, undo all the bolts holding the manifolds in, then pull them out as far as they'll come (undo the engine mounts and lift the engine an inch or so with a jack), then weld them with them still in the engine bay.

[Gazzab]

Is it a mig weld? Is that better?
Is wrapping going to encourage rot?

[DanTVR]

I thought that wraping these manifolds made them more likely to crack in other places due to the heat being held in and causing hot spots? I might be thinking of something else though..

[schimg]

Rufus Roughcut said:

I removed my manifolds for welding last weekend.




Like you, mine is on axle stands and both came out through the top.

I used a couple of jacks to take the weight of the engine and gearbox and removed all four mounts, this allowed me to move the engine a couple of inches either way, they are still quite a tight fit. After all the effort you may want to consider wrapping them........



Oh and I removed the Driver side first, however I don't think it matters

Edited by Rufus Roughcut on Monday 8th March 20:42

Thanks for this ...didn't think about the gearbox mounts...plus didn't realise there were so many people out there going through the "pain", heard that it was a right pain in the backside....see what you mean about wrapping ..my mate had his coated by zircotech...£30 per foot ...kept temps down so much so he does not need his aircon on!

Thanks again..

[schimg]

jammy_basturd said:

Do you have a welder yourself?

If you do I found it much easier to remove the water pipes, undo all the bolts holding the manifolds in, then pull them out as far as they'll come (undo the engine mounts and lift the engine an inch or so with a jack), then weld them with them still in the engine bay.

Hi no I do not have a welder myself...already have the all of the water pipes off (going for the stainless water manifolds at the front and purple silicone hoses...got the cam covers off too had them coated purple), ..I a bit worried about doing it in situ cos there may be cracks ubderneath...just thinking to myself that I might as well sort it now while I have loads of stuff off the car...problem is that I wanted her back on the road for April...not much chance of that by the look of things..

Thanks

[schimg]

Gazzab said:

Is it a mig weld? Is that better?
Is wrapping going to encourage rot?

That's a point I guess...guess you'd be struggling to know if they crack again...mine arent't even cracked through just started to go...so will nip in the bud...would be nice to get coated BUT what with replacing every bush, suspension, handbrake shoes, top and bottom ball joints, water hoses, manaifolds....plus other stuff..sort of getting there.

[Rufus Roughcut]

The guy that welded mine used a TIG, I'm not a welder so I'm not sure if that's good or bad. The cracks on mine were about an inch long, even with the TIG, and what looked like a small handle he struggled to get to all places.

Hmmm to wrap or not??

I did a lot of google reading before contemplating doing mine, sifting through all the anecdotal evidence it would appear wrapping stainless manifolds is O.K. mild steel is not, as Gazzab pointed out it can promote rot.

My aim was to control under under bonnet temps, I've got melted pipes, heat crazed paintwork,a battery that gets super heated....the list goes on
Ceramic coating would be my preference if I'd got the money, having spent well over 2k in parts alone and only driven 450 miles they got the next best thing.

[Byker28i]

When I had mine in with Jools last year he said one of my manifolds was cracked. I decided to replace them with the ACT manifolds, but I've gone Fubar style and got my local Indy to do it, just didn't have time (or the inclination at the moment).

[jammy_basturd]

I have to say at the moment my 'preference' of coating a DIY painted-coating, like Black Satin, which is paint on ceramic coating. Ends up being a lot cheaper than having them professionally ceramic coated, won't trap moisture and shouldn't cause any reason for them to crack any quicker than normal. I see it as the best alternative to ACT manifolds, especially for someone without such a large budget.

[schimg]

Rufus Roughcut said:

The guy that welded mine used a TIG, I'm not a welder so I'm not sure if that's good or bad. The cracks on mine were about an inch long, even with the TIG, and what looked like a small handle he struggled to get to all places.

Hmmm to wrap or not??

I did a lot of google reading before contemplating doing mine, sifting through all the anecdotal evidence it would appear wrapping stainless manifolds is O.K. mild steel is not, as Gazzab pointed out it can promote rot.

My aim was to control under under bonnet temps, I've got melted pipes, heat crazed paintwork,a battery that gets super heated....the list goes on
Ceramic coating would be my preference if I'd got the money, having spent well over 2k in parts alone and only driven 450 miles they got the next best thing.

Fair point, hopefully this will do the trick regarding the engine temps...mines started to melt the windscree wash pipes..the heat sheild is tired and I ahve taken it off...at least with the headers off I will be able to get to the top chassis rail..same here regarding spend...it has to stop somewhere...at least for a while..otherwise I will never get chance to drive the thing!

[schimg]

jammy_basturd said:

I have to say at the moment my 'preference' of coating a DIY painted-coating, like Black Satin, which is paint on ceramic coating. Ends up being a lot cheaper than having them professionally ceramic coated, won't trap moisture and shouldn't cause any reason for them to crack any quicker than normal. I see it as the best alternative to ACT manifolds, especially for someone without such a large budget.

Now that interesting...didn't realise there was such a thing...piant on ceramic coating...does it do the trick...what colours do they do?

Where do they sell it?

thanks

[caduceus]

Another vote for wrapping here.

[caduceus]

schimg said:

jammy_basturd said:

I have to say at the moment my 'preference' of coating a DIY painted-coating, like Black Satin, which is paint on ceramic coating. Ends up being a lot cheaper than having them professionally ceramic coated, won't trap moisture and shouldn't cause any reason for them to crack any quicker than normal. I see it as the best alternative to ACT manifolds, especially for someone without such a large budget.

Now that interesting...didn't realise there was such a thing...piant on ceramic coating...does it do the trick...what colours do they do?

Where do they sell it?

thanks

Demon Tweeks is one place. But be prepared to pay a premium.

[Rufus Roughcut]

schimg said:

Fair point, hopefully this will do the trick regarding the engine temps...mines started to melt the windscree wash pipes..the heat sheild is tired and I ahve taken it off...at least with the headers off I will be able to get to the top chassis rail..same here regarding spend...it has to stop somewhere...at least for a while..otherwise I will never get chance to drive the thing!

Hey, we must compare notes sometime
I've replaced everything you've mentioned and I also had to stop somewhere, it's difficult when you've removed a component and think 'while I'm in here I'll just replace' bla bla, trouble is, I don't think we'll ever reach the end ...
I also need to get mine back in one piece, hopefully be ready for the Chatsworth meet.

Mark

[shoggyraminator]

I fancy wrapping my manifolds for one reason only, the heat in the bay is scary stuff. Can someone who has wrapped theirs confirm if it really does stop much heat from escaping and keep the bay temp noticeable down ?

[schimg]

Rufus Roughcut said:

schimg said:

Fair point, hopefully this will do the trick regarding the engine temps...mines started to melt the windscree wash pipes..the heat sheild is tired and I ahve taken it off...at least with the headers off I will be able to get to the top chassis rail..same here regarding spend...it has to stop somewhere...at least for a while..otherwise I will never get chance to drive the thing!

Hey, we must compare notes sometime
I've replaced everything you've mentioned and I also had to stop somewhere, it's difficult when you've removed a component and think 'while I'm in here I'll just replace' bla bla, trouble is, I don't think we'll ever reach the end ...
I also need to get mine back in one piece, hopefully be ready for the Chatsworth meet.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Chatsworth was my plan...gone have to let that slip...not only have a I got the manifold thing to sort, but I have to get the machine screw out of the drivers side engine mounting plate ...AND I have a bolt that has snapped off in the chassis...it is one of the 10mm bolts that hold the rear anti roll bar bracket...worked it back ward and forward...sprayed releasing fluid on it...still it snapped off....

Started on this project in November, have been working in the garage at every opportunity...god these chassis are a bl**dy nightmare to scrape, prep and paint...done mine with POR15 in silver then smooth white hammerite on top...think the original powdercaot was made of chocolate!

Still love the car though they are A1 banana...just need to sort em and thier potential problems.

Still intend to do Chatsworth tho..

[schimg]

caduceus said:

schimg said:

jammy_basturd said:

I have to say at the moment my 'preference' of coating a DIY painted-coating, like Black Satin, which is paint on ceramic coating. Ends up being a lot cheaper than having them professionally ceramic coated, won't trap moisture and shouldn't cause any reason for them to crack any quicker than normal. I see it as the best alternative to ACT manifolds, especially for someone without such a large budget.

Now that interesting...didn't realise there was such a thing...piant on ceramic coating...does it do the trick...what colours do they do?

Where do they sell it?

thanks

Demon Tweeks is one place. But be prepared to pay a premium.

Thanks Ged,

Is that what you have treated the manifolds with in the picture...or is that a coating?

They look the biz