exhaust manifold blowing
Discussion
Goaty Bill said:
SILICONEKID340HP said:
Sit it on a flat surface ,fill with water ,then watch it drip out around the welds..
A typical plumbers answer 
But essentially a correct one.
Don't assume the combination of ARP bolts and Nordlocks are the definitive answer to blowing manifold gaskets.
I fitted the ARP & Nordlock kit from ACT about two years ago just like the OP.
Move on two years & I fitted an ACT Y piece, this required using a ratchet strap to pull the manifolds together & in turn promoted a very slight manifold blow.
On investigation I found most of my ARP bolts were loose, despite the Nordlock washers.
If you were supplied the zinc coated steel Nordlocks like me, it could be you need stainless ones.
Apparently the stainless ARP bolts are too hard for the standard Nordlocks to work correctly.
Only stainless Nordlocks are hard enough bite into the ARP bolts.
Ideally I should have removed the manifolds and replaced the gaskets, but the blow was very slight & as we know replacing manifold gaskets on these cars is not a fun job.
So I gave the bolts a tweak & hoped for the best.
I was lucky, tightening my ARP bolts completely solved the very slight manifold blow & 1000 miles later they are still good.
My advice is to check the tightness of those ARP bolts and don't just assume your Nordlocks are working correctly.
I fitted the ARP & Nordlock kit from ACT about two years ago just like the OP.
Move on two years & I fitted an ACT Y piece, this required using a ratchet strap to pull the manifolds together & in turn promoted a very slight manifold blow.
On investigation I found most of my ARP bolts were loose, despite the Nordlock washers.
If you were supplied the zinc coated steel Nordlocks like me, it could be you need stainless ones.
Apparently the stainless ARP bolts are too hard for the standard Nordlocks to work correctly.
Only stainless Nordlocks are hard enough bite into the ARP bolts.
Ideally I should have removed the manifolds and replaced the gaskets, but the blow was very slight & as we know replacing manifold gaskets on these cars is not a fun job.
So I gave the bolts a tweak & hoped for the best.
I was lucky, tightening my ARP bolts completely solved the very slight manifold blow & 1000 miles later they are still good.
My advice is to check the tightness of those ARP bolts and don't just assume your Nordlocks are working correctly.
Chimpandtonic said:
Don't assume the combination of ARP bolts and Nordlocks are the definitive answer to blowing manifold gaskets.
I fitted the ARP & Nordlock kit from ACT about two years ago just like the OP.
Move on two years & I fitted an ACT Y piece, this required using a ratchet strap to pull the manifolds together & in turn promoted a very slight manifold blow.
On investigation I found most of my ARP bolts were loose, despite the Nordlock washers.
If you were supplied the zinc coated steel Nordlocks like me, it could be you need stainless ones.
Apparently the stainless ARP bolts are too hard for the standard Nordlocks to work correctly.
Only stainless Nordlocks are hard enough bite into the ARP bolts.
Ideally I should have removed the manifolds and replaced the gaskets, but the blow was very slight & as we know replacing manifold gaskets on these cars is not a fun job.
So I gave the bolts a tweak & hoped for the best.
I was lucky, tightening my ARP bolts completely solved the very slight manifold blow & 1000 miles later they are still good.
My advice is to check the tightness of those ARP bolts and don't just assume your Nordlocks are working correctly.
I agree, i initally had to nip up the arp`s 6 months ago as they had as you mentioned worked loose.I fitted the ARP & Nordlock kit from ACT about two years ago just like the OP.
Move on two years & I fitted an ACT Y piece, this required using a ratchet strap to pull the manifolds together & in turn promoted a very slight manifold blow.
On investigation I found most of my ARP bolts were loose, despite the Nordlock washers.
If you were supplied the zinc coated steel Nordlocks like me, it could be you need stainless ones.
Apparently the stainless ARP bolts are too hard for the standard Nordlocks to work correctly.
Only stainless Nordlocks are hard enough bite into the ARP bolts.
Ideally I should have removed the manifolds and replaced the gaskets, but the blow was very slight & as we know replacing manifold gaskets on these cars is not a fun job.
So I gave the bolts a tweak & hoped for the best.
I was lucky, tightening my ARP bolts completely solved the very slight manifold blow & 1000 miles later they are still good.
My advice is to check the tightness of those ARP bolts and don't just assume your Nordlocks are working correctly.
in the back of my mind im thinking it could be when the bolts worked loose and i may of trashed the gasket?.
Either way the manifold has got to come off - crap there goes the knuckles again.
Meatball said:
I agree, i initally had to nip up the arp`s 6 months ago as they had as you mentioned worked loose.
in the back of my mind im thinking it could be when the bolts worked loose and i may of trashed the gasket?.
Either way the manifold has got to come off - crap there goes the knuckles again.
At least the smaller heads of the ARP bolts will make a nasty job a bit easier this time.in the back of my mind im thinking it could be when the bolts worked loose and i may of trashed the gasket?.
Either way the manifold has got to come off - crap there goes the knuckles again.
Perhaps it's worth getting stainless Nordlocks this time? I think that's what I'll do when the time comes.
Good luck with it Meatball.
I blanked off the end of each manifold inlet with gaffer tape then plugged the Y piece end with a plumbers 4" pipe bung. I then attached a small rubber tube to the pipe bung and blew into it - the leak was instantly apparent. If you spay some soapy water over the area this will confirm for sure (I have pictures of this but can't get them them to upload - sorry). For whats it's worth I had already removed, inspected and refitted the manifolds believing the fault to be the gaskets, I now know the area the manifolds normally crack is not visible
The only saving grace is once you've removed the manifolds once the next time is a relative dawdle!!
Richard
The only saving grace is once you've removed the manifolds once the next time is a relative dawdle!!
Richard
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff