Cracked manifolds
Discussion
Hi can anyone offer some advice> my 99 Chimeara has just gone in for a 12k service and manifold gasket replacement and it turned out that the manifold was actually badly cracked.
Has anyone else had this problem and what did you do. I am wondering whether to go a specialist stainless exhaust manufacturer and get 2 new ones made, has anyone done this?
Has anyone else had this problem and what did you do. I am wondering whether to go a specialist stainless exhaust manufacturer and get 2 new ones made, has anyone done this?
Where is it cracked? Cast iron manifolds can crack, but this is steel. They can open up where the four branches meet before the precat, but this can be cut open and welded up.
Others will be able to help in recommending a stainless steel replacement: I've no personal experience of these.
Others will be able to help in recommending a stainless steel replacement: I've no personal experience of these.
When I thought I had a blowing gasket Brian at Fernies said it could also be a cracked manifold. He said they would test them by putting them in a vat of water to check for leaks. If there were any cracks he said they would be sent off to a specialist welder which would be in the region of £100 per manifold that needed doing for the repairs. Luckily the noise was a knocking piston instead 
You could always speak to ACT or V8 developments about a new system as an alternative to repair...
Hope that helps.
You could always speak to ACT or V8 developments about a new system as an alternative to repair...
Hope that helps.
I'm not sure whether cracking manifolds is a normal thing... but I had experience of one cause on a completely different car. A car's a car, right? So I'll mention it just in case.
It was on the Rover 216, with cat. One evening on the motorway it stopped revving over 4000 - really struggling. Normally sweet up to ~7000, so I new something was wrong. Still fine at lower revs though. By the time I got home it was also making a bit of a noise.
Careful inspection showed that the cast exhaust manifold had cracked along virtually the whole width.
The garage looked at it. Discovered that the cat had largely collapsed in on itself. The honeycomb had crumbled blocking much of the gas flow. The pressure had stopped it revving and cracked the manifold. That engine did get through quite a lot of oil, which isn't good for cats, I'm told :RIPSmiley?:
The cure in my case was for the garage-man to chisel out the remains of the cat. It was the GTI 1.6 (honda), and it ran much better after that
It also passed the next MOT emissions test, which I was impressed about. Good car. Kinda miss it.
Anyway, to sum up, with all the overfueling and oil burning going on in the Tiv engine, maybe the cat is damaged just a bit? I imagine there's quite a lot of pressure in that pipe... enough to cause a small crack?
I've noticed a couple of posts on the subject of manifold cracks recently, so thought I'd share this with you in case it's common. I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out and chisel their cats, just in case... or am I?
Story is true, though.
edited to say, DON'T CHANGE YOUR MOBILE PHONE. That's just what they want you to do!
edited again to say, Oh, the adverts keep changing. Shows how much notice I take of that kind of thing
It was on the Rover 216, with cat. One evening on the motorway it stopped revving over 4000 - really struggling. Normally sweet up to ~7000, so I new something was wrong. Still fine at lower revs though. By the time I got home it was also making a bit of a noise.
Careful inspection showed that the cast exhaust manifold had cracked along virtually the whole width.
The garage looked at it. Discovered that the cat had largely collapsed in on itself. The honeycomb had crumbled blocking much of the gas flow. The pressure had stopped it revving and cracked the manifold. That engine did get through quite a lot of oil, which isn't good for cats, I'm told :RIPSmiley?:
The cure in my case was for the garage-man to chisel out the remains of the cat. It was the GTI 1.6 (honda), and it ran much better after that
It also passed the next MOT emissions test, which I was impressed about. Good car. Kinda miss it.Anyway, to sum up, with all the overfueling and oil burning going on in the Tiv engine, maybe the cat is damaged just a bit? I imagine there's quite a lot of pressure in that pipe... enough to cause a small crack?
I've noticed a couple of posts on the subject of manifold cracks recently, so thought I'd share this with you in case it's common. I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out and chisel their cats, just in case... or am I?
Story is true, though.
edited to say, DON'T CHANGE YOUR MOBILE PHONE. That's just what they want you to do!
edited again to say, Oh, the adverts keep changing. Shows how much notice I take of that kind of thing
Edited by Chim Chim Cheree on Friday 11th January 01:49
Edited by Chim Chim Cheree on Friday 11th January 01:52
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