HELP! Cracking

[Chino]

Hey guys i need some help here

ive got cracks in my exhaust manifold (its a TRUST manifold)

does anyone know any good Zorst places that can look after me or where i can get a new manifold (Brand new one from trust is almost 4,000 dollars)????

and has anyone had similiar problems with a Stainless STeel Exhaust Manifold?????

[Lenno]

any welding shop with experiance tig'in stainless will be able to repair it, yellow pages bro !...but you must remember stainless is prone to this, maybe just get a custom manifold made out of steam pipe bends, won't crack and wont set u back more than $900 -$1000

catchya

[MrMayhem]

get them to look at teh way the manifold hold the turbo, be wise to consider more bracing

[adam 32]

why dont u take it back to where you 'bought' it from

[Roy]

I woudnt go taking it to the average exhaust shop. Take it to a business that specialises in Tig welding and can do X-ray quality welds. Any company that does pressure piping. vessels etc or boilers etc. These people are qualified welders and will be able to fusion weld your manifold, or if they need to use a filler wire they will know the correct grade filler wire, though the Japs do use grades of stainless not easily purchase in OZ. At a rate of about $50-75 / hour you should be able to get it fixed for less then $150

Most exhaust shops would fall over themselves if asked to do a purged weld that would pass a tensile test etc. Welds should be stronger then the parent metal due to the localised heat treatment around the HAZ (heat affected zone)

As for stainless manifolds being prone to cracking, well i dont totally agree with this. It may be the design , but more likely the fabrication that causes the problem.

Grab a metallurgy text, mild steel relies on large corrosion factors to get the job done, hence the wall thickness and need for multiple passes when welding.

Many grades of stainless steel offer better temp properties, lighter weight, higher tensile strengths. Remember even steam bends are by nature used in water and gas systems, with much higher pressure then an exhaust manifold, but not very high temps. Saturated steam at say 450kPa is only about 135 degrees.

Some locally made stainless exhaust manifolds made from 304 stainless (about the cheapest grade and not all that suitable for high temps over 300degrees) can have probs, but if braced should still do the job if fabricated correclty.

Stainless 321 would do the job better and is available in plate and tube so lends itslef to manifold construction, albeit at a higher cost.