Will this pwn me later on? HKS Cast bottom mount RB manifold - pics

[MELLO*SOS]

So I recently picked up a used HKS cast bottom-mount manifold for my RB. But upon closer inspection I've found a problem with it that really bothers me, it has a crack on the divider wall inside. I hope you guys can give some advice on how I should proceed...

Here's how the manifold looks on there with the stock turbo. Nevermind the PB blaster on there, I had to get 1 stubborn stud and 1 snapped stud out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/mello88/DSC07689.jpg






Now upon closer examination of the manifold, I noticed a small crack in the divider wall that seperates the pulses from cyl 123 and 456.

This is looking down from the top, into the wastegate port. Sorry the picture is so blurry, but look in the middle-lower half of the wall or check out the next pic.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/mello88/DSC07694.jpg


This divider wall runs all the way up from the turbine inlet flange to the wastegate port. Here you can see the crack pretty well :(


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/mello88/DSC07696.jpg


In the last picture, you can see the crack. It runs for the entire vertical length of the divider wall and is visible from both the wastegate port and the turbine flange :(.

Obviously my fear is that the wall will become brittle with the high temps and slowly fragment, sending chunks into my turbine :(. I am ordering a gt28rs soon and I sure as fuck don't want to chunk it to death! :bite:

What are your thoughts or suggested solutions... I would love to get this manifold repaired or otherwise usable again. I can't think of a way to fix it without totally removing that wall. I was planning to send this out for ceramic coating, but it's kind of on hold until I can figure this one out. :doh: Thanks in advance

[drifter808]

maybe someone with alot of skill could weld the crack. Maybe an ARC weld cause you could actually get the welding rod in there. Nice engine by the way.

[theicecreamdan]

it looks like your engine wet itself with the new manifold.

I don't think it will turn into a huge issue, but if it has you worried I'm sure you could find a competent welder that could patch it up a little, cast is hard to weld, but not impossible.

[MELLO*SOS]

Thanks for the input. I thought of having it welded and then ground fairly clean. If cast is difficult to weld, would there be any concern with the weld cracking or breaking off?


it looks like your engine wet itself with the new manifold.


LOL. It wet itself because it's happy because this manifold actually fits properly. Should have seen what it did when I tried bolting up those ebay SS manifolds! What a joke...

[Muzzy]

y did u go with that HKS unit?? does it flow that much better?? is it along the line of an equal length..but not exactly equal length?? kinda like...the exhaust pluses are more consistant then random to teh turbo?
OT: WOW...i learned something today...RBs have iron blocks.
i never knew...well...if its not iron it looks liek iron from the pic.

[TheWolf]

it shouldn't cause a problem and that is a very difficult weld. those manifolds have a high nickel content and require to be preheated upto around 500.. weld.. heat.. weld.. heat. last time I had a turbo manifold done it cost me $200 for a 2" crack and the guy owed me a favor...

[MELLO*SOS]

Muzzy: I went with this after trying two of the ebay junk manifolds that didn't fit right. I got a pretty good deal on this manifold, before I knew that it had this problem :(. This manifold should flow better than the stock manifold, and it allows me to run an external wastegate. And yes, all RBs have iron blocks.

TheWolf: Thank you for your input it sounds like you know what you're talking about. I didn't know about the preheat requirement, that would sure make welding that wall more difficult... Do you think that constant heating up/cooling down of the wall during normal use cause more cracking or fragmenting?

[FRpilot]

rb looks good.. and those links on your sig are really great!

[MELLO*SOS]

Thanks for the compliments. From the response of my thread on NICO these manifolds seem to have an issue cracking this divide wall. A few others had/have the same issue... I'll probably just run the manifold the way it is.

[ryangreg]

You wont have any problems running that manifold the way it is, so dont get to worried about it. If you can see where the crack stops, drill a tiny hole there. Doing so will keep the crack from wandering or going any further. Circles are stress relievers

[TheWolf]

I agree... the crack looks small... atleast if a piece breaks off it will be big so it can't go through the turbo ;) nahh shouldn't grow much further... cast manifolds are a bitch to weld... most engine block welding facilities can do manifolds....

[Muzzy]

i'd say drill a hole.....cuz if i small piece does come off it will destroy that turbine

[MELLO*SOS]

Guys that crack is about 4-5" long, it goes the entire distance of that bent/twisted wall you see in pic #2. Not just the 1/2" you see in pic #3! No way to drill a hole in it, as the crack can't get any longer than it is already.

Thank you for the input