Manifold Snapped

[iyafyl]

I hit a small pothole last night a a few seconds later it sounded like I was driving a Harley. While I enjoy the noise I was, of course concerned. I checked under the VX and found that the pipe snapped clean right where it meets the section where the pipe bolts to the header. It snapped on the pipe end and not the header end. So, as I'm pretty broke right now, I was wondering if it was possible or a good idea to have this part just welded back. Will it hold. Are the pipes made of an alloy that is weldable? Having it welded will be no problem because my father-in-law is a master welder, but he is out fishing for about a week so I can't reach him to ask and I need my baby working as soon as possible because it's my DD. I need to find out quick so I can get whatever action I need to take done ASAP.

[tom4bren]

Is our manifold cast? If it is, I don't think that it can be welded.

Odd place for it to break. I wonder if it was a manufacturing defect.

[evillecutter]

i had holes in my exhaust manifold on a mazda 626 years back - i went in to have it replaced and a new exhaust put on and when i came back (expecting to see a bill of $500 or more) the guy told me that he welded it up in a few spots and it should be fine ($20) - he said he would have felt bad if he put all that on there when it didnt need it - it lasted another 2 years without any problems until a high school girl ran a red light and smashed me into a gas station (first time i realized i dont like airbags) and totalled it

long story short, i dont see what it could hurt trying

and he has been my go to mechanic ever since

[Triathlete]

Are you saying the exhaust pipe seperated from the flange? If so there is no reason it can't be welded...should be how it was connected to begin with.

[Ldub]

Are you saying the exhaust pipe seperated from the flange? If so there is no reason it can't be welded...should be how it was connected to begin with.

which flange you talk'n bout willis???

ain't nuth'n welded to nuthn' down there that'll ever get replaced...

[Triathlete]

I haven't looked at mine Dub. How are ours connected? I guess I am just used to my old 'stang. Thats the last exhaust I had to removed.
Now I am going to have to go out and take a look when it's light out.

[iyafyl]

which flange you talk'n bout willis???

ain't nuth'n welded to nuthn' down there that'll ever get replaced...

Talkin bout the (it looks like it was originally welded) area where the pipe connects to the header with a flange that uses the crush gasket. The side that is away from the engine and not on the header side. Tomorrow I'm going to take that section of the exhaust off and see if I can have him weld it back on. My main concern (other than the weld holding permanently) is making sure that the flange lines up right after going through the PIA process of putting the exhaust back on. I'm also worried about snapping one of those three bolts when removing it, but am going to hit it with PB blaster tonight and let that stuff soak in. My engine light is on now too, but I'm guessing that has to do with the O2 sensors since the exhaust is not connected at the manifold.

[Marlin]

From experience, you are going to break some of those studs. Our manifild is cast. You can weld tiny holes or cracks, but if the actual outlet pipe is broken, I doubt that is gonna be repairable. You can buy a replacement on ebay for less than 100 bucks. I have a pair of them in my garage waiting to be ceramic coated once I get the chance. Any 3.5L and IIRC the 3.2L use the same exhaust manifolds. You will have to check part numbers on that one to be sure. Ebay it up and go ahead and order the studs and the drill bit and tap as well, for when you break the stud.

[hughesdt]

Had both of my exhaust pipes break at the flange. The shop cut the pipe about 1ft below the manifold, took off the flange and welded it back together. No broken bolts, probably got lucky. Bolted it back together and then welded the pipe back together.

Wasn't very happy with it at the time, looks like crap. But it has held together for several years now.

Dan

[iyafyl]

So, I removed the sway bar and the cross beam under the tranny, then pulled off the exhaust, got it welded up better than before, and got everything back on without a hitch. Can't believe it. No broken studs or anything and my baby runs good as new!! There is something I noticed when doing this that I'd thought I'd share. I have seen a bunch of posts about the mystery of a VX being stuck in park at random untimely moments. I noticed when removing the cross beam that a)it supports the t-case and when the t-case drops a bit you can't get the VX out of park, and b) the top side of that cross member has a huge chunk of rubber between it and the t-case. My thoughts are that if a guy (or gal) lived in one of those climates that cause rubber to go bad quickly, then maybe the rubber there has gone bad enough to drop the t-case a bit and cause random issues with the shifter getting stuck in park. Why did I think about this? Well, my dumb butt tried to back up the VX a little after dropping the cross member only about 1/2 an inch and my shifter was stuck in park. So, for those having that issue, and it doesn't seem to be the selector switch or anything else, maybe try and put a jack under the t-case and raise it up a bit and then try to shift it. This may be a little difficult if it happens in a Wal-Mart parking lot though. Lookie there, I hijacked my own thread

[Scott Larson]

Interference of shift linkages with body, frame and exhaust parts causes all sorts of headaches. You don't realize the tight tolerances until there's a problem and those often don't show up until some time down the road, so-to-speak, when things have worn and settled-in...good observation iya!

[Marlin]

When you said manifold, I thought you meant the actual manifold, where it comes off of the engine. Good that you got it all back together! The studs we were talking about are the ones that mount the manifold to the engine itself. If you got those off without breaking one, you da man! You can come do mine next