Manifold Snapped

[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...

[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