Exhaust Manifold Question.. I know (Arizona)

[Taylor513]

So I have the exhaust manifold leak, I have had it for a while now. I am out of my warranty and I am looking for the most cost effective option.

I called a shop that I was referred to for having the manifolds machined straight again and put back on with gaskets and bolts. They told me that they no longer do that and would just replace them. I obviously want to avoid that since it’ll just happened again.

So does anyone in AZ (preferably in Phoenix, Peoria, Scottsdale, Glendale etc) have a reliable mechanic that can do this?

If I can’t find someone to do this. What would you do? Replace and go through the process again? Go shorties?

Anyone have a general price on what replacing them vs going shorties would be?

2015 Ram 137K on it. I have had it since 30K miles and replaced these under warranty before. Got a work from home gig so I don’t drive it like I used to anymore and plan on keeping it for the foreseeable future.

Thank you in advance

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Check out AFE shorty headers and BD Diesel manifolds.

The BD's will be less costly and you'll not ever need to replace them moving forward

Use some good quality new gaskets and bolts.

Re & Re times would be 3 to 5 hours of labour

 

[Wild one]

So I have the exhaust manifold leak, I have had it for a while now. I am out of my warranty and I am looking for the most cost effective option.

I called a shop that I was referred to for having the manifolds machined straight again and put back on with gaskets and bolts. They told me that they no longer do that and would just replace them. I obviously want to avoid that since it’ll just happened again.

So does anyone in AZ (preferably in Phoenix, Peoria, Scottsdale, Glendale etc) have a reliable mechanic that can do this?

If I can’t find someone to do this. What would you do? Replace and go through the process again? Go shorties?

Anyone have a general price on what replacing them vs going shorties would be?

2015 Ram 137K on it. I have had it since 30K miles and replaced these under warranty before. Got a work from home gig so I don’t drive it like I used to anymore and plan on keeping it for the foreseeable future.

Thank you in advance

If you work from home and can afford to have the truck down for a day or 2,why not do them yourself. What a shop will charge you,would more then pay for a small 120 volt mig welder if you have any broken bolts. If you can point and pull a trigger,you can use a mig welder,so don't be intimidated about welding.

 

[Taylor513]

Check out AFE shorty headers and BD Diesel manifolds.

The BD's will be less costly and you'll not ever need to replace them moving forward

Use some good quality new gaskets and bolts.

Re & Re times would be 3 to 5 hours of labour

Thank you! I will definitely look into them.

Not having to ever replace them again is what I want. It wasn’t bad when they were under warranty but now that I don’t have anything I’m trying to figure out which way to go.

 

[Taylor513]

If you work from home and can afford to have the truck down for a day or 2,why not do them yourself. What a shop will charge you,would more then pay for a small 120 volt mig welder if you have any broken bolts. If you can point and pull a trigger,you can use a mig welder,so don't be intimidated about welding.

Yes, I can have the truck down for a day or 2. That is the thing is that I’ve never welded before and my fear is that some have of the bolts are broken.

I’m fairly mechanical inclined. I’ve done all my fluids, and all the brakes on this and other miscellaneous stuff here and there but never something like this. While I did YouTube it and it doesn’t seem that difficult I also don’t want to mess it up too.

I suppose I should look into a mig welder and see what the cost is and how difficult that is. I watch a ton of Matt’s off road recovery and he closes his eyes and tacks stuff so it cant be that hard lol.

 

[BenWade]

Have the shop put the same manifold back on with new bolts and gasket. No need to machine the old manifold. Just torque the new bolts down.

If they won't do that and you can't DIY then just leave it. I did my driver side without machining the manifold and that was like 90,000 miles ago. I've also had the passenger side leaking for about 35k miles now and just haven't found time to do it yet LoL

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

You best product options will be either BD manifolds, AFE shorties, or long tube headers and a tune.

BD Manifolds will be the least expensive option but no performance gains. They will not warp or crack and will last!

AFE shorties, less than long tubes but more than manifolds. Small increase in power. They will not warp or crack and will last!

Stainless Works Long tubes and a tune. Most expensive option but nice gain in power (best "bolt on" power improvement you can do on these trucks). They will not warp or crack and will last!

message me if you are interested, we can help with any of these options

 

[Wild one]

Yes, I can have the truck down for a day or 2. That is the thing is that I’ve never welded before and my fear is that some have of the bolts are broken.

I’m fairly mechanical inclined. I’ve done all my fluids, and all the brakes on this and other miscellaneous stuff here and there but never something like this. While I did YouTube it and it doesn’t seem that difficult I also don’t want to mess it up too.

I suppose I should look into a mig welder and see what the cost is and how difficult that is. I watch a ton of Matt’s off road recovery and he closes his eyes and tacks stuff so it cant be that hard lol.

There's not much to using a little 120 volt mig,point and pull the trigger,lol. You could easily buy a pretty decent little 120 volt mig with the gas attachment for alot less then what a shop will charge you,and if you don't have a decent sized belt sander,you can even add one of them to your purchase,and still be less then the shop charges,and then you have the tools to use in other places. Use a piece of scrap steel flatbar to practice welding on a couple times,and you'll see it's pretty easy to use a mig welder. My buddy borrowed my little lincoln mig last fall,and after he seen how easy it was to use,he went and bought his own,and has built his own bumpers for his truck this spring,and he's kicking his rear for being scared to weld,and says he should have bought a mig 20 years ago,lol

 

[jws123]

I used a harbor freight belt sander to sand mine flat never had a issue again ive done this on at least 15 trucks now. Anyone above saying you dont need to sand them flat has no idea what they are talking about its the only way to 100% for sure never have a issue again they warp and break the bolts.

 

[BenWade]

I used a harbor freight belt sander to sane mine flat never had a issue again ive done this on at least 15 trucks now. Anyone above saying you dont need to sand them flat has no idea what they are talking about its the only way to 100% for sure never have a issue again they warp and break the bolts.

I didn't machine or sand my passenger side manifold and it hasn't leaked or broken a bolt in nearly 90,000 miles. Once the manifold warps and is subjected to several heat cycles it doesn't continue to warp.

Of course there is always a few highly IQ folks on the ol interwebs that disagrees with the laws of physics and thermodynamics...

 

[jws123]

I didn't machine or sand my passenger side manifold and it hasn't leaked or broken a bolt in nearly 90,000 miles. Once the manifold warps and is subjected to several heat cycles it doesn't continue to warp.

Of course there is always a few highly IQ folks on the ol interwebs that disagrees with the laws of physics and thermodynamics...

No one says they warp twice yes once warped thats it the point is they are not FLAT... once warped. On my next manifold job in 2 weeks im going to take a picture to show you how warped they are before they hit the sander. You may have been lucky and yours didnt warp as bad certainly not the case for all of them.

 

[BenWade]

On my next manifold job in 2 weeks im going to take a picture to show you how warped they are before they hit the sander you may have got lucky and yours didnt warp as bad certainly not the case for all of them.

Great! I'd like to see a manifold that can't be bolted back down due to excess warpage while at the same time can be repaired with a belt sander....

 

[crackerjack1957]

Great! I'd like to see a manifold that can't be bolted back down due to excess warpage while at the same time can be repaired with a belt sander....

Your manifold was probably only warped around .060 or less
Gasket would seal that with new bolts

.100 warpage or more would require surfacing manifold.
New bolts will not straighten a cast iron exhaust manifold.

 

[Wild one]

No one says they warp twice yes once warped thats it the point is they are not FLAT... once warped. On my next manifold job in 2 weeks im going to take a picture to show you how warped they are before they hit the sander. You may have been lucky and yours didnt warp as bad certainly not the case for all of them.

There's always that one guy who's gotta be differant JW,and argue a point that has already been proven to work,and i think you just ran into him
He's hardly worth spending the effort to argue with,as he won't give up,and after awhile you'll feel like your beating your head against a wall

 

[BenWade]

Your manifold was probably only warped around .060 or less
Gasket would seal that with new bolts

.100 warpage or more would require surfacing manifold.
New bolts will not straighten a cast iron exhaust manifold.

Then the manifold should be replaced. You are not going to remove .100 of material without compromising the integrity or the bolt hole alignment. A belt sander cannot remove that amount of material uniformly and address the structural distortion effectively. Again, you're welcome to disagree but I'll still like a photo of .100" of warpage resurfaced with a belt sander....

 

[Wild one]

Then the manifold should be replaced. You are not going to remove .100 of material without compromising the integrity or the bolt hole alignment. A belt sander cannot remove that amount of material uniformly and address the structural distortion effectively. Again, you're welcome to disagree but I'll still like a photo of .100" of warpage resurfaced with a belt sander....

Go through this thread ,this pic and post is #15 in the thread,and i think if you read the whole thread you'll find more pic's showing how bad the manifolds can warp,and still be brought back to somewhat flat with a belt sander.
There's lots of material in the manifolds to take a 0.125" off the surface and still have more then enough clamping force to hold a gasket in place.

Exhaust Manifolds | Warped

I'm well-aware that the 5.7L HEMI has a fairly common issue surrounding the exhaust manifold bolts, causing the "HEMI tick". About 10 days ago, I noticed my truck had a tapping noise when cold-started. I assumed that this was the infamous HEMI tick and honestly didn't give it much thought. It...

www.ramforum.com

As you can see in the pics one of the ports on the end is flat and the other end of one manifold has an 1/8" gap showing light and the other had a 3/16" gap.

 

[crackerjack1957]

Then the manifold should be replaced. You are not going to remove .100 of material without compromising the integrity or the bolt hole alignment. A belt sander cannot remove that amount of material uniformly and address the structural distortion effectively. Again, you're welcome to disagree but I'll still like a photo of .100" of warpage resurfaced with a belt sander....

I've been in manufacturing machining business for 45 years.
Pretty much seen it all

 

[jws123]

Looking forward to that photo of a .100 correction with a belt sander, highly IQ grease monkey.... thanks!!

I never brought up .100 however the picture that wildone posted a few posts back that is severe case. I have sanded similar looking manifolds flat without issue If you just replaced them with oem or similar manifolds they just re warp. I am not going to post after this I am beating a dead horse here... I have rebuilt more engines on these trucks then half the people on here I am sure you never get your hands dirty lmaoo just a keyboard warrior.

And yes I do make more then you $$$

 

[Wild one]

Looking forward to that photo of a .100 correction with a belt sander, highly IQ grease monkey.... thanks!!

 

[BenWade]

I never brought up .100 however the picture that wildone posted a few posts back that is severe case. I have sanded similar looking manifolds flat without issue If you just replaced them with oem or similar manifolds they just re warp. I am not going to post after this I am beating a dead horse here... I have rebuilt more engines on these trucks then half the people on here I am sure you never get your hands dirty lmaoo just a keyboard warrior.

Fair enough. You're right, you aren't the one that brought up the .100