undertow119

Thought I heard an exhaust leak from the driver's side manifold, so I pulled the heat shield off. Sure enough, it's cracked in the usual location. A hairline crack, about 2 inches long.

Read about a product called ThermoSteel on another forum. It's an epoxy-like putty that claims to withstand temperatures up to 2500F. The manufacturer claims it to be as strong as a real weld.

Anybody ever tried this stuff? For 8 bucks, I figure it's worth a shot. I'll report back if it works, and we'll see how long it lasts.

69mach1

How was it getting the exhaust manifold bolts out? I tried and I was afraid the bolts were going to snap so I stopped, but would like to try again. I notice the exhaust leak barely when it's cold but much more up at high altitude.

Do you have any pic's of the crack

Thanks

Jon

duneslider

I used my makita 1/4" 18v impact driver to remove the bolts, they all came out easy. One was broken off before I started removal.

undertow119

Spray some penetrating oil on the bolts and let it sit overnight. You want to remove the bolts when the engine is cold anyway, as they'll be tighter when hot (theoretically, at least, because steel expands more than iron).

You also need a good ratchet set. The bolts are 10mm, and most cheap sets come with a 1/4" drive on the 10mm socket and a short-handled 1/4" ratchet to go with it - you can't get any kind of leverage on the bolts with a short handle like that. Get a good set of sockets with 1/2" drive all the way down, a good ratchet handle, and a couple of extensions and a universal joint. You'll need the U-joint for the rear bolt, because there isn't much room to work in there.

I'm going to try the ThermoSteel repair this weekend. I'll get pics of the crack and the whole process while I'm at it, and I'll do a full writeup when I'm done. Then I'll report back every so often with an update on how it's holding up. I figure even if it buys me a couple of months, it's better than replacing the manifold now, and I can spend that money on something else in the meantime. If I get a year or more out of it, I might even do it again when the time comes.