Question: Fellow Cruisers, I just replaced my intake/exaust manifold gasket, and I'm getting lots of nasty pollutants in the cab. So bad, that I can't even drive it anymore. Well, I checked for leaks again and found that the gasket is leaking and the rod that the heat riser pivots on is leaking as well at the aft end towards the firewall. I'm going to pull it all off and re-install a gasket and cut the heat riser off and spot weld both ends. I'm hoping that will take care of it. Now, what I want to know is: How likely is it that my intake/exaust manifold has warped? Anybody with any insight please share it. Thanks Scott Answer: There's another possibility, although flatness would be the first thing I'd check. Last fall I went through almost the same thing as you are dealing with, with my '71. The plan was simply to replace the manifold and heat riser gaskets and the exhaust donut. When I got the manifolds off and separated them to do the riser gasket, I got a wild hair and decided to sandblast and paint the exhaust manifold. By the way, BBQ grill paint works real good. After I sandblasted it, then and only then was I able to notice a crack running 3/4 of the way around the inside of it between the riser and #4. I drilled small holes at each end of the crack to keep it from propegating, then welded it up with .023 solid core with the MIG. I know you're not supposed to weld cast iron this way, but I got lucky and it was still flat after it cooled. It's still holding up today. Jeff Zepp Answer: I believe it is likely your manifold is warped. I replaced mine about 6 months ago and my engine only had 72,000 miles on it. It seems this is a problem with these manifolds. But first check the manifold with a strait edge, if it's not too bad you may be able to have it machined down. |
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