Is it worth my time to weld my cracked header? I have not yet removed my old manifold, but if this is going to be a tough job I want to do the best fix, and I only want to do it one time. So, can I expect good results from a weld, or will it only break again?
Weld a Cracked Header?
irb4ur
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Is it worth my time to weld my cracked header? I have not yet removed my old manifold, but if this is going to be a tough job I want to do the best fix, and I only want to do it one time. So, can I expect good results from a weld, or will it only break again?
If you have access to a friend with a weilder, and the crack is in an easy spot to weld with the manifold still on the vehicle, than its worth weilding. If you have to remove the manifold, replace it with a new one. Welds usually hold ok, (depending on the quality of the weld) for about 10-20k, then your at square one again with another crack. I'm ghetto though, I'd rather weld than take that dammned thing off.
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I asked a knowledgeable friend what the difference between a manifold and a header is, he said manifolds are cast...why is it called a manifold ?igofshn said:
Anyway, I'm getting ready to replace mine, the new manifold is being shipped to me. I went with the $120 manifold from the link in the banner add. Seems like a good design and the price is right. IMO, I would just fix it and get it over with.
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Thanks for all the input! It's true, not all headers are cast. My '99 TJ header appears to be mandrel-bent tubing, and is broken about 10" up from the collector where all the pipes funnel into the single exhaust tube. It's all pretty thin stuff. I will probably let my 17-year-old son try his newly acquired high school welding skills just for fun, even though I doubt it will last. He needs the experience. We have a 135-amp mig setup that should work fine although I really believe tig would be better.
The term "Header" became popular when muscle car owners would scrap their heavy, inefficient cast iron exhaust manifolds and replace them with headers made from smooth-bore, mandrel-bent, free-flowing tubing. Now you know my age. As far as I know "Header" and "Manifold" are interchangeable.
The term "Header" became popular when muscle car owners would scrap their heavy, inefficient cast iron exhaust manifolds and replace them with headers made from smooth-bore, mandrel-bent, free-flowing tubing. Now you know my age. As far as I know "Header" and "Manifold" are interchangeable.
My 91 XJ has the same header as the 99 and older 4.0 TJs. I am a certified TIG welder and used 308L to fix a full break that was between the 5 and 6 cyl. The weld needs to be done right or it will fail much earlier. A few years after I had many more cracks starting from all over the header but my weld repair was still holding. I think I had about 6 cracks to repair last spring. The place where the two pipes meet together near the down pipe always cracks with this header. That is tough to repair but if done right will last a couple years maybe. It only takes me a couple hours to pull out the header on my XJ, not sure how the TJ is on removing all the stuff.
91-99 headers are weldable steel. They are not friendly to welding after they have exhaust run through them and get hot and cold over and over for many years so you are working with lousier material.
00 - present headers are cast, not worth the hassle to weld them.
Brian
91-99 headers are weldable steel. They are not friendly to welding after they have exhaust run through them and get hot and cold over and over for many years so you are working with lousier material.
00 - present headers are cast, not worth the hassle to weld them.
Brian
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From what I have found the cheep replacement exhaust manifolds don't last and still crack. The last 2 cheep models I have installed on customers jeeps, took about 1-2 hrs to prep for insulation. Weld slag in port area, and sealing surface, just done very cheaply. I guess you get what you pay for. On the up side The Jeep factory header new style is supposed to not crack as well as the Banks header, which also carry’s a life time warranty.
I just picked up a Banks header from Jason at Redrock4x4.com for a customers Jeep. No problem with the banks set up.
I just picked up a Banks header from Jason at Redrock4x4.com for a customers Jeep. No problem with the banks set up.
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I have one of those cheap ebay headers and there was no prep time. The welds were very good and the flange was perfect. I do recommend a good gasket for a better seal. The one that comes with them isn't worth anything. Banks and Borla crack just as much as the cheap ones do. Just look at all the complaints on JU.RockPaws said:
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Well, now I am not sure which way is best. From what I am hearing, just about all the manifolds made of tubing crack. And I thought Banks would have a good one . . . they make good turbos. Maybe the auto builders knew what they were doing when they made headers of cast iron. It seems that the weight of the exhaust pipe tweaking and pulling on the header while the engine is dancing on its mounts is too much for the frail tubing. Maybe my best bet is to buy the best of the aftermarket headers and weld gussets at the weak points before installing.
I guess you have to be a die hard Jeep loyalist to still love them with all their cracked headers, death wobble and flakey electrical systems, which by the way, my TJ has all of the above. I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on my TJ. I promise to give it a hug tonight before I go to bed.
I guess you have to be a die hard Jeep loyalist to still love them with all their cracked headers, death wobble and flakey electrical systems, which by the way, my TJ has all of the above. I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on my TJ. I promise to give it a hug tonight before I go to bed.
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