To weld something like this. I would drill a hole at the ends of the crack. Grind a V in the crack about 3/16" wide. Bolt the manifold down so it doesn't move. Preheat the manifold to about 700deg. Tig weld it with something like Ni-Rod 55. Weld only one inch of the crack at a time. After each stitch. Peen the weld with a ball-peen hammer. What is causing the cracks is unequal heating and cooling of the manifold. That turbo heats up slower then the manifold, and cools off slower then the manifold. I've welded cast iron in the past with the company I used to work for with great results.

Rusty you might have found your second job thanks to gtm...

This guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I'm a structural engineer in offshore industry and I have had some experience discussing weld repair with construction guys.

What are the chances of having it fixed and billed to gtm? lmao!!!!! Sometimes I crack myself up...

i see what you did there......:rolleyes:

The reimbursement line starts after the MHI refund line...:rofl2:

Just call Sam man you have nothing to lose, Don't email him because he wont bother looking at emails. I always call him if I need something and he answers all the questions I have

Just tell him you have cracked manifold and he will take care of you

Im not fan of GTM right now because its no where near the quality of FI and BF turbo kit. I have faith in GTM that their new manifold will bring some tough challenge to competitors

AAM Performance might get Rank 1 in turbo kit after they release it.. who knows.

Cracks don't fix themselves! Like Charles said, it will only get worse!

Thanks! Used to weld exotic metals at one time. :tup:

Forgot one thing. Need to wrap the manifold after welding in Kaowool to slow cool it to room temp.

Might need it. Might be out of job shortly. :shakes head: Read my post in my journal. :shakes head:

I spoke with bobby at vsr regarding my cracked gtm manifolds and he recommended shipping them down to his shop to have them welded and cryo-treating the manifolds. The cost would be $100 per set.

That's a good deal. Might have to hit him up on that.

I'm no metallurgist but I don't know if cryo-treating is what you want. As I understand it cryo-treating increases strength and hardness of the material. Harder material has a tendency to be more brittle. In a location that is going to constantly heat cycles, I'm not sure you want to have it be harder. I know we are very selective where we use high strength materials offshore.

I used to work with an engineer that knows a bunch about steel make up and thermal expansion. I'm going to try and get in touch with him and see if I can provide you with any additional information.

Dunno, just seems like a losing battle.

Fix it one place, it will break another. Since the area of breakage is not isolated to one spot, you cannot guarantee that it just won't keep cracking on you.

That being said, who knows when/if the crack would be catastrophic. All I know is I wouldn't want to worry about it.

Do not lose hope cosmo, you do not want to get a GTR, I heard they instantly turn you into an "old guy"....be young with us, we have tequila!

Still researching on technique's on how to weld cast iron and came across this:

Stick Electrodes - Welding Cast Iron

Also found this very informative video on welding cast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yopcz-IYDyQ

But do consider that people (like Cosmo) cryo-treat their blocks, pistons, rods, etc, and all of those endure tons of heat cycling.

GTM manifolds are cast iron, non of the parts you listed are made of cast iron. We need a metallurgist to chime in, lol!

So is a coating on the manifolds going to make it more or less likely to crack?

Beat me to the punch. Cast iron is a whole different animal compared to the steel used in the engine itself

I think next week I'm going to call a few company's that make cast manifold's here in America to get educated...

The video is the same way I would weld it, only with Tig. I would use preheat, and slow cooling too. He is using Ni-rod 99. I would use Ni-rod 55. ;)

If you can find out what type of cast iron is used. That will help alot in chosing on how the repair it. ;)

Would love to but gtm is no way going to admit their manifolds are garbage and help in any way to fix the crap they made... Rusty what are your thoughts on the cryo treatment. The way I see it I don't see how it would hurt anything..

I don't think coating the manifold will stop the crack

I like the idea in that video I posted of the guy drilling holes in both ends to stop the crack from going further and welding the middle. Maybe I should just send them to rusty and then to vsr for the cryo treatment.. Either way we need to figure this thing out because there be more to come...

We need a car with a GTM kit and an owner willing to lend it to some company so that we can get brand new custom manifolds that fit the kit. Easier said than done though lol..

GTM needs this...
 

My thoughts on cryo treatment. On high impact parts like ring and pinions, gears. No problem. Brake rotors, the jury is still out because of the heating cycle. On something like an exhaust manifold for a turbo car. Think it might be a waste of money because of the heat cycles that it goes through. From ambient temperature to something like over 1,200 deg. (If it glows red, it's that hot) Everytime you start your car and hammer on it. It will go through that cycle. Need something like a slow warm up, and a slow cool down. Think a blanket around around the manifold will help with keeping it stable.

Coating the manifold inside and out before it cracks should help with the heat. But if you coat it after the crack starts. Thats a waste of money.

You do know the cryo treatment is not a coating right? Cryo treating is supposed to make the material 50-60% stronger regardless of heat cycles. When my car was running my logs never went above 1100F on the EGT.

Mike@GTM him self told me coating will not protect the manifold from cracking.

Mike, hahahahahaha....:rofl2::rofl2::nutswinger:

does he even work there anymore?

Now that wouldn't surprise me since they only seem to have very few working there. I heard sam just had brain surgery along with his other illnesses....

Yeah, it's freezing the **** out of it. LOL Lower the temp down to around -300F to stabilize the molecular structure. It's used to remove residual stresses, and improve wear resistance. The company I used to work for did it for awhile. Wasn't a money maker for them. We also did plasma spray coating for thermo parts. I feel comfortable with it on ring and pinions and gears. But for manifolds, I don't know. 1100F is still hot. It's glowing.

Hey if you guys want to see more pics of my motor build go here:

https://www.facebook.com/sandrperformanceFL

NICE!

Sent with TapAhoe

My short block is finished..:tup:

A better pic before assembly ..

Congrats man! Now time for serious powwaaa