$1200 later, I still can't get a break..

[Patrick Sullivan]

Ok, went into the tranny shop this afternoon, and the truck was done. Hooray! And it came to a total of $1246. Boo. Oh well, I've got a fresh tranny and driveshaft now, and no college fund left.

Before I leave, though, the tranny guy says something to me.. "I noticed your exhaust had a little crack in it. Might wanna check it out." Didn't really think much of it, and I start it up.. BWUUMUMUMUM! What the hell? Why is it so loud? Pop the hood, look around a bit, and I notice THIS:



What the hell? How did that happen? It sure wasn't like that when I had it before! The tranny guy said he noticed that when he first got it, but I dunno. I don't see how a tranny guy could break an exhaust manifold.. maybe the tow over broke it. Maybe it was already cracked and just ready to break. I dunno.

Not very cool, though. I just noticed the plug boot on the right is sort of melting from the heat. Not cool either. I don't even know how the bottom half of the manifold is still held up there - it's pretty much separated from the top. Can't be good for my engine to run like this.. though I drove it the 80 some miles from Portland to here, and the engine was running fine.. a little on the warm side, and sure was backfiring a lot, but it was running. Thought I was gonna get pulled over it was so loud. The white flames shooting out the gap kinda look cool, though.

I think I'm gonna buy a Honda Civic..

[Scrub]

Crud,

It isn't out of the question that the tranny guy unhooked the back of your exaust and broke the manifold off. I would look at the bolts that hold it on and see if they have been taken off. If so, I would ask him about it.

You just paid him a pile of money (Too much by my standards) and he should stand behind it if he broke it.

Is that a right side of a 350? I might have one I can let you have. You aren't too far away.

[68SWB4x4]

yeah id beat 100 the tranny guy broke it.......
but sounds like time for headers!

[Patrick Sullivan]

The bolts on the exhaust hangers are untouched.. the only thing I can think of is that he jacked the back of the engine up to get the tranny out, and it broke then. I called him when I got home, talked for quite a while, and he denied any involvement in breaking it. He said any tranny problems I had, he will set them straight, but he is not responsible for anything else.

I.. well, bleh.

[Paul Clark]

Had a new exhaust put on once. Everything was fine until I pulled up to a stop light and thought I got hit by a Scud missile. The manifold broke off at the same place yours did.
Bet something got "tweaked" someplace.
Why do those manifolds break so easily?
Hell, they're only 30+ years old.

[68 Suburban]

When I had my trans redone, there was a big sign on the wall said that they were not responsible for any damage to exhaust. I guess shows that it is very possible it happened whilte he was working on your trans. Which exhaust manifold is it?

[Patrick Sullivan]

It's the passenger side manifold, 2WD.

I guess I shouldn't be suprised that it broke.. but why does everything have to break at once?

[68 Suburban]

That is the way life is. There was a cheap one on ebay, but I don't know if it is still available.

[WORNBRAKES]

when i replaced my trany, i loosened the tail pipes at the exh man and disconnected the rest of the way back. i had to move the pipes outbrd to get the trany in and out. sounds like trany man forgot to do this. i would talk to him and if nothing else, chew his a$$. best of luck.

[Patrick Sullivan]

Well, the way my exhaust is routed I don't think he would have had to move it. I chewed his ass some, but I got tired of yelling at a brick wall so to speak, so..

On a similar note, am I going to ruin my heads/valves/whatever if I drive around like this for a couple of days, before I can get it fixed?

[WORNBRAKES]

i dont use headers but i know that some people use some sort of wrap on them sometimes. maby you can use this and wrap it around the crack until you can replace it. maby, i dunno?

[Paul Clark]

The wrap is kinda expensive. Think they use it to keep the heat levels down. Have heard that it also promotes rust.
How about an empty beer can and a couple of hose clamps?
Kidding - but I did do this once.
Ahh - youth.

[WORNBRAKES]

Paul- thanks for that! I will keep that in mind if I ever run into that situation. I like it!

[bobs409]

I'd bet the tranny guy broke it. Probably didn't support the engine when he took out the trans.

That sure is alot of money for this kind of job.

[ThreeQuarter]

I'm with Bob. I saw a mechanic do that with my '92 once: he dropped the tranny and let the exhaust support the engine. He said he does it all the time and it was OK. (I didn't agree.) Good mainfolds usually hold up under the weight.

So you have to consider that it was probably time for a new one anyway, if it was that weak to begin with. A couple of weeks ago I replaced a pass. manifold that was cracked in the same spot about 3/4 way around. The owner hadn't had any engine or tranny work done in years.

[cheyenne10]

I've had at least 2 jobs by tranny shops disturb the exhaust setup some how (none this severe) and both times they fixed it. One I supplied the new manifold and they installed the other was just the old donut gasket. Any time the engine is moved up or down with exahust hooked up this can happen. I would push them once more for repair of it and offer the repalcement part to do the job, although you are 80 miles out? I would also avoid driving it much as this causes improper cooling of valves and head. Check to see if they have a contact on the coast that they can cut a deal with to get it fixed where you are. Take Scrub up on his offer for manifold unless you have one. Good luck. By the way would you be willing to tell me the name of the Portland tranny shop?

[Woody]

Ya the tranny guy broke it. It wasn't that load when you brought it there, was it?? 5 to 1 he dropped the tranny cross member and didn't loosen the exhaust. When the engine tilted back it broke the manifold. A lot of newer cars/trucks have spring loaded bolts holding the the pipe to the manifold allowing for some give. you may have had a small crack already...who knows.

A quick fix is get some baling wire and wrap around the pipe/bottom part of the manifold and then over the top part pulling it together. Use JB Weld on the seam (before pulling it together) then let it set up. It won't look all that great but will buy you time until you gete another manifold.

Don't forget to inspect your left side also. He may have cracked it.

[Sheenanny]

He probably loosened the pipe to get the tranny out, then tightened it back down real good. Then as soon as it got some pressure and heat in it, it crashed. Same thing happened to me, same place and everything. I'm sure it was cracked when you took it to him though, so it was just a matter of time. Check junk yards and engine building shops in the area. Those things should be all over the place for 10 or 15 dollars.

[68 Suburban]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1838373921

[Scrub]

I wouldn't fdrive with it broke that way, You might warp a valve, plus your hearing will fail...

I said !"Your Hearing will Fail!


"Youre gonna go deaf!"

Shut that damn thing off!!!


I think I got an extra manifold, I will email you

[Longhorn Man]

My old Longhorn was the same way.
The engine not being held up by a 3rd mount WILL do this. They are supposed to support the motor instead of letting it tilt back.
I would contact the BBB in his area, and your State Attorney general.
They will knock some heads together and see if they can't make things right.

[Scrub]

Dang,

I looked all over and couldn't find a manifold,

Sorry

[68 Suburban]

Is every trany shop shady?

[COBALT]

Speaking as a Mechanical Engineer your picture actually tells you what happened.

This is the passenger side? If so then it was broke by jacking the engine up too much!!! How do I know? Well, let me tell you!

Does everyone see how straight the fracture is on the back part of the break (the rear of the manifold)? Generally you'll see straight fractures like that in the case of brittle tension fractures, where forces pull members apart. On the other side of the break is the opposite, or brittle compression where two members are pushed together. Typically this makes jagged breaks where material is sometimes chipped out, like the front part of the break.

Since the manifold was so old anyway (and probably rusting pretty badly) all it took was enough torsion (to make the engine rotate forward) to break the manifold.

The bottom line is he did jack the engine up, but he did it too much.

You can experiment with this by taking a piece of chalk and bending it until it breaks. The bottom of the break where the compression will be jagged, and the top part of the break under tension will be flat and clean (compared to the bottom).

[Stout72]

New69 is 100% correct. You have a classic stress fracture. I've seen similar fractures like this on shipboard equipment in my profession as a Marine Engineer. Your tranny mechanic would have advised you of that break before he started work, if he was an honest man. It appears he doesn't want to own up to his mistake.

If you need to run the truck, you better cover it up with something or cool air will find its way in to your exhaust ports and warp your valves. Someone suggested a beer can and hose clamps, sounds like good (although temporary) damage control to me. If you can find a piece of insulating blanket that welders use to protect surrounding areas from slag and sparks, wrap it with that first. Then use 2 beer cans.