Exhaust manifolds

Dan944t · 05-16-2001, 05:16 PM

Alright guys I need your help on which headers to purchase as my factory headers have a crack in them and they sound really bad!! I found a company called MSDS that sells 944 Turbo manifolds for 187.99. Has anyone delt with this company before, or has installed there product on their car? Also you can ceramic coat them for $65 bux extra or NICKEL-CHROME PLATE them for $65. Which is the better plating to do? I know ceramic coating keeps the heat in which will increase turbo spool up but will nickel plate do to them? ALso which is more durable?

Thanks Dan Scully 1987 944 Turbo, HR Stage 3 MAF, Chips, Manual boost controller @15 psi, and adjustable fuel pressure regulator.

1.2gees · 1.2gees's Garage

Ceramic coated MSDS' would be the way I'd go, I'd also get some header wrap, after the two way ceramic coating, as this would eliminate any chanse of the headers rusting because of extra moisture held in by the header wrap. It'll look bad, but it'll increase throttle response, and reduce underhood temps.
Ahmet

TheStig · 05-17-2001, 09:17 AM

Nickel-chrome plated headers are the best to go with a normally aspirated 944. As Ahmet said, the 951 needs the ceramic coating for insulation and quicker spooling of the turbo. Be sure and check with your state laws to see if headers are legal or not. I had to cancel my nickel plateds because they aren't legal here in California.

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Heel'n' toe your woes away..

Obin Robinson · 05-17-2001, 09:21 AM

MSDS? i hope they FIT your car. good luck!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/Forum5/HTML/002420.html

make sure you get a Sawz-all, welder, and mandrel bender handy. you may need them.

obin

Dave951M · 05-17-2001, 06:27 PM

Before you go getting crazy with the aftermarket crapola, you might want to consider just having yours welded back up. If the crack isn't too bad, it's not a problem. Whoever welds them though needs to be experienced in welding stainless steel. It does NOT weld like normal carbon steel. My headers sounded bad and were actually leading me to believe that I had a stuck lifter. Further investigation disclosed a broken stud on the firewall side of #4 under the heater pipe bracket where it's hard to see. In addition, #3 was broken off completely in the flange. I have a buddy who welds stainless for a living and he did a great job, saving me the cost of new headers. As for modifying them, go with the ceramic. Header wrap can be effective but it's a mess to deal with. Unless you are racing, I don't think wrap is worth the effort while ceramic is permanent. Just my $.02 worth

Dave951M

Lawrence Coppari · 05-18-2001, 09:31 AM

Does the MSDS header have an expansion joint on it?

951carter · 05-18-2001, 09:15 PM

i dont know this for fact as i have not visited their site, but i seriously doubt ANYONE has stainless headers for a 951 for $200. they are going to be more in the $800-1000 range, if you can find them. installing anything other than stainless would be a complete waste of time as the heat would turn them in to swiss cheese in a couple thousand miles. i do know of someone who welds the factory manofolds if they are repairable. you also will need to fix this soon as you will burn a valve.

Mrmerlin · 05-18-2001, 09:27 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 951carter:

Good point on burning the valve Carter,for what it is worth I know that the header wrap will hold in the heat, but this might not be the best thing for the headers as they will get hotter than they normally would and then this will lead to cracking and such, now if you do wrap the headers with the stuff there will be more heat going to your turbo , this in theory equals more power to impart on the turbo impeller, however you will probably not be doing any racing with this car, and you will be looking for longevity and reliability, more heat sent to the turbo means more heat it must get rid of, so if you were going to wrap any part of the exhaust system i would wrap the up pipe to the turbo only and leave the headers alone, also get the insides of the headers ceramic coated this will help them to run a lil cooler and thus help them live longer.....Stan

Lawrence Coppari · 05-19-2001, 07:56 AM

I would not wrap the headers if I were interested in longevity. While the headers are stainless, whether they will get eaten by the exhaust gases is strongly dependent on temperature. I have two colleagues who are materials engineers, and all of us work in a chemical plant. There are many types of stainless steels so upping the temperature by wrapping is iffy as far as longevity is concerned. The engineers who designed the things knew what they were doing. Higher temperatures may harm it. One does not know without knowing which type of stainless it is. There are many types of stainless steels. Then there is the threshold where stress corrosion cracking occurs. The corrosion speeds up in the presence of stress. It is a complicated issue/phenomenon.

A used bellows header costs about $375. I had to replace mine.

Dave951M · 05-19-2001, 06:10 PM

Some info I saw in Panorama magazine yesterday. There is an outfit that makes headers for the 951. I don't know anything about them, but I intend to find out. Their website address is bbexhaust.com. They make a number of ss exhaust systems. The 951 headers are not listed on the website, but were in the Panorama ad.

Dave951M

marksportcts · marksportcts's Garage

Racer's group apperently have the stainless manifolds in the Excellence magazine ads.