Rusty exhaust manifold removal

[wwheeler]

My '60 220SE had sat in storage for a number of years and this was one of the consequences. My attempt to remove the exhaust manifolds from the exhaust pipe met with severe resistance. Two weeks of a witches brew of penetrants including PB blaster, a mix of acetone and ATF, heat, strap wrenches and you name it. Nothing worked.

Finally I thought of an idea to use a split collar and fit it with bolts to create a jack bolt collar. The collar came from McMaster was sized just slightly smaller than the pipe. The threads were welded on and I could probably do a sexier job later. The first picture shows the collar mounted and the second shows the success. This manifold doesn't have studs like the later engines, but the idea can be adapter easily.

Hopefully this will help some poor soul that is at his wit's end.   

[Tyler S]

Pretty ingenuous setup Wallace. If the clamp/collar had a larger outside diameter could you use a nut and bolt on the manifold side to push aganst it? Or is there not enough room to get a bolt in because of the manifold bend?
Tyler

[ja17]

Very good Wallace!

[280SE Guy]

Good job Wallace. Sometimes one has to take it to the next level to accomplish a task.

[star63]

Great!

I may have to do the same. Thanks for sharing!

[wwheeler]

Originally I was going to drill and tap through the collar but it wasn't big enough on the OD. You don't have a lot of choices here unless you make your own. Hence the cobbled nut affair. These aren't expensive and maybe around $16 or so. There are many possible ways to do this but the object is to keep constant tension on the rusted joint. It helps to apply penetrant both under tension and at rest. In fact the action of applying and then releasing tension will SLOWLY release the joint. You can also apply heat at the different times. This joint was so rusted that once it's hold was broken, I still had to use the jack bolts all the way until it was completely clear.     

By the way, the pipe OD was 1.825 and I used a 1-13/16" (1.812") ID color. That was perfect fit. If your collar is a bit loose, you could use and fine grit sandpaper as a shim on the ID. Here is a link to the split collar page. http://www.mcmaster.com/#split-shaft-collars/=114hsmn Use the 2 piece clamp on.

[ctaylor738]

Great solution.

I'm curious - did the pipe and manifold clearly break apart at some point, or was it totally gradual? If a clear break, was there a snap or other event?

[wwheeler]

On both parts, they gradually separated and required the jack bolts pretty much the entire way. It finally came off once the "slip fit" had separated. No pop though.

To be fair, I was only pushing on two of the three lugs, so there was some misalignment I am sure. Accessing the third lug was just too much of a contortionists act. On the manifold shown, the seal itself separated in two. The pattern on the pipe is the same that is in the manifold. The seal in the rear manifold stayed in. 

The only event was when the manifold came off, I ran around the backyard with my arms held high in the air. Its the simple things in life.....

[stickandrudderman]

Nice engineering but with all that force pushing against those small flanges I would worry that the manifold would crack.

[wwheeler]

I never get the jack bolts tight enough where I think it would crack the cast manifold. The bolts I used were Grade 2 garbage bolts, so in theory they will strip first. They are there to provide constant tension over time at the joint. That is where the alternating heat and releasing bolts come in. The point is to get the joint to move back and forth even if a micro inch at a time. Every-time the joint moves, it will allow penetrant to creep in. Eventually the joint will give up its fight.

[Tyler S]

Vibration is a good helper as well. Tension the bolts on the setup and then give a couple of good (not excessive) whacks with a hammer. Re-tension your bolts and repeat.

[wwheeler]

Oh, the ball peen hammer was my closest friend through all of this. I even tried banging on the manifold with oak board as a sacrificial surface. It never did the "trick" but could have easily contributed to the final outcome. You never know on things like this. I think it all helps as a combined effort.

Other people said to use a torch to get the manifold cherry red. I always used a propane torch that couldn't possibly get it that hot which was fine by me. Getting it cherry red requires excellent timing and even heating. None of which I could do in an engine bay. Given how impossibly hard these 220SE Ponton manifolds could be to find in decent shape, I wanted to go very slowly and cautiously.