Exhaust manifold options for my 1988 2.4L gas engine?

[IdahoDoug]

So, it looks like I have a slight exhaust leak from the manifold. I read here that all these manifold eventually crack. Since I'm taking it off, I am wondering if there is an aftermarket exhaust manifold? Or is there another Mitsubishi model that uses the exact same one as this so I can pull a few at the junkyard? I think my Van's engine is a wider version of the same engine that is in some other models, so enough potential confusion that I'd like to clear it up before proceeding. Thanks in advance.

Doug

[Yokohama]

The head is the same as the 4G64 used on some of the Mighty Max (MM, later version). I have looked at the exhaust manifold on the MM and except for a possiable difference in the tilt of the pipe flange, they should be interchangeable. HOWEVER, I will tell you this now, you will be hard pressed to find an uncracked on a MM. The MM site forums are full of new people asking about the exhaust manifold cracks and if they can buy a new manifold. See my post about it the other thread:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 6&start=75

[teamtestbot]

I am curious - how end-of-the-world is it to have a cracked manifold? The one on mine most definitely has a very thin, almost unnoticeable crack in the expected location. I presume this will get worse with time.

[IdahoDoug]

Noise and fumes into the interior for one, and the oxy sensor will not see the same ratios as it would with zero leakage. May affect exhaust flow a bit, but that's mighty minor.

[Big-Bird]

You could get it welded...What?!?!?!? Oh yes cast manifolds can be welded if they have the right machine and wire to do the job and they do proper preheat of the part. You problem will be finding a welder that knows how and is willing to do it.

You could look for a header option for the engine but then you're mucking around with making the down pipe fit properly.

[IdahoDoug]

So, I've located a couple pickups with the right manifold, but when I look at the part, it has a large pipe sprouting out of the rear that I think is an EGR pipe mine does not have. I think I can just plug that - no big deal. But I cannot tell if the exhaust flange to the exhaust pipes is the same angle, etc. Anyone use one of these manifolds with the EGR pipe on it that can verify it fits the exhaust pipes? I'm hesitant to order the manifold if it will not fit.

An answer on the crack might be: Mine opened up suddenly today a bit more. So now the van makes some noise and the combo of the old van makes people narrow their eyes and be suspicious versus looking at me with thumbs up. Social consequence to that crack@!!! Heh.

[IdahoDoug]

I grabbed one from the Mighty Max pickup today but noticed with consternation that this engine was a 2.0 liter according to the hood sticker? Crap. The manifold looks identical but I will not know for sure until I pull mine and see if it will fit. I've already loosened all the bolts on mine so Sunday will know. I did not know the pickup had a smaller displacement. The exh man even has the threaded holes for the Van Wagon's larger heat shield. The MM has a smaller shield that uses only 3 of the bolt holes.

DougM

[IdahoDoug]

On a trial fit, the exhaust manifold I grabbed fits fine. The engine had two broken exhaust manifold studs, so I have removed the bits and am looking for replacements right now. Once I have those, I will put it all together and know more. I also found a small crack in the manifold I have, so grabbing another tomorrow. Wish me luck that it is not cracked, otherwise I'm going to repair this one. My engine also had a missing nut on both the manifold, and on the exhaust flange. So, the manifold had 3 fasteners not working and the flange 1. No wonder things cracked atop the apparently true rumor that all these manifolds will crack. My exhaust flange was also cracked. Not happy about spending money on kind of a waste aspect of things here, but such as it is.

Doug

[IdahoDoug]

Got new studs - .40 cents each. They are 8X1.25 and you'll need just shy of an inch of threads on the manifold end if others have the same issues.

I pulled a second manifold off another Mighty Max 2.0L with only 119k miles on it and it was also cracked about the same. So it would seem that as stated here many of you are going to experience this. The cracking was minor on these two manifolds compared to my original Van Wagon one. So, I used a high temp epoxy designed to repair manifolds that is good to 2000+ degrees to fill these small cracks which are not all the way through the manifold yet. I will be bolting one on tomorrow and then dealing with the rest of the exhaust, since the forward part is needing replacement due to the now cracked flange that bolts to the manifold. I snagged this part off both Mighty Max's and it was in great shape. So that will mean an exhaust shop will merely need to splice in an exhaust pipe from wherever they want to the rear part of the exhaust without dealing with the pricey flange - which I have!

Anyhow, the epoxy went on yesterday and they have been on a heater vent for 24 hours - the recommended time. I will leave them on another 24 until tomorrow when I have time.

These MM manifolds have a threaded EGR pipe in them that we don't have/need. I plugged that by removing the pipe, cutting off the steel pipe 3" from the threaded plug, flattening the pipe for an inch with a hammer, then folding the flattened section back on itself and pounding that flat. Now when I reinsert the plug it is essentially a blocked hole. Easier than finding a real plug (couldn't - weird thread/size), or paying big money for someone who could weld cast iron.