05 Exhaust Manifold

[jelag]

I used to be with a company that sold test equipment for vehicles back in the 70's and one of the items in the line was a highway dyno that used a computer to road test cars and light trucks in the bay... One of the first things we found was that at highway speeds pullin a 6% grade the exhuast system back to the muffler would glow red hot... sometimes you thought you could see through the exhaust manifold as it was white hot...



Its this heat that warps the manifold... . the engineer has the ability to install a simple strap in the design of the casting from one runner to another like the ATS design to prevent this.....



This truck and one of our other trucks (04) used to tow a 22K lb trailer... . and I assume it was this heat that did the damage...



As was said by Prairie Dog the EB hold back pressure but little or no heat...

 

[Grizzly]

Jim, how did the new two piece ATS Manifold do on your trip and how was the hunt?



george

 

[MLee]

Jim; What is the latest

Jim, how did the new two piece ATS Manifold do on your trip and how was the hunt?



george

Jim;

Thought that I'd bring this back to the surface, about your ATS manifold, cause there has been no further info-and see if it was working any better. Has it sealed off? What did you do?

Does ATS preassemble there manifolds?--If they do--then they should be the proper length etc. Is this leakage common with the three piece and a E-brake? or do they pretty much seal off because of the interferince fit they have. Going to put one on and hope I don't have this problem.

 

[jelag]

MLee...

Lets see... . The manifold hasn't sealed to a level that I'm happy with... . ATS is a PacBrake distributor, just like we are... . I just assumed that they would build a manifold that would seal with time... I just assumed it would rust shut with the heat/cool cycle... To be honest I just never asked that question... I towed one of our heavy trailers, close to 16K loaded and the brake won't hold the load on a 6% grade... . but with the old manifold it did... We do have a couple of PacBrake test gauges so we might get one hooked up and check it for back pressure. .

To date, you can still smell exhaust when the truck sits and warms with the brake on when its cold... I've just written to ATS a couple of days ago and asked that my note end up on an engineers desk... .

The Manifold was preassembled and fit like a glove... I'm very pleased with the way they've cast in a spacer between the ports to keep it the correct size... It is a 2 piece manifold and didn't need any work to make it fit... . We were not able to move the 2 pieces by hand but with a rubber dead blow we experimented with tapping it one way and back... . it is a tight machine fit...

I do need to confess that we've not looked at it once I returned with the truck... but at the time of the installation we had no leaks between the brake and the turbo, or the turbo to the manifold... so I assume its still the seam...

If there are more questions feel free to ask..... BTW - knowing what I know, I'd do it again...

 

[MLee]

Jim the one thing I forgot to ask is does ATS pressure check there manifolds after assembly? Leaks could be found this way before they go to the customer. Will they stand behind it if it is leaking the exhaust fumes into the cab? This not Good. My distributer said that they pressure check for leaks.

 

[jelag]

This is a well cast manifold... I have no issues with the quality... . It's the slip joint where it leaks...

I looked at the BD I can distribute both... but at the time BD didn't have one in a US warehouse and I'd have to wait an extra 2 days... . so we got the ATS... The airfreight just about stopped my heart... . to say the least... we had the truck in for service and noticed that the back 2 bolts were broken off... sure signs of a bad manifold...

My son's a mechanical engineer and he will be this way next week so well get under the hood and let our engineer look at it first... to be honest... My email to ATS has gone unanswered from 3rd, just this past Wed... so if no answer by the time my son is here I'll call them... .

 

[rscurtis]

I installed a BD manifold on my '03. The slip joint is straight, and the tolerance is so close it fits like a wrist pin going into a piston. You practically have to assemble it on a flat surface. I lubed the joint with anti-seize, and it gets completely wiped off. Needless to say, it doesn't leak, but I don't have an EB.