Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Opened a can of worms

[SMalafy]

I have been working to install a Pacbrake on my truck and nothing seems to be going my way. First a bolt snaps when removing the down pipe to the exhaust, then I remove the turbo and now find a hair line crack on the right side exhaust port of the manifold. Not sure if I can get away running it like this till winter comes and I can swap out the exhaust manifold or if I have to do it now. Any one have any suggestions. I really am not sure about replacing the manifold as I think it will be a difficult fix dealing with the stock bolt removal. The frustration level just keeps rising !!!

 

[BigPapa]

Bad pic, sir. Try another potato.....

 

[SMalafy]

Bad pic, sir. Try another potato.....

How is this one

 

[BigPapa]

How is this one

Can you see the crack? Sorry, I can't.

 

[bcbender]

I only see what I assume maybe casting flash?

 

[SMalafy]

You can not see the black crack line on the right side exhaust port

 

[BigPapa]

You can not see the black crack line on the right side exhaust port

Not clearly enough to determine what it is. It's just a dark line in a fuzzy manifold.

Does it not look like this to you?

 

[Gearclash]

There is a big crack in the floor of the right side turbo port as the manifold appears in the picture. I would bet that crack goes back to where the two sides of the manifold come together and goes up toward the top of the manifold. Mine cracked in a similar fashion just before the engine warranty ran out.

 

[SMalafy]

There is a big crack in the floor of the right side turbo port as the manifold appears in the picture. I would bet that crack goes back to where the two sides of the manifold come together and goes up toward the top of the manifold. Mine cracked in a similar fashion just before the engine warranty ran out.

I am glad you were able to see it and yes I have the manifold off now and it is cracked the way you said it was. Never would of seen that if I did not pull the turbo to drill out the broken bolt. Now I have a broken manifold bolt to deal with slightly inside the head almost flush. Seems the previous owner did that and tried to remove it as I can see a hole drilled in the broken bolt.

 

[Tuesdak]

or if I have to do it now.

Yes just do it now. It's already apart, also likely warped, dumping fumes that get in the cab, and you are loosing boost with the leak. Next post would have been about "noise" with the EB on if you hadn't caught it.

 

[Gearclash]

I am glad you were able to see it and yes I have the manifold off now and it is cracked the way you said it was. Never would of seen that if I did not pull the turbo to drill out the broken bolt. Now I have a broken manifold bolt to deal with slightly inside the head almost flush. Seems the previous owner did that and tried to remove it as I can see a hole drilled in the broken bolt.

The crack in mine was just barely visible from the top of the engine, but when I crawled underneath to get a better look it was pretty obvious. When I took it to the dealer they said “ oh those never crack.” I said you look at it and tell me what you think that funny line is. “oh yeah it is cracked . . . “
Really should have been at least a 2 section exhaust manifold on those engines right from the start.

 

[Ozymandias]

Just order a standard one from Genos, it does the job just fine.
That's what I did after one of these fancy expensive ones failed me.
Should have bought a factory OEM first hand....

 

[SMalafy]

Just order a standard one from Genos, it does the job just fine.
That's what I did after one of these fancy expensive ones failed me.
Should have bought a factory OEM first hand....

What make was the aftermarket one that failed you ?

 

[Ozymandias]

What make was the aftermarket one that failed you ?

BD, the connected between the two halves was oblong and leaked.
Took me a long time to figure that out, that it whistled from there.

 

[SMalafy]

BD, the connected between the two halves was oblong and leaked.
Took me a long time to figure that out, that it whistled from there.

I bought the AFE ductile Iron solid one but the directions suck. Pictures and wording ! I will probably have to go out and buy a 15mm crows foot to torque down the nuts on the studs in the top center as I can not fit my torque wrench with a socket to do those 2 nuts

 

[BigPapa]

I’ve run and sold many ATS manifolds with no issues. Mine was a three-piece on a 12- valve.

 

[Ozymandias]

You know the saying "burnt kid avoids hot pots"?
I'm not so sure if we really need these two or three piece manifolds for our engines.
I see them on 12-16 Liter engines OEM but not on our small engines, maybe there is a reason for this.
So I went back to a 2022 brand new Cummins manifold, and for now it performs outstanding.

Maybe I still believe in Cummins and that they figured out the problems they had with their early day manifolds and changed the recipe for the cast some to avoid that shrinking that my factory one had, which was the reason to switch to the BD... that I had no warranty on it was the other problem.

Jeff told me to call BD and BD said we don't warranty stuff that is bought from Jeff. So i ended up with paying it out of my pocket a second time and went for Genos then.

 

[Gearclash]

I'm not so sure if we really need these two or three piece manifolds for our engines.

A one piece manifold on a Cummins 6BT is kind of like a dog that walks on his hind legs only. It may work for a time put certainly not ideal.

Most every other manufacturer of similar length turbo diesel engines made the exhaust manifold 2 piece. I know you could see how much the exhaust manifold on an IH DT-414 would change in length judging by the marks on the expansion joint, and that was an engine set for a paltry 125 hp.

It is a common problem on the entire range of 6B/6BT engines that the exhaust manifolds will shrink so much over time that they will break the studs/bolts on the ends, and if not that then the bolt holes in the manifold will line up so poorly with the head that the holes in the manifold need to be milled oblong to make the manifold reusable.

 

[SMalafy]

I have that problem now with the head. All manifold bolts line up except for the front bottom. I thought when I took off the old manifold and seen there was no bolt in the front bottom that it got snapped off, but then I seen the bolt hole just had some oily crap in it. Cleaned it all out and chased the threads with a tap, all was good so I thought. Put on the AFE manifold and that bottom hole does not line up. The head must of been manufactured on Monday or Friday as I see it is Cummins fault.