My mechanic said when he changed the valve covers and distributer seal that the exhaust manifold is brittle, (all rusted up) and it is clear that it is by looking at it. Is it difficult to change them without having too much mechanical training? Ive changed oil, brakes, put a new heating motor and small things to the bird. so i cant imagine that being too difficult. any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Paul.

 

Your mechanic doesn't know much about cast iron, then. Yes, the manifolds get rusty, no, they aren't very brittle being rusty. I've dropped and thrown mine (not hard, just moving from one place to another without being able to physically move myself at the time) without any problems. If you really want to replace the manifolds, I should mention that you'll be having a hard time finding a passenger's side manifold that's new without paying as much as an entire junkyard engine would cost (I've been looking for a new one for 3 years now).

 

Chances are its just surface rust, very common for stock manifolds, it would be a royal PITA to remove them, if there's one part on your entire car that's nye indestructible, its probably those....easy way to check,put some sandpaper or a dremel or something to one portion of it, and in no time you'll see perfectly fine metal. But unless your car has been sitting at the bottom of a lake for a while...I'll be surprised if they're rusted out.

 

Ok kool, thanks man.

 

Just to show ya what I mean, here's my EGR valve/tube. At first glance it looks like solid rust, but what you have to remember is that it is THICK cast iron, not thin wall steel like your exhaust pipes that rust out after a decade. Rust remover or sanding can make them look like new if its a matter of appearance to you, I would even paint them after to prevent more rusting, but if you did that make sure to get exhaust paint that can withstand flames and 1200*.

 

Ok that makes sense, that will be a project for when it gets warm out. thanks, appreciate it.