Exhaust Manifold Cracks Question w/Pictures

Northern Chev · Post by **Northern Chev** » 13 Feb 2012, 14:31

2000 V70 XC SE 2.4 LPT - Has anyone seen this problem before?

Changing the head gasket in a 2000 V70 XC 2.4 w/LPT - I just got the exhaust manifold out of the car today and discovered these cracks on the dividing vanes inside the exit of the exhaust manifold leading to the turbo:

They are internal vanes that come from individual runners on the five cylinders. This flange exits into the turbo. The car did not have an obvious exhaust problem before I took the car apart, so apparently it's been running like this for a while.

The cracks do NOT appear to be in the outside portion of the manifold - they only appear on this tri-vaned divider - as if the divider were separate, which I know it is not. It appears that these vanes were cast into the manifold during the casting process.

The vanes are NOT loose, in fact they are very rigidly attached to the manifold.
Considering this part number is $869 before tax from the local dealership can I reuse this part? It didn't seem to have any problems when the car was running. I've seen this before on other brands of car and it's never been a problem.

Has anyone else ever seen this on Volvo and is this really a cause for concern? Considering there are no signs of external damage I'm thinking about reusing it as it is. Has anyone seen this before? Can this manifold be reused?

lexluther · Post by **lexluther** » 16 Feb 2012, 05:37

That's the 1 edition style manifold they all do that crack. Volvo changed the design on later production R's and ME7's but the LPT's stuck with the original ones. Now would be a good time to port it and also recess the vanes to reduce further cracking.I haven't read yet anyone not upgrading after discovering cracks but I perhaps other members can chime in on that and hows it worked out for them if they left it. Get yourself a burring bit and start grinding away is what I say or take it to the local shop and port it the collector is where all the restriction is. Or find yourself one of the later styles they range around $150 in good used condition.

Bottom is 1st edition and top is new style "R" and some ME7
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/g ... CN2945.jpg

Top is 2nd edition and bottom 3rd edition s60r check out the vanes and how the manifold is constructed differently.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j152/ ... NIFOLD.jpg

More comparisons

http://www.swededemon.com/images/850htm ... ifold3.jpg

Northern Chev · Post by **Northern Chev** » 16 Feb 2012, 10:52

So carefully grinding out the three vanes near the outlet down to where the cracks stop is safe and won't cause the manifold to warp after it's been heat cycled during running conditions? If this is the case then this may be a viable avenue for me to pursue. I have hand-ported manifolds in the past so this could be a good route for this application.

My main concern though, in this application is longevity. Although any sort of power boost would be an added bonus, my main concern for this manifold is to prevent the cracking from spreading to the outside of the manifold. The driver of this car is my 70 year old mother and I'm trying to make this head repair the last time I do anything this big on this car...if you know what I mean.

I looked at the pictures of the "other" manifold used as a replacement and many of the accessory mounting holes seem to be in very different locations. Most of the holes are just for the heat shield but I'd hate to go through the time and expense of getting one of these upgraded manifolds and find out the things don't bolt to it correctly. Has that been a concern in other swaps of this type? That, and or confirming that it's OK to grind out the old one down without warping.

Thanks!