1996 850na What's hardest part of changing exhaust manifold?

[cn90]

1. The Gaskets: Volvo Only!

2. The Exhaust Manifold, somehow contact the people who bought it and get long-term report.

[xHeart]

I replaced mine with an Obx manifold. Compared to a turbo it's relatively easy to install. I wouldn't over think it.

Look, I am running on your ABS/TRACS for more than three years Dr. Moo, is there a link to OBX?

[cn90]

FYI,

* OBX Manifold is $240 on ebay (Search ebay).
* Estonia Manifold $140.

[Matty Moo]

If you get the obx, don't use their gaskets. For the price, I'd get the one for Estonia. The obx doesn't have a flex fitting, but it's stainless steel.

[Ozark Lee]

The quality of the OBX, for the money, is terrific but it is a total pain in the butt if you have EGR. The bung for the EGR is inset and at a different angle than the OEM and the EGR line really doesn't like to be bent. It can be done but it is a real pain.

On the one I bought, which was several years ago, it did have a flex joint. If you call OBX directly they will give you a discount to the eBay price.


...Lee

[bigdaddylee82]

The quality of the OBX, for the money, is terrific but it is a total pain in the butt if you have EGR. The bung for the EGR is inset and at a different angle than the OEM and the EGR line really doesn't like to be bent. It can be done but it is a real pain.


...Lee

This! The EGR tube being miss-aligned was the most time consuming issue I had. The only other real issue was the new exhaust studs/hardware provided with my eBay exhaust manifold being the wrong size & cheap junk.

I posted this link in xHeart's similar thread earlier, but here's my experience with the cheap eBay exhaust manifold. The one I bought was sold as DNA Motoring on eBay, but it appears that the KOSpeed manifolds are the same thing. https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/vie ... =1&t=45649

These are the same pictures from the link, but I'll go ahead and point this out.

The difference in the angle of the EGR bung shown here (low and on the right) you see the shiny new stainless manifold's bung is angled down a little more than the original manifold.


That angle caused this much miss-alignment with the EGR valve and tube. That tube with the copper tip is supposed to fit on the open threaded bung sticking out from under the throttle body. Ozark Lee is spot on, that tube ain't easy to bend. There was a lot of trial and error, install, remove, bend, rinse & repeat to get it to fit correctly.


- Lee

[xHeart]

Thank you for the pertinent comments. These are very helpful.
Now gathering parts for repair. Would this repair have adverse effect on CAT/Oxygen sensor, and/or the head gasket? What precautions would you take?

I was assessing the level of difficulty working from the garage floor. It is a challenging space for two hands to work together. For safety, I would put the car on four jack-stand for about a week to do this repair.

There are several pinholes with penny size rust spots on the muffler, the part rear from CAT, so I ask, how hot does it get, could the full-length of muffler be painted with high-temp/heat 1000ºF rustoleum product? Are there other product/s that would cure it better?

[bigdaddylee82]

It's not particularly difficult to remove the exhaust manifold on a N/A car. The only real hang ups have been listed. Rusty fasteners can cause extra headache from being seized/frozen in place. With the heat shield is off it's pretty easy to get out of the car.

It's an easy weekend swap taking your time. I swapped mine one Saturday afternoon/evening with the front end of the car lifted on a pair of Harbor Freight jack stands.

It should be a direct replacement swap so it's not going to affect any other exhaust components.

Unless there are rust holes, not just surface rust, I wouldn't be too worried about it. If you really want to do something about it, some rust neutralizer spray (I've had good luck with the Loctite brand) and high temp exhaust/BBQ paint could give you a little peace of mind. You won't be able to get to the top of the exhaust without dropping it from the car. More trouble than it's worth in my opinion.

- Lee

[rmmagow]

My indy also said the one from Estonia was pretty good. He's done a few and had no issues. That's the one I am going with on my S70.

[xHeart]

I spoke with the Estonian over a phone call.
He has not received any complaint on fitment in past several years.
It is a local pick up for me, 30 miles drive though, surprised!
I will post the part photos and share the contact info.