"Told you so" - melted the stainless header

[Dave Freeman]

Ok so header is on, not easy to align so a tip.....using the old header bolt the new one to it to ensure it will fit on the head.

If is out slightly then ease the tubes until they align. Also with turbo out of the way put the turbo flange on the header up past the turbo then feed the pipes into place. Get at least one nut on manifold nearest the bulkhead then fit a nut to each port as you tease the header into place until you get to the turbo end. Simples.

Tomorrow or Sunday I will be fitting the heat shields and replacing the turbo, that's all now folks.

Forgot to mention, remove the largest heat shield and it does help to raise the engine one side to gain a bit more clearance.

[Dave Freeman]

Quick up date, had a cold for past few days so little done on the car however, another tip for thse who are fitting themselves.

The support bar, you will need a cap head set screw to replace the hex head when you fit the support bar, also ensure that the rose joints are free to move, I had to put two spacer washers under the bracket to improve the clearance, you will see what I mean when you fit it.

Also, I am conscious that the manifold runs very close to the oil return pipe from the turbo. I am unsure how much heat would be transferred to the oil, so I am going to fit a small heat shield clipped to the pipe.

Ok so turbo is on just about to fit final bits then fire her up later this afternoon.

I will let u know what happens.

Dave

[Dave Freeman]

All bits are now back on the car, time to double check all nuts, the fit the boot tray and fire her up.

Will let u know what happens next........

[Dave Freeman]

Well, it runs again, no issues. All seems well. As ever will leave the final bolt and nut check until after a short run to bed things down.

Will run the car tomorrow to see how well it pulls.

Will keep you informed.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Dave Freeman

[Bibs]

[Dave Freeman]

Well the verdict is "........astonishing, astounding, the smoothness in power delivery is fantastic. Cannot even detect turbo lag, it's gone.

I cannot praise the manifold enough. It has changed the performance completely, and I am hard to please.

It has changed the exhaust note, more defined, not as noisy when slow driving, comes alive when the pedal is floored.

Have to say I am gob smacked, it was either poor before, which I think not, or the performance improvement is significant.

Very close to wheel spin in second,

It's cooling now, then a check and a rerun.

How pleased am I..."...........

[60N4.7]

Started on removing OEM manifold.. dayum those nuts are a bitch to get to! Any hints on getting removed guys?

[Vulcan Grey]

I found it easiest to lay across the car with my feet out the right side for best access to the manifold. I use a bunch of 1/4 drive thin wall sockets, thin gear wrenches, a few :-/joints, and extensions.

You have to pry back the locking tabs first though! Wedge a flat screwdriver blade between the tab and nut to pry the tab out. Then you can get the socket on there.

[60N4.7]

Are you in the states Vilcan Gray? If so mind ringing me at 817-939-6093

[Vulcan Grey]

Yep in Colorado.  At work currently, and then have plans right after. Email is better.  I'll PM you my address.

 

Also don't forget to remove all the heat shields.  I also remove the vacuum pump for better access.

 

The turbo was the biggest pain for me.  I've always had the boot floor out to remove the turbo IIRC.

also look here, My friend Tony wrote this after he removed his manifold, after encouragement from myself;)

 

http://www.theriens.com/lotus/black89lotus/fiftyone.html

[60N4.7]

Issue is there are a couple of the nuts which don't have a small amount of space between them and the OEM manifold they literally have ZERO space and thus cannot get on them even a 1/4 drive thin wall socket.. and damned sure no way to put even a short open end without extreme risk of rounding the nut...

Looks like the one in the link from Tony is earlier model than mine as it has inboard brakes. Maybe there is more room on those models between the nuts and the manifold than my 1994 S4?

[Vulcan Grey]

Ton'y was an 89 with the outboard brakes.

 

The manifold changed a bit between my 89 SE and the S4 or S4s, not sure, which.  I know they did ad more webbing, which can make it more difficult to remove...

 

My 89SE manifold looks like this.

 

here are the tabs that you need to bend out

[60N4.7]

Gave up... called Sports Car World in Dallas, dropping off with them next Tuesday for the swap. Said it would be around $400 which I am thinking is a great deal!

The nuts simply did not have room to get removed, they are 13mm but just no space between them for a socket or wrench. Trust me..

And on the pics of Tony's, there is a LOT more room between the studs/nuts and the manifold than on mine...

And on the pics of Tony's, there is a LOT more room between the studs/nuts and the manifold than on mine...

Edited May 16, 2013 by 60N4.7

[Gasman GT3]

I fitted my new manifold the other week and your right the nuts are a real pain as I knew they would be.  In advance I purchased several 13mm spanners which we cut ground and bent to get access to the nuts.  All but one came off this way and we then had to cut off the last one with the hot spanner.  Fortunately the remains of the stud came out of the engine quite easily.  I had access to a 2 post lift, how anyone can do this job with the car on the ground is beyond me.  I counted at least 6 cracks in the old manifold so it was well past it's best.  Just need a new O2 sensor now to complete the job as we knackered the old one getting it out to put the CAT bypass on.

[Jacques]

Dave,

 

I would be interested in hearing how it performs now, after a few months of running?

 

So, it is a alunox model, and are you still running the ebpv or did you remove it?

 

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[Dave Freeman]

Hi Jaques, sorry for the delay in responding, been a bit busy of late. Still performing exceptionally well, no issues what so ever.

Well worth the cost, longevity will only be apparant over the next few years.

 

Dave

[Jacques]

Thanks Dave. I take it you got rid of the ebpv?

 

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[dodge1979]

Well out of those that fitted the alunox manifold it appears none have had any issues...except myself. Ive not mentioned it earlier in the year as I wanted time to ensure the solution was made good.

I believe im lucky enough to be the only person who has fitted the manifold with the engine out of the car. .it was dead easy if that makes anyone happy...

but the issue I had was that the turbo to manifold bolts and nuts came loose and vanished from the engine bay..3 of them did. And the turbo support bar sheared.

to put this in perspective this happened during an intense driving session..a trip from Blightly to Monaco and back.. I think what caused the issue was the fact I travelled a NON STOP 1000miles in one day journey back. The only stops were litteraly for fuel...no rests..and using the toll roads you can imagine the pace was quick. So the car never rested and never cooled..something I expect not many owners will ever do with their esprit..

In honesty When I fitted the manifold I was sceptical about the nuts and bolts provided with it. But I was told they were fine. I discarded the manifold to head nuts and studs and used my own. I used aerotight nuts. The turbo however I used the provided items. It is these that failed under this intense travel.

I replaced with aerotight nuts upon return and new allen key head bolts. These are far superior. Obviously the gasket blew apart too so I replaced this with a new composite gasket.

The failing turbo support bar im sure some will think is because the turbo bolts went AWOL but I neccasarily dont believe that is 100% the case. I actually think it was just the one in a hundred faulty rose joints that im sure are made without knowing. The turbo is held very well in place by the rest of the exhaust system and inlet hose to chargecooler..especially with the clamps I use...

so in terms of long term use and reliability I put 3000 miles on my manifold in June in 11 days..with 1000 miles of that being one non stop intense journey. I think this is more than anyone has done in one test..

But I must stress that I notified Alunox and they sent me out a replacement rose joint without quibble. So at no point would I question their confidence in their product or their customer support..it is a good product with the benefits described and shown in Changes rolling road..

Ps the reason I discarded the nuts and believe the provided ones are not the best is that they are those flanged type with the underside ribbed grips on them...on our application I dont think theyre the best..maybe other turbo engines or applications. .I would always categorically state aerotights are the best and my experience has supportedy view. .

Edited November 11, 2013 by dodge1979

[Qavion]

Darren, wouldn't exhaust manifold temperatures easily exceed the aerotight temperature limit of 300C?

[dodge1979]

Ive never had an issue with using them in the near 4 years I've used them on the Esprit.