I have a stock turbo/manifold from an srt-4 and a friend and I are in the middle of modifying it. There is a cast "tube" comming from the exhaust housing, which is also cast into the manifold, going to where the 02 housing bolts up. That tube has a nice crease where it bends. What I mean is if you were to look though the exhaust housing you would expect to see the tube shaped like a perfect circle for good flow but instead it's shaped like a "D". What I plan on doing is welding the outside, adding material so we can port it out to a "O" instead of the "D" shape. I've read in another post that you can actually TIG cast iron using a nickel rod. If I do this I will actually be porting INTO the newly welded material. Is this going to be safe? I've heard you can only bond cast iron and not actually fuse it. I have zero cast iron welding experience so I dont know much about this. If this wont work is there anything I could do that would? Im just really trying to take out that huge restriction in flow but the manifold doesnt have enough material to safely do it without welding it up on the exterior. Thanks for any help.

 

C'mon guys I know I own a POS neon and all but help me out lol.

 

why waste time modifying it just make a custom one from scratch. Welding cast iron is difficult and requires preheating and the results are so so. For the time and effort you are going to put into that you are better off on other ventures.

 

Yes yes I have thought about this. What's keeping me from doing this is money. Due to my financial situation im not able to buy the material to make a custom kit and I've had this stock turbo for some time and we've already got some time into the manifold. I know I could get more bang for my buck elsewhere but Im really trying to hit 7's (1/8 mile) consistantly with a modified factory turbo and no spray and this would really help me achieve that goal. That would just seem somewhat impressive to me. Trust me if I've been wanting to build a custom kit for a while but just dont have the money right now to drop on the car like that. Anyway thanks for the input though


Modified by drewsrt at 8:03 AM 2/12/2006

 

Damnit I mean to put a thumbs up. Sorry about that...anyway anyone else have any input? I would really like to try whatever it is that im gonna try this comming week. Thanks again.

 

i've used 309L filler on cast before and it worked quite well, but i'm not sure how well it would work in this application.

 

What does this "tube" actually do.There is nothing wrong with a d shape as far as flow goes.It sounds like it maybe a waste gate downtube.If that's what it is there's probably no performance advantage making it bigger.
Glenn

 

Let me try and find a picture if I can. The "tube" is pretty much the exhaust. The wastegate actually bleeds from the left 2 runners into where the 02housing bolts up....which is where this tube also ends up but it has nothing to do with the wastegate. The tube is like a downpipe comming off the exhaust side of the turbo. So it would be like have a D shaped downpipe.

 

I can probably find a better pic but atleast you can sorta see what im talkin about. The parts in red are where the crease is. Like I said the exhaust housing is actually cast into the manifold so this tube is like a downpipe. If you were to look straight through the exhaust housing there is a crazy restriction where that bend is. I hope this helps some. If I have time Ill try and find a better picture. Thanks

 

I don't want to sound like a dick, but if money is a problem I don't think I would be trying to modify my perfectly good manifold.

 

That statement makes no sense at all. Why wouldnt you modify a manifold, that you already have laying around, to get more power out of it? If you're on a budget that seems like a great chance to get cheap power. It's not costing me anything to modify it. The only thing Im going to be paying for is the clipping of the exhaust wheel. Im going to have zero down time except for the turbo swap. Anyway the main question was if the welds would hold. Im not trying to be a dick either but it seems like I get more opinions on whether or not I should do this than answers to my initial question.

 

Just a heads up...those manifolds aren't cast iron...I did one last weekend and it was a non ferrous metal of some sort!

 

Wow are you serious? Maybe I need to research this some. I just assumed that it was cast iron. What makes you think or know that it's not cast iron?

 

Well, #1, it wasn't magnetic...which means it wouldn't cut with an oxy torch.....and it welded kinda like inconel!

 

So do you have any suggestions as to what I should do? It looks like we're just going to end up porting it as much as we can safely without welding any extra material on the outside.....unless I come across something in the next few days. We've already opened up where it meets at the 02housing (like in the picture above) and ported the wastegate out about 2mm over stock. I figured with a little more work on the mani and a clipped wheel I might see 10hp or so. Small gain for so much work but hey....most of it's free so Im not going to complain.

 

If you stick weld you can try nirod or you can braze it, I use to have a vw with a 1.8t and when I ported it I got my dad (a nuculear pipe welder with over 20 years experence)to braze a few a few places it got to thin.

 

iirc, the mani is made of NiResist, a cast-iron alloy w/ 12-20% nickel (according to Google). As for welding, you're on your own; however, I've heard tigging w/ a nickel rod will work, but consult w/ an expert first

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bjorn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">iirc, the mani is made of NiResist, a cast-iron alloy w/ 12-20% nickel (according to Google). As for welding, you're on your own; however, I've heard tigging w/ a nickel rod will work, but consult w/ an expert first</TD></TR></TABLE> Good info...Like I said, I used a 316 filler....the hardes thting about using any Ni rod is the problem of contamination..be ready for LOTS of porosity if your part is not SPOTLESS!

 

good info

 

Fluxcore weld the **** out of it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRXDrew &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Fluxcore weld the **** out of it. </TD></TR></TABLE>
if you have nothing informative to say just don't type at all ok?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRXDrew &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Fluxcore weld the **** out of it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

It has been done... just ask the guys at homemadeturbo.com...HAHAHA!!