ebay cast iron top mount issues

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AndrewHuffman
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ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by AndrewHuffman »

i began to port match the runners when i immediately noticed this issue

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if you look at the port on the left, you can see the gasket wont get squished between the flange and the head, i fear this is going to blow the gasket out.

some ideas ive have is to slot all the holes for the studs to center all the ports ans get a good clap on the gasket....

or weldt more materal to the flange and grind down flat to create a larger area for clamping.
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Post by sil-coupe »

Holy crap! I'm soo glad you posted this... I was looking into one of these for temporary use. Now I see that isn't a very good idea.

My first thought was also slotting the mount holes, but even then you're going to have so little material in front of the first runner and behind the last runner. Looks like an 1/8" right?
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Post by supakat »

I welded more material on mine. I forgot about this.
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Post by sil-coupe »

I was going to suggest the same thing. Prob needs to be resurfaced anyway. Man that's a lot of match work!

Not to treadjack, but is the single cam version just as bad?
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Post by supakat »

Here is mine. I did not mind cause it was a cheap mani and I wanted to test out my HX.

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Post by shift_down »

What tool did you use to eat at the mani?
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Post by supakat »

Carbide cutters.
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Post by schmauster920 »

Thanks for posting this, i have one sitting on my table here that i have been meaning to port out.

Im going to be doing the same thing plus maybe welding on an angled flange to make it a bottom mount. Just giving you an idea
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Post by sdaigle240 »

3 pack at sears 30 bucks. can prob find em cheaper elsewhere, but their always there.
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Post by AndrewHuffman »

Keep in mind there are two styles of eBay cast manis... I got the one where the turbo sits directly on cylinder 2. The other one has the turbo between 2 and 3. Looking back at pics I'm pretty sure the other version has bigger ports.
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Post by skullzaflare »

i know old thread, but does anyone have the measurements from a unported mani? center of # to center of #4?
i swear it looks like they made it for a mitsubishi 4g54b and not the ka24de
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Post by AndrewHuffman »

just got another update on this.

my friend who has been running this mani for 6 months went back to his old one.

well the gasket they sent turned out to be aluminum and melted the turbo to the mani.
and there is carbon everywhere out #4, and he was using the copper gasket.

please dont use this POS
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Post by AndrewHuffman »

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Post by shane vasquez »

What about ceramic coating them before hand? Any one try that?
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Post by AndrewHuffman »

Ceramic coating will have no affect on the fitnent. That's a different topic all together.
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Post by schmauster920 »

has anyone had these crack? The port alignment on mine is a lot better even though i have an otherwise identical manifold
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Post by AndrewHuffman »

are you sure its identical?
there are two very common ebay manifolds and the other style fits well.

i doubt anyone could crack one though
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Post by schmauster920 »

I marked the head with RTV and put it on so it transferred around the exhaust ports, ill post up a pic later today


Either way it flows like a turd
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Post by tapdeznutz »

subscribing for info.
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Post by schmauster920 »

Im really going to post that pic up today... really
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Post by schmauster920 »

Did you guys port your head already? It wont leave a lot of room for gasket seal but should look like supas

My ports are stock and ive got a bit of room.. you can see where the rtv squished up into the port and then came off


You can just slot the bolt holes a little and have the manifold hang down if it truly doesnt line up well


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Post by AndrewHuffman »

so your manifold covers past the port about 1 mm.

the difference here, is i checked useing my gasket... and the gasket ports are usually bigger than the head ports.

so even if you have 1mm of overlap, it wont overlap enough to cover the hole the gasket will leave
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Post by schmauster920 »

Ok i see what you mean now. I got it for 60 so ill try and make it work. It still wasnt worth it lol

It will motivate me to build a real manifold.. or at least one that has the correct shaped exhaust ports.
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by chillmieste »

i made 276hp 280 tq with this manifold unported in my ka. after 2 years it started to get hairline cracks(i bought a cast to avoid this too!) then finally saved for a better manifold never looked back
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by schmauster920 »

i was afraid of something like this.

Thanks for posting it up! You really cant trust china for car parts apparently
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by boosted93 »

Damn.. MY manifold is getto but at least it all lines up lol..

I will think twice before buying an ebay manifold.. who else makes cheap manifolds for SOHC ka's?
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by erich »

I've had a RevHard (what the ebay cast manifolds were copied from) on my car since 2001 with no cracks (so far!)
Do not slice the reinforcement bar between the runners. It keeps the manifold from trying to twist.
Slot the bolt holes like the stock manifold to keep it from cracking.
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by sdaigle240 »

still think this is the best budget build option out there. just had my younger buddy get one of theses. 80$, gotta work with a budget. freeing up 300$ worth of manifold gave him money to play with elsewhere, like going for nismo injectors over DW. or being able to afford nistune. we'll grind the ports square and weld on some more to the flange for sealing. flex pipe as closr to the turbo as possible and a few years is cool with me.
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by shift_down »

I agree with you daigle. I've been running that cast mani for some time now. The ports are definitely not matched to that ka head, which is weird to me; but its worked well so far with no leaks. I think if you port match the Mani, you will get better flow and faster spool time.
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Re: ebay cast iron top mount issues

Post by AndrewHuffman »

all im saying is there is another design on ebay that is $99 with much bigger ports and lines up well.
the disadvantage is the turbo is closer to the bmc.

nevalift had to revert back to this one after upgrading to a ebay t3/4. he did slot the holes to move the mani over the port and its working great.
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