installing new waffle manifold

D

dronedog

Junior Member
started my job of changing to the waffle manifold heater. pulled the old one off and got the new one painted. a couple of questions i was hoping to get answered.

1) how tight do you all torque your manifold bolts?

2) while pulling apart, there were three of the seals in between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe. is that about normal? or do you normally use just one in there.

i ordered all new gaskets but only ordered one exhaust pipe gasket. also ordered a new condenser. probably the one in there is good for the heat but i figured i would change while there and put this old one in the door pocket just in case...

i am going to take the manifold to a machine shop this week to see about getting it shaved.
 
The manifolds are torqued to about 45 lbs.
If the exhaust flange is correct no gaskets should be needed.
The manifold gaskets that I have the best luck with are the one piece steel waffle style.

A's Always
Dave
 
dronedog said:
........................I am going to take the manifold to a machine shop this week to see about getting it shaved.
Click to expand...

Take the intake and the exhaust bolted together so they are resurfaced to fit up to the engine block.

If you do not surface them together you will create more problems!!!
 
The two piece copper gasket may be the best choice in my opinion.
Usebrass nuts on the muffler clamp instead of steel. Brass doesn't rust.
Pay attention to how the clamp is assembled the narrower side towards the manifold. If you mix the two halves up it won't hold.
 
31 Vicky said:
The manifolds are torqued to about 45 lbs.
If the exhaust flange is correct no gaskets should be needed.
The manifold gaskets that I have the best luck with are the one piece steel waffle style.

A's Always
Dave
Click to expand...

45 ft-lbs seems excessive?
 
The trouble with putting numbers on tightening is that the person sees those numbers as written in stone and goes and gets a torque wrench and trys to duplicate them. There were no torque wrenches when the model A was built. "Just tighten her up good!" was the only torque "specs" of the day. However, A good pressure with a 1/2" ratchet generally does well for me. But.... I found that if I didn't retighten them after the engine got hot , that they were loose, or looser.
You don't say where you live so I will put this out there, Majewsky Machine in Trenton, NJ has the jig for holding these "Beasts" (From a Machinist's perspective, they have too many rounded edges, hard to hold) and a Blanchard grinder to face them off, he charges $30 to do the job.
I will put one more tip out there. While the intake is off, Port it out with a grinder to Model B specs (Model A 1 3/16", Mod B Slightly over 1 1/4" ) Why? The stock mod A intake is rough cast finish and is actually a little small. When you clean up the finish and size it better, the engine breathes better. The roughness of the casting interferes with the air/gas mixture's flow, Polishing this roughness allows the engine to breathe better thus increasing the HP slightly. Don't expect it to feel like a "Blown Chevy big block' But it should run ever so slightly better for a small investment of time.
Terry
 
I use the copper gaskets & run a SMALL bead of HIGH TEMP Exhaust Sealant around the bores, on BOTH sides. (Not enough to squirt out & look messy!)
At the flange, I use the connector pipe & run a bead of the same sealant, down inside the flare. Also, I grease the inside of the clamp & TAP on it, as I tighten it. Be sure to re-tighten the manifold & clamps, several times after it has been driven. Be sure to buy the better, more expensive clamps.
Bill W.
 
thanks to all. great tips and nice to have an idea on the torque. the manifold bottles just did not seem very tight to me when i took them off.but no exhaust leaks... so guess it was fine.
 
Terry said:
"Just tighten her up good!" was the only torque "specs" of the day. However, A good pressure with a 1/2" ratchet generally does well for me. But.... I found that if I didn't retighten them after the engine got hot , that they were loose, or looser.
Click to expand...


Which is exactly what happened to me this morning. Put the heater on, tightened it what I thought was tight enough. About eight miles down the road, the clanking noise got loud and louder, stopped , check what was making the noise and....heater was loose. Got to the event, found a half inch socket and wrench and tightened it and this time a bit more. Was fine coming back.
 
dronedog said:
thanks to all. great tips and nice to have an idea on the torque. the manifold bottles just did not seem very tight to me when i took them off.but no exhaust leaks... so guess it was fine.
Click to expand...

Could you help us understand what a "manifold bottles" is???
 
55 pounds is the recommended dry torque for 7/16 studs, 45 is typically recommended for manifolds. The value I have used extensively as well as others...

A's Always
Dave
 
dronedog - I hope your shop takes the time to set it up properly and shave it parallel to fit to the block AND the area where the cover attaches. If not you won't be able to remove and install the cover as it won't clear the distributor. Don't ask how I know.
 
Thanks I did notice it was tight to slide in there and out.
And yes this iPad does jump to words sometimes when I misspell. Sorry about that.
Took the manifold and the intake to a machine shop this morning.
 
well the job finally appears to be over. got everything hooked back up and it seems to be leak-free. thanks to all for the tips and info.
of course it got up to 67 here today so not much need for a heater at this point.
 

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