SidewaySStarion Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 So after not touching my ITB car for almost a year I decided to pull the SMB header to see how bad off it was, I'll let the pictures do the talking. http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9038.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9039.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9040.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9041.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9042.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9043.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9044.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9045.jpghttp://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/th_IMG_9046.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikconq Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Uhhhh junk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLHS Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) A whole lot of it,how bad did it sound with all them cracks? Edited November 5, 2012 by GLHS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starquestJOE Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Not worth it's weight in scrap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedyquest Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Those welds look like something I'd do and I just started to weld... Ouch sorry man! Allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankbob Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Those welds look like somebody practicing with their new $50 harbour freight welder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turborusty Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Bah! That'll buff right out. Turborusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper1355 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 That looks a lot like the welds I made the first and only time I ever welded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 The cracks first started on the way to vegas. If I remember the story correctly chris tried to weld/patch it in vegas for mark. Then the headder cracked again. Looks like the HAZ that cracked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natallica Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Some Mighty Mend-It putty or Leak Ender 2000 spray and that thing'll be as good as new! -N8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Mark if you wouldn't mind I would like to see if I could anneal the metal and possible fix the cracks with brazing rod to prevent further cracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstieg Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Could you find a very good welder to re-make it or use as template for a new one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikconq Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 "BILLY MAYS here",,,,mighty mend-it putty will fix your header,just like new. Excuse me while I go snort some coke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTTY Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Cracked header made by a crackhead . Coulda, shouda but didn't for personal financial gain ,a douchebag of the highest caliber . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobH Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Man am i glad i ddint buy one of those i was rdy to when i did my mpi car but decided to scrap that and drop a 2j in it instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 WOW!!!! I never got to see one of these. I heard they were all junk after a while, but hadn't seen the product. Now that I have....I hate to say it, but anyone who bought one of those and pulled out of the box when they got it and saw the welds should have boxed it right back up and sent it back for a refund. Why would any of you want something that looked like that on your car? Let alone the fact that it's obvious from the crappy welds that it would fail at a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 adding brazeing to the weld is bad news ,,brass will crack some thing terribly with a turbo engine ,,and once you braze it you won't be able to reweld it with any thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Popcorn weld fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 i have yet to see many headers stand up to daily driveing , they were design'd for drag raceing , a drag car see's very little driveing over it's life time,,and few heat and cool down cycles compair'd to a daily driven car for a daily driver i'd sugest a heavy pipe log style manifold over a tube header , may not give same results but will certainly last longer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starquestJOE Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 mine just re cracked after my car cooled down from its last pull on the dyno. i did drive 700+ miles without it cracking to and from OCMD. the first time it had only lasted 150 street miles. once i pull it off ill post the pics im goin to get a sc40 manifold made and be done with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SidewaySStarion Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Well here's the story, so I ordered the header up in June of 2011 when I decided to go MPI, SMB said he would make mine out of stainless so it would be stronger and wouldn't have any issues with cracking. After waiting 4 months the header finally showed up in September 2011 and I wanted to have the car ready to go to Sotty's meet so I decided to just run it and see how long it lasted. We did 3 high boost pulls on the car to make sure the tune was good and off I went to vegas, by the time I hit barstow (~120 miles away) the header was already leaking pretty bad and by the time I hit Vegas the wastegate tube was no longer joined to the header. I called up SMB and went over to his house where he attempted to weld it back up which kept it sealed till about barstow on the return trip. After coming home I drove the car very little and it mainly sat in storage for the past year. I'd have to say in total that header only has ~700 miles on it most of which is to Vegas and back. As for the future of this header, I'm going to use it as a template to build a header out of proper material and after that Jeff you're more then welcome to do with it as you see fit. http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c255/sidewaysstarion/SMB.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I was under the understanding that ( info from many professional welders ) that SS would not be the metal of choice for a turbo header due to the metal becomeing brittle under high heat such as seen on turbo engines , cracking would be a given temps inside a turbo manifold are more then double what an NA engines see's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Depends on how thick it is though. If it can dissipate the heat effectively then cracking isn't a huge concern. Either cast log style manifold or inconel tubular is the way to go, although the price quadruples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SidewaySStarion Posted November 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 Well either way what he sent me was 16 gauge mild steel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC_99 Posted November 5, 2012 Report Share Posted November 5, 2012 I was under the understanding that ( info from many professional welders ) that SS would not be the metal of choice for a turbo header due to the metal becomeing brittle under high heat such as seen on turbo engines , cracking would be a given temps inside a turbo manifold are more then double what an NA engines see's It all depends on the stainless steel used, just like aluminum and other metals, there are several variations of stainless steel. Until a few years ago, all of our headers run on our race cars were stainless. We use inconel now. I know its not a turbo header and is only n/a, but before that point is made, understand that our race cars run for several hundred miles at over 8000 RPM and the headers (from the primaries all the way to the collectors) glow white to red when at full temp under a full pull dyno run. Very similar to what you see on a turbo manifold/header. I think the temps sustained there would be found similar to a turbo manifold. A properly made stainless header can and will withstand the beatings of the track or being DDen. Its all about the proper techniques being used when the header is built, and not over heating the metal and back purging inside of the header with argon while its being welded. I personally know of some guys that claim they are building and running aluminum headers on turbo v-8 drag cars. I thought it sounded crazy when I heard it, and though I havent seen them run, the info came from a very reputable fabricator and racer that I work with. It can be done, if the proper measures are taken, but like anything that actually works and lasts, its not gonna be cheap. BC_99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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