how did that happen?

 

Bad head gasket, my second cat was killed by oil being sucked out of the hose from the valve cover to the throttle body elbow.

 

Discovered my exhaust manifold has a crack. Do you all think gong to a stainless header would be a good choice?

 

No not really, there cast iron manifold is good, Dorman offers one under $100.00 on the RockAuto website

 

Shiny stuff adds horse power. At least 10 HP per dollar.
Exactly what improvement would you expect?
Make sure the manifold is actually cracked, they have a split in the casting that looks like a crack between 2 & 3. I know the hard way.

 

Just to avoid cracking and rusting. If I can get a couple HP from it, then that's a bonus. Most of the SS headers I've seen are about the same cost as the cast iron. I've already ran a leak test with my highly technical Rigid vacuum cleaner and soapy water. Has a nice 3 inch crack on the top.

 

When did it overheat? That is what causes that type of crack. That probably also melted the catalyst.

 

I haven't owned this that long and it hasn't had any over heating issues. I haven't gotten to the Catalytic Converter yet, but I'll post info as I get to it. It has the stock exhaust manifold so it lasted 14 years. Most Catalyst systems are designed to last 80,000 miles and I'm at 83,000. So I'm guessing it's just wear and tear at this point. I do know the previous owners were an older couple who bought this new.

 

The cat has a Federally mandated warranty of 80,000, that does not mean life expectancy; most last "forever". They don't wear out, they get abused.
The manifold could overheat from having raw fuel dumping into hot gasses from a misfire, which in turn melts the catalyst. The normal operating temp of the catalyst is around 1400F, dump some raw fuel or super heated gas on that and you get mass destruction.

 

I agree 100%, however as a vehicle ages it will more than likely have maintenance issues that will create havoc on the exhaust system. Unfortunately, most people wait until they have a problem before seeking repair. I've had a few 2000 year vehicles that had the OEM CAT, but all of them it needed replaced almost immediately. It seems just about everyone that I've talked to has had at least one Catalytic Converter horror story.

Hopefully, I don't have go go too deep in the rabbit hole.


Robert