Lincoln 317 Y block. Has the crossover pipe that goes across the front of the motor connecting the two exhaust manifolds. Common for the drivers side manifold to crack with these things which mine has done. I have a replacement but I'd like to try and avoid cracking that one too. At some point Ford decided to go with a slip joint on the crossover but these eventually rust over and become a solid piece. What do you think of cutting a section of the crossover out and adding a flex pipe of some sort? Maybe one of those mesh ones? Some of those are as small as 4" long. That should allow for all sorts of expansion and contraction. Do you think it could add extra unwanted heat at the front of the motor? That straight spot in the middle of the crossover seems like the best location to me. The coolant line that is closest to it is a metal line.
Is it the cross-over that is breaking the manifold? International had an inline 6 that was in a lot of school buses and every one broke. It is probably more to do with poor design of the manifold than the cross-over. I'd try leaving the manifold nuts just slightly less tight, so the manifold can crawl around a bit. If heat wouldn't kill them, I'd suggest belleville washers under the nuts If you try the flex pipe, I don't think it will create a heat problem, if anything the "mesh" will act as insulation.
Ditch those manifolds and get some ram's horns, or headers. Single best thing you can do for a Y-Block.
The mesh sounds like a great idea. What have you got to lose to try it. Show us pictures please. My '50 shoebox cracked the driver side exhaust manifold too - I bet for the same reason.
I would think that if the crossover were the culprit the crack would be further forward in the manifold.
Yeah it's always the drivers side on the Y blocks. Next time I want to find a manifold it will probably be even harder so I'd like to not crack this one. As far as the crossover being the culprit, I believe this is why Ford started adding the slip joint. My '52 crossover pipe is a solid piece, starting in 53 they starting adding the slip joint. It's even shown this way in the parts manual with 52 being a single piece unit.
So are you thinking you need a flex pipe because each side of the engine is flexing independently causing the manifold to break? Hmmm....
I'm a little skeptical too. I would think the crossover pipe would crack at the weld before the manifold would break between two sets of bolts (assuming the manifold wasn't loose).
Does it have a heat riser baffle in the manifold. They rust in the closed position causing the manifold to break.
The Jalopy Journal
