Ceramic coating the manifolds

[yoface13]

Has anyone had their exhaust manifolds ceramic coated? Mine look terrible and I feel like I need to do something about them.

I guess it's supposed to help in the performance department, but it will also help in protection/longevity.

I haven't taken them off before. Anything to watch out for?

 

[KyleT]

i wouldnt mess with it untill you need to replace the manifolds.

 

[ERover82]

Swapped out old for some coated ones from Lucky8. Less heat but that's about it. They get dirty like everything else.

 

[yoface13]

Mine are completely covered in rust. Also. This is kind of driven by the fact that I can get them cleaned and coated for fifty bucks. It's kind of a deal.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Who coats them for $50? That's pretty cheap, but I wouldn't bother doing it unless you already have them off for other work. I had Jet Hot do a set for a motor I built and it was about $150.

 

[KyleT]

I don't think the 50 does the inside. The inside is the important part for performance.

 

[kennith]

Mine are ceramic coated. I did it to lower engine bay temperatures a bit, and of course to keep everything looking nice.

Rust traps contaminants, impedes diagnostics and cleaning, and looks bad.

It's not going to eat all the way through those manifolds any time soon, though. It builds up so fast that it may as well be a coat of paint.

If you're thinking about coating your manifolds, you may as well do it. It's not going to hurt anything.

Sometimes it's easier to buy some used parts, though. That way, you can do what you want to them and then simply swap them out in an hour or so; you won't be without your vehicle for any length of time. If you've got the cash, it can save you a lot of headache.

If parking the car long enough to get it done is a problem, just buy some used crap. The process of coating exhaust manifolds is essentially a restoration, anyway.

Most powder shops can handle it, but there are mail order and internet services that specialize in such things.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[ukoffroad]

Tillers was selling some, but it was a while back.

 

[yoface13]

my bad. it was 50 bucks per side. and it was a deal because a buddy and i are doing them at the same time at this local place and the guy is trying to get rid of his silver/gray coating.

restoration? oh man. i don't want to think of this in terms of a restoration. i see what you're saying though. i wanted to do the same thing with powder coating some wheels. it's easier to just buy some used ones, have them powder coated, then put on than it is to do anything else... well, i could just spray paint them.

by the way, thanks for the picture. clean engine envy...

 

[bosshogt]

I have a set of ceramic coated manifolds and they are pealing off after 3+ years. They looked cool for awhile. Now they are grayed out and oxidized. Mine were $75 to coat for the pair. I do not think they were coated internally. I did not notice any difference in heat under the hood. I had a passenger side manifold gasket deteriorate to nothing, so it was logical to install the ceramic coated manifolds and put new gaskets on at the same time. Now I'm looking at Headers on Craigs List. But those will take some cutting from a muffler shop to install. It would be nice to have those ceramic coated internally and externally b/c they will be steel. They are off of a P38 Range, but should fit since DII's have the same heads.

 

[mbrummal]

No, P38 headers do not fit on a D2 without modifications. The rest of the exhaust will not just bolt up.

 

[yoface13]

I got them done. Look good enough. Reading ~35 degrees cooler than before. Bought new manifold bolts. I sandblasted the spacers. Didn't have time to hit them with paint or anything. I wanted to have them coated as well but the guy forgot about it. The down pipe studs were a pain. Couldn't get some out and had to reuse a few. One got mangled and was forced to drill and tap it. If I could do it over I would have a muffler shop reinstall it.

 

[jymmiejamz]

You could get the spacers coated with cadmium plating to make them look like new, or just buy new ones.