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Intake and exhaust manifolds
a simple technique that really works
electrolysis, anyone?
My exhaust manifold had a broken ear, but one of the members of our group was nice enough to send me a replacement. Like most exhaust manifolds, or any cast iron part for that matter, it had quite a bit of rust buildup both inside and out. I was looking at pricey chemicals on line and reading a variety of good and bad reviews when I remembered hearing about electrolysis to remove rust. "It will probably take a few weeks for it to work," I thought to myself, but it was much cheaper than the expensive chemicals so I thought I'd give it a try. Talk about WOW factor!! Even though I let this manifold soak for two days, you could see it working after just a couple hours. And the process is simple - just fill a tank with water, and add two tablespoons of washing soda per gallon of water. WASHING soda, not baking soda, they are different. Suspend the part into the water and insert an iron or steel rod several inches away to act as a sacrificial anode. Connect a battery charger positive clamp to the anode and the negative clamp to the part. Use a small trickle charger set at just a few amps. Then walk away. Here you can see that the manifold has returned to its near-new cast iron finish and look at all the rust the anode collected! I was blown away by how effective this process was. Total cast was $3.39 for the washing soda, of which I used about one-third of the box. Make sure to treat the part as soon as it is dry, as it will begin to flash rust very quickly.
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treating the part
I bought a product from Eastwood made for treating cast iron and restoring it to its natural color. I simply painted it on with a brush. The actual color is a little darker than it appears in this photo, but in my opinion it is still a little too light in color. I am thinking it will turn darker once the manifold is heated up by the engine.
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Hot spot
That is the official name of this part. It sits between the intake and exhaust manifolds and directs hot exhaust gases toward the base of the carburetor (English spelling is carburettor) to warm up the incoming air fuel mixture for better atomization. When I first disassembled my manifolds, the shoehorn piece fell out and I had no idea what it was. I soon found out by asking and looking at some reference material. The hot spot that was in the manifolds I received from our club member had been partially eaten away with rust and also fell apart when I disassembled the manifolds, so I cleaned up my original and re welded it to the mounting plate. I live in the desert southwest, so probably don't even need this feature, but since I was able to salvage it, I will go ahead and use it.
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