Tom Tech

Our old GC 95' had some trouble getting its smog last month. So, after some investigation the Smog-Dude reported that there was a hole in the exhaust manifold somewhere, causing exhaust to exit before the Cat Converter. Thus the converter never heated up enough to do the job. Replacement cost at the dealer: 900.00plus. At the local shop, 600.00plus. So being the industrious type I decided that I could get a new tuned manifold for less, put it on myself, and reap the benefits of better mileage, more horsepower, and a smog cert, all at once.
and here is a little document of my adventure.

Below, the engine after removing the Air cleaner and some other little things. Having never worked on this engine before I thought it best to take a bunch of photos first so I can find where everything goes....I also took the time to use some engine bright cleaner and my power washer to get as much dust and grease off first. That way I stay a little cleaner and there is less to get into the open ports.



Another CloseUp:


So now that I know where everything is, I start removing everything. Things to watch out for:
Fuel line: Get the tool or borrow one from Auto Zone. It takes 2 seconds to remove the line with the tool, it takes 30 frustrating min to realize you cant do anything without it!!
Bolts: access to the bolts was difficult, but not impossible, just have a nice variety of swivels and extensions and be prepaired to get into the compartment to do things (sorry, no pics of me up to my waist in Jeep).
Plastic: your going to break things. Mine is a 95 GC. Every plastic and rubber piece is dry, cracking, and just plain old. Stock parts are easy to get replacements for, and the custom ones look cool. Get all the rubber parts ahead of time if you can. I didnt.....
So after an hour or so, here is my first success:


As you can see from this close up, it was kind of dirty...


I took a little time with a brush, some solvent and a rag to clean as much of this out as I could. Don't know if it makes too much difference, but clean is always better, right?
To get to the lower exhaust manifold where it connects to the exhaust pipe, I had to jack the front of the jeep up and put it on jack stands. Safety first.!
Another hour of work and this was my prize:

And here is the reason for the whole exersize:


And another of the back side...


Man, that was a mess.

And here is the result in the compartment:

So, Super-Pumped up as I was after getting all this done, I started installing.
First I cleaned all the intake ports with a clean cloth and made sure all the old gasket and other debris were out of the way. Then I put a bit of goo on the back of the new gasket. This would prove to be really helpful in a few min. So after I was sure things were cool, I went for a dry fit:


OOOh, that looks *****en!
Too bad its going to be hidden under everything else...
Anyway, Things were going a bit too good. I could not get the manifold on straight. Meaning that front bolt went on but not the back, back on, not front. Well I banged things around and got this pic,but on further inspection I found the problem, the new pipes were just a smig to big and banging against the motor mount.




I'm not sure if this is bad or what, but I could not let things stay like this. So I took a chance. I removed everything, and grabbed my grinder with an abrasive pad, and took about 1/4" off the corner of the mount, Just enough to give some clearance. and everything fit cool. This was a bit of a "bubba" move but what the heck. If my motor drops off and the mounts crack I'll know why!
Heres how it looks now.


and another angle


So I happily bolted things together, and this is the end result of day one.


The unit mated fine to the exhaust pipe, I made sure all three bolts were on snugly. It required a bit of maneuvering to get all three bolts in there, I suppose the machining process of the new headers is more exact than my 15 year old block is, but in all I am happy with the work so far. I will post some pics on my next entry of the parts that needed special attention and the next phase of installation. This was all done today and I don't think I can get to this til the weekend, but you never know.
Hope you enjoy.
TomTech

Dwinthrup

Jealous!

redjeepZJ

NIce! cant wait to see the rest

CRoading

Nice work on that Exhaust Manifold...
I'll be checking this thread and hope to see it all put together...

ET JEEP

Heck, that was an easy JB Weld fix.


No really nice work. I like a clean engine. Once you finish make sure you check the manifold-engine mount clearance with the enging running. Make sure the gap is still there even with some engine movement.

Waiting for Chapter Two.

Tom Tech

Finished the exhaust as you saw sunday night. So take a good look at that fine manifold, because after everything is done, no one will ever see it again!
After some cleaning of deposits and gunk from the air intake and the manifold ports, I set the intake manifold in place, and my troubles began.
First, its just plain awkward to get under this thing for the bottom row of bolts. But after a few Circue du Sole' moves I got all but one bolt in. It was bolt number one shown on this diagram below:
The problem is that, unlike the neat diagram above, bolt #1 is now hidden behind the super efficient Edelbrock exhaust port. So, how do you get the bolt in, much less torqued properly? This one was more difficult than the motor mount problem from yesterday.
So I sat there and thunk a bit. Then I tried another Circus move. I stretched m right hand underneath the exhaust pipe, between the pipes and the engine block. There is just enough room there to get your arm, a bolt, and an open end wrench through. So I placed the bold and tightened it as much as I dared. The rest were not easy, but were not a problem in comparison.
Here is the engine after the intake is set.


Here is the result of having a double jointed right hand. Seriously, I dont know how this is supposed to be done without removing the entire block.

So the next challenge is the water pump. not to hard, just needed a lot of real cleaning. The mounts seem to capture a ton of greese or just emit it!
Put on the pump and tightened the belt, looks good so far.


During all this assembly there are a bunch of vacuum tubes. This being an old engine, most of these plastic parts have really solidified and are brittle. So I broke one.... After I wiped off my tears I decided to repair it. I was just too anxious to get this started that I went the cheapie way. I duck taped the two halves togather.

[IMG]file:///Users/tomross/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]
So finally I put all the rest together, and got the keys.
It Started supprizingly quickley, the engine just came to life without a hitch. And she purrs like a kitten. What a difference. The engine is in great shape and I should get some time out of her
So, the finished product:

Thanks to all and leave questions so I can have something else to say!!
Seeya
Tom

chero6

Good work and very detailed and clear pictures. Thanks for taking the time to send all the installation info.

Alex_Chantes

hey what kind of Manifold is that??? i'm looking for a good performance one for mine, since i'm rebuilding my engine. thanks dude

Tom Tech

Its an Edelbrock, what else?
almost any will do, but I liked this one, real strong but reasonably priced.
I later replaced the cat-converter and installed a new cat-back system. I had someone else do the work kuz I dont have the right tools or the guts to start cutting steel on my back!
Now she purrs like a kitten!

trucker

I had that crack too. I took the manifold to a shop and weld it. Works fine. Tip for others that try to install it. Put the bottom front and last nuts on before installing intake. The firewall side bolt can not be reach with intake on.
It is common for exhaust to crack at that place as the weight of the catalytic converter hung on. To prevent future cracks, I would recommend a mount at the front of catalytic converter or replace exhaust manifold with one what have flex tube at the end. I saw one in performance store.

fantic238

SICK!!

farmboy172

Thanks for the tutorial.

myhobbes25

This is the one I got and it was a perfect fit! I love it!: http://www.ineedparts.com/auto-parts...-manifold.html

sunday420

I'm going through the same thing right now if only i had the money to buy pipes like that ...:-)

jack1981

nice work! did you have to drain your coolant prior to doing the job? I'm not sure if the intake has coolant runners in it as well.