header maybe ?

[justwontdie]

hi guys. i have a 99 newbeetle with the 2.0l, 5 speed, bone stock. i have had two factory exhaust manifolds develop cracks. i was told this was common. minor problem but sounds crappy. any quick fixes ? if not, rather than looking for another factory item, i was thinking about something aftermarket. any suggestions ?

[rommeldawg]

there really isnt much aftermarket in the way of headers for these, sai and O2 sensors, the second manifold was new or junkyard? honestly we havent seen one come in cracked yet... earlier mk2 and 3 common to see the studs broken and the manifolds warped.

[justwontdie]

hi rommeldawg. thanks for the response. the first was the original for the car and the second was sourced from a junkyard but was not cracked when i got it although i guess some defect could have been hiding. glad to hear that it is not so common. just try another used one maybe ?

[Jay-Bee]

I picked up a used one that ended up being cracked just as bad as the one I was replacing, it only cost me 17$ shipped lol.

I took it to a shop, had them clean it up, bur off the rough inside welds and then had them go over all the brazzed connections with some weld.

Seems to be holding up good so far.

[justwontdie]

thanks jay-bee. that sounds like a good plan. i will look for another used one and ask around about someone to do the detailing. shame nobody offers an affordable header. i was kinda looking forward to a mod or two.

[Jay-Bee]

Nobody?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/OBX-Exhaust-Heade...item27b5aa870e

[Project_121]

Somehow, I'm on my third friggin exhaust manifold for my 2.0. My first stock one cracked at 123k so I went and pulled on off a junker and then THAT one cracked...the whole friggin weld in the tube FAILED and it sounded like i was running strait pipe. LOL Now I'm on my third and its help up well so far.....stupid cheapo welds!

Wish I new about the OBX headers back then...I'm sure it would have saved me a few hundred....

BEST OF LUCK!!

[justwontdie]

thanks for the link jay-bee. i went to ebay and queried for beetle headers but just got used ones for the beetle. went to OBX's site and they have golf jetta and passat. no beetle. did you post that header pic because a golf or jetta item fit the beetle ? i had already done some looking around with no success. i will do some more searching.

[Jay-Bee]

Same engine so it will be a direct fit header, I don't think the firewall clearance changes much on a NB, just the front bumper and fender area.

I know Vdubbugman and others are running turbo, if there's enough room for a turbo mani and the turbo back there I don't see an issue, but don't count 100% on it... things like the steering rack could be shifted to the rear.

[rommeldawg]

thats a nice looking header... im goin turbo but if i werent i'd get one. nice find

[Glegor]

get the stamped stainless steel manifold. ive seen them on lots of mk3 cars.. it looks like it CANT CRACK..

[justwontdie]

yeah, the obx stuff looks good. i'm going to contact them and see if they can match one up with my beetle. thanks for all the input guys.

[justwontdie]

hi guys. thought i would let you know how my adventure finished up. i had my mechanic pull the existing manifold to see if it could be repaired and found that a reweld had already been tried but was done badly. after grinding off the jumk welds, the manifold looked good and a competent local shop reworked it for us. it came back looking great and has been in use for a while now. what a relief. comment from the welding shop was that the tubing vw used is thinner than would be recommended for the weld type and the intended operating heat range of the assembly, thus leading to the failure. i don't have the background to say but get the impression that if the welding shop knows what approach should be taken that, this repair is viable. i spent $100 on the welding services. i'll let you know if it fails. if it does, i'll go for a header. thanks to all who responded.

[gamefoo21]

The AEG manifold is quite good, and will easily outflow the head.

I got the TT downpipe, and it will fit though TT denies this and lists it only for the Golf and Jetta. The biggest problem I have with the TT downpipe is that while it allowed me to get away from the factory 'assembly' with it's expense, the factory downpipe was actually built better... Go figure eh?

Due to the RPM limits with the AEG the 4-2-1 setup is probably the best there is. To keep the factory manifold from cracking, I'd reccomend getting it coated in a high temp ceramic.

[justwontdie]

Hi guys. Just thought I would check in on this. The car is still being driven and the repair I described in Nov 2008, rewelding the factory manifold is still holding up. I think it has been long enough to call it a success Thanks again for the tips.

[ChunkyPeanuts]

I went and decided to try something different and purchased from OBX headers and downpipe with a cat delete. as of right now with my basic bolt ons i have not noticed a REAL difference. but im sure once i throw my neuspeed S/C on it it will def. benifit from it. so if your just trying to gain horsepower. its the biggest waste of 400$

[justwontdie]

sorry to hear that you're less than impressed $400 is real money. I was just trying to get rid of that cracked exhaust manifold sound so I'm happy. Hopefully you're right about it helping with your sc adventure. Looking forward to seeing that thread soon.