Manifold spreader

[Kyle89]

Just purchased a manifold spreader. I'm either going to break my driverside manifold or it's gonna work lol I've used them before and broke alot of them. I figured I'm going to use some heat to keep the cast iron from snapping.

 

[someotherguy]

Passenger side can be a real PITA too and they'll also break. What sucks is they break inside the sheetmetal duct for the hot air supply that goes to your air cleaner flap.. so when you're boneyard shopping for a replacement, you can't tell if it's cracked or not until you take it off the engine and then bang on it to see if it sounds dead. Or, grind the rivets off the duct and remove.

I've had decent luck using the spreader tool; just take it a tiny bit at a time until you can get the bolt started without crossthreading it. There's a small amount of slack in each hole so use it to your advantage and bolt up the end that needs spreading first, instead of bolting up the other end and then fighting the ones that need spreading. If necessary you can then spread the other end a smaller amount if they won't reach.

Richard

 

[evilunclegrimace]

If one end of the manifold is tight I always use 2 spreaders and start the bolts on the tight end first. There is always a bit of extra room in the manifold holes to allow some wiggle room.