Fair enough, I didn't know about any other issues.

At least when I went out and paid for the prototype work I never gave buyers false information.
The current seller on eBay is spouting complete bs about it being a performance manifold and asking £350 for it.
I did all the leg work and then some dick finds my supplier and starts bugging up and putting the price up. These manifolds are worth £230 tops please don't be fooled.
Paul

Paul,
Have you been in contact with Truffle to rectify this?



Absolutely. And a yardstick in so many other fields.

nigel has hit it on the head there thats what makes a true specialist

If there's a moral to this story then it possibly lies above.

I'm not saying there isn't a quality issue but it looks like the warning was there.

I have one of these manifolds fitted and I'll certenly be keeping my ears peeled.

But thats standard practice with any car,regardless of age.

you say that but coupes are renowned for leaky manifolds, ive had 3 coupe and all of them at some point have had a stud go or a crack in the casting.

If some of the manifolds, if not all are as bad as the pics make out to be then the makers need briefing up about the quality.

either way good to see the problem is being voiced and sorted out instead of covered up.

90% of the cast FIAT manifolds crack and break yet we dont go crying to fiat. This is the first most have heard about it and the maker has come out and addressed the issue.

Nigel is has hit the nail on the head

Well we did initially and some of us got a replacement paid for as a good will gesture, thanks to the efforts of Nigel, and my "mark 3" replacement is still going fine. But that was a long time ago and the story is now legend...

LOL - that was a blast from the past - We ended up with over eighty manifolds replaced at Fiat's cost - something like £50,000 worth of parts and labour

In this case though, I don't believe the maker has done anything whatsoever to resolve it, he's merely agreed this was a bad example. Credit where credit's due, not when it's not

Nigel's comment still stands.

Went to see a coupe with a friend on the weekend.

Ex forum car (can't rmember the plate), been mapped by flea and had one of these manifolds.

Sounded like a tractor, though the price was right and was bought anyway. On taking off the heatshield today, the manifold has failed on the welds.

Seriously guys, stainless steel fatigues over a relatively short period of time depending on its grade. I certainly wouldn't use a stainless steel manifold on a turbo charged engine due to the excessive heat the engine produces.

You really are asking for trouble.

I was really tempted by these but decided against it on the basis that there wasnt any research to suggest that they didnt perform worse than the standard manifold. phew!

Just a comment. At work we got a fabricater in as we up against it.
I showed him the pics and he said that stainless is not really the way to go with manifolds or exhausts for that matter! As they are prone to cracking, even with good welds. And suggested that they really need to be wrapped.
I was kind of surprised as I thought stainless would be a fit and forget item that would out live the car.
His background is motorsport, rollcages etc etc working on Colin McRaes cars and the like, so I guess he knows some.

It depends on which size and grade stainless is used, how its welded and heat treatment to normalise the whole unit once finished.

Out of interest, is the flange stainless ?
Just wondering as that's where it failed so badly

Yes all the components are made of stainless, unsure which grade though, I'm guessing 321 or 304 but maybe Paul could answer this?

They usually use zinc plated mild steel flanges, and hopefully they grind off the zinc layer before welding? 304 is what they tell they are made off, but for sure it is the cheapest grade you can find over there. 321 it is surely not and never will be also with this manufacturer.

By the looks of the weldfaillure at the flange, there is indeed no penetration at all, so the welder was actually not welding anything at all .

The crack at the collector looks alot like an stress crack, just like the oem ones do after hopefully a lot more km/s miles.

304 is indeed not the best material, but all others except steampipe are to expensive for most people.

Regards remco

hmm, I have one of these manifolds and will now be keeping a worried keen eye on it. Its been fitted for 9 months now and done around 2.5k miles it is still holding up ok sofar and I do give it something to stress over once in a while

Hello, this is how paul treats people ho byes his goods.
And I had to wait 6 months for my money from ebay/paypal !!

"You must be joking? You use my manifold that you have bought whilst you have your old one repaired and then expect me to give you a full refund. I'm very sorry but I cannot accept the damaged manifold if you have used and then damaged it. Regards Paul"

And this is what this poor boy says about me when he tryes to sell me his junk!

"First ebayer and what complete idiot never sell to him" Oct-04-10 10:37

Sounds like a .

I decided to have a go at welding my cracked manifold. No i am no welder but i am quite pleased with the results. If anyone wants one welded up ,just send a pm.
http://www.leboncoin.fr/equipement_auto/195101326.htm?ca=2_s

Joe, you shouldn't have.

Really, you shouldn't have!

I too have had problems with the stainless manifold I bought.

I fitted it while the engine was out of the coop & less than 6months & less than 1000 miles it was blowing !!

Took it off to find that the 5th branch (gearbox side) had cracked all the way around the weild & blown part of it out. Also found cracking along the weild where the manifold joins the turbo.

Had to buy another standard manifold from a helpful specialist that was over £200 inc postage with a Fiat 3 plated metal manifold gasket & all is ok now.

I'm pi**ed off that I paid for a crap manifold that also didn't seal to the cylinder head with the gasket supplied.

My 2 pennies worth.

I had mine fitted in December, just hope it holds out.

Mine begun leaking after 2 hours...

Mine has been sounding like a diesel for the last three months as far as i can see its cracked around one of the welds on the far right, can't see the turbo flange so i don't know if thats still holding. |But at the moment it doesn't sound like theres an exhaust attached when it starts.

not best pleased

Best thing you can do is stick a standard manifold (thats not cracked) & a metal fiat gasket back on !
It's got better flow than the one you have at the mo

Then you use the expensive bit of metal you take off as a door stop as thats all thats going to happen to it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-coupe-20v...ac#ht_720wt_905
this one started blowing after a week and has been back to a fiat garage twice and they tell me its a poor fit and maybe warped!