I have a 95 XJR . I took my CAT to a exhaust shop told him I need a new exhaust , after being floored by the cost of that , he notices a exhaust leak at the Manifolds . He said he could weld it . I told him no way Ill replace before I weld IRON . I ordered 2 manifolds and gaskets . I took the heat shield off and both are cracked in the center WTF !! Do the supercharged motors run that hot ?? is this normal to have happen ?? My thought was a sudden thermal change like a puddle of water ? Or maybe the guy that owned this before me ran the **** out of it !! Any thoughts ?
Thanks in advance

 

It's pretty common on X300s and more so on the XJRs. I think the castings are just too thin.

Both of mine cracked. I was lucky enough to find two good used ones for $100 each.

Cheers
DD

 

Wow , that's cheap . The ones I bought were more but also the manifold closest to the fire wall has an opening where the one I have doesn't . I'm wondering if I can effectively cap that . I'm guessing its an emission something or other.
Thanks for the info

 

It's for an EGR pipe....which not all of the cars have. I threaded the hole and used a pipe plug. If you don't have the stuff to do it any machine shop can do it for you in just a few minutes if you catch 'em at the right time.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug , thanks again I will do that . Gotta get the Cat back on the road , now I need to decide on the exhaust . UGH !!

 

The cracking is a common issue. I had good luck cleaning my manifolds up and repairing the cracks with a product called Thermosteel. It hardens as it gets hotter..worked wonders! I no longer own a cat, but just figured I'd chime in.