I currently have a cracked exhaust manifold on my .225 Slant 6. A friend had his father pull an old exhaust/intake manifold off a .225 from his junkyard. It's a bit dirty but not cracked. Do I need to clean the chambers out on the inside and if so, what is the best way to get this manifold ready to install?

I would just scrape off the worst, and install it.

if you really want to clean it, go to home depot and buy Muratic Acid, it's in the pool section..

careful with that stuff though, it's really strong

just put the muratic acid in a big plastic container and put the manifold in it, wait about 1 hour and take the manifold out, dry it off and then you can paint it..

the acid is like 4 bucks..

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

does that remove rust too? Or just the carbon? Would that be a home way to dunk a head?

MJ

Hey Rust collector, NewLancerMan wants you out of here...

Just an advice, Muratic Acid is just a "light" concentration of clorhidric acid, it is extremely harmful for your health and is very corrosive with metals... cleans great though. Follow ValiantBoy instructions and don't overexpose the manifold to the acid... also, avoid being close to the part while in the acid, clorhidric acid releases hydrogen when in contact with metals, and you know it is flammable.

Tell us how it got cleaned.

Ed

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

Thanks for all the advice. I should hae something figured out within a week as she's past due for an inspection and she won't pass until I fix this manifold. I'll probably go with muratic acid idea but where should I dispose of used acid?

PS-my car is a 1964 Plymouth Belvedere

NLM will have to get in the line with all the other people that want me gone...

I have used battery acid for cleaning up rusty and gooey things, works great!
I try to neutralize the acid after I am done, with water and baking soda, but I don´t know if that is the way to do it, but it seems to work.
I did a volvo head, from a boat, and it cleaned up nice!

the way i disposed of my acid was cleaning my drive way, i poured some of it on the concrete and then just sprayed water continuously for about 10 mins, if you mix enough water with it, the acid will lose it's power

i put a thermostat housing in the acid once and forgot about it, here's what happened....






good luck!

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

Told ya... that could be YOUR manifold.

Cheers

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

My GOD that's a bad idea.

I don't mean "bad idea" as in majoring in Political science; I mean "BAD IDEA" as in investing your life savings in JetsGo stock. Why would you use muriatic acid for cleaning engine parts when you can go to any truck shop or equipment shop and have someone power wash it. Better yet, go to an engine rebuilder and have them hot-tank the parts overnight.

It will take you longer and cost more money to buy all the REQUIRED personal protective equipment, buy the acid, dispose of it properly and take a trip to the hospital because youve just melted your eyeballs right out of your face than it would to drop it off and get it hot-tanked. You probably dont even have to do that; just wire brush off the rust and wipe the grease off, split the manifolds and replace the gasket, bolt it on and tighten the bolts.

The only thing I EVER use muriatic acid for is cleaning dried concrete off of cement mixers. You need neoprene "Doctor NO" gloves and apron, full face shield and respirator to use it. Dont use it, there is no need.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Take that back! I would NEVER! (besides I hate standing in line)

Listen to the words of wisdom... I think I fully agree with steponme. I've witnessed several things destroyed by this acid from ceramics to hard metals (had to replace a whole toilet thanks to our sour friend); the only thing it respects is plastic. That's why I posted my warning advice. And there is another reaction with this acid, if it gets in contact with water, it releases heat, gets real hot... doesn't get neutralized instantly.

Nice having you guys watching over us mortals.

Ed

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My other car is... another DUSTER!!! .·.

Well I'll tell you what I read in an auto-restoration book. Buy the crystal drain opener and mix it up with 5 gallons of water. Drop your part in there, let it sit and rust and crud be gone. I tried it, worked well and cleaned up pretty nice. Disposal is a problem with all of this crap, so make sure you go to that neighbor of yours that always is making snide comments about how you should mow your lawn more often and pour a little on their rose bed. Then a little more in their sump pump. Wait no, that wasn't me!

But yes, do yourself a favor, don't mess with any of this crap without a respirator, real chemical gloves and goggles. It ain't worth messing with otherwise.

MJ

you flushed muriatic acid down the toilet?

No offense, but I think next time I vacation down there I will bring a couple jugs of spring water with me.

Crystal drain opener is LYE, which is an alkali, not an acid. This is actually a good idea, in fact hot-tanks use an alkali solution. But it is still corrosive. It's still so easy to take it in and shoot the guy $10 to tank your parts rather than deal with the harmful chemicals yourself. If you mix it too strong or fail to completely neutralise the chemical when youre done, the parts will be damaged.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Steponme is right—home use of acids to clean parts is several different kinds of bad. Lye works well, but home "tanking" in lye is, as he says, problematic from a hazardous materials standpoint. There are times when small-scale parts cleanup is needed; for these a trigger-spray bottle of lye-based oven cleaner is a much more easily tractable home solution. It will take grease, paint, most kinds of rust and a lot of "etcetera" off iron, steel, stainless, brass, bronze and copper. As with acids and other alkalis, do not use it on any aluminum, magnesium, or zinc diecast part you ever want to see/use again. Cleanup is with plenty of water, and hand/face/exposed skin/breathing protection is MANDATORY.

It really is easier to find a shop with a hot tank and let them deal with it.