So I recently got my car out of the shop and I need the exhaust repaired as it has some 'heavy' leaks in it. The automotive shop told me the "heat riser" is cracked. My question is can you run the exhaust straight back from the manifold not using the heat riser. 55 cadillac with a 331. thanks.
without a heat riser the motor will just warm up slower....that may not be a issue down there in Texas. i don't even use one up here in Minnesota
You might have to modify the Y pipe if you take it out. You didn't say it had duals. Sometimes they crack and can be welded and sometimes the butterfly breaks and the leak is through the holes for the butterfly shaft. If it's still in one piece and leaking out the holes in the side, just melt out the butterfly if it's still in there and weld the holes up. If it's cracked it can usually be welded with a MIG. I've done it lots of times.
Not sure about that one, but GM loves to use a donut on one side and ungasketed machined surfaces on the other. I prefer to cut/grind out the flapper, mig the pivot shut, then mig the flapper body to the manifold, eliminating the gasket-less joint. If you wanna get tricky you can often port another 1/4" of diameter into the flapper body Like Tommy says, you're not supposed to be able to do that kind of welding with a mig. But many of us have successfully. The secret is the weld doesn't hold much. The studs put it all in compression and the weld is functionally a metal gasket. good luck
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