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Cracked manifold and melted fuel line

karstic

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Milwaukee
My exhaust manifold has a crack in it and has cause the nylon fuel return line to melt and spring a leak. This happened on a trip towing a tent trailer through desert heat. The motor was working pretty hard and when we stopped I noticed a fuel smell. There was a puddle of gas collecting under the Jeep. Needless to say I grabbed the fire extinguisher and shut down the Jeep. It seems that when I let the Jeep sit at an idle, the nylon line heated up from the escaping exhaust gases and the now pressurized return fuel line sprung a pinhole leak.

I replaced the fuel line but still have the cracked manifold. It’s just a matter of time before the right conditions occur and it will happen again. Ultimately I either have to replace or fix the header.

As a temp fix I was thinking of wrapping the exhaust header with the exhaust tape like they have at Summit Racing. Anyone foresee a problem with this? Like I said this is just temporary until I can deal with the header.
 
It MIGHT get you by enough to get home. Fix the manifold by installing a new one, don't put it off. Otherwise, make sure your insurance is paid up because you're gonna have a big fireball on your hands shortly.

John
 
Get it welded, that will last alot longer than tape, jbweld or any other temp fix. Usually will cost about $20 cash and take a minute or two depending on whether the welder can get at the crack w/o removing the manifold. The 4.0L is not the only one that has cracked header problems, just about everyone else who uses tube type exhaust manifolds has this problem too..
 
Mine had a crack where the tubes are collected. Bought one from the guy on ebay. Fit on just fine. It's been something like a year and I've had no further problems. It's stainless as well. I think the expansion joints reduce the stress that causes the cracks. It is difficult to weld the header in place and it takes a while to get it off. If you weld you may end up welding again and again.
 
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