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Hey guys,
I got crack on my Kia Sorentos exhaust manifold to me the material looks like cast iron. My doubt is can I go ahead and weld the crack. I might be able to remove that or take the car to my friend’s factory and mig weld it. Is it safe to mig weld after removing the battery terminals? If not what other method should I go for. I have no budget on getting a used one even at the moment and the vehicle hesitates a lot. Thanks in advance.
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The way to properly weld cast iron, and the way manifolds are done is with AC stick welding using an appropriate cast iron electrode. Luckily for you, that is the cheapest and nearly the most widely available kind of welder. You can strike an arc and deposit metal with a MIG welder, but it doesn’t truly bond. Anything that sticks to the cast iron is incredibly weak.
It is safe to weld it on the car with the battery disconnected, provided you can get to it and are prepared for any sparks that may fly where they shouldn’t be. If you think you can do that, Google search ‘welding cast iron’ to get a little free education beforehand.
It is somewhat common for a shop to remove a iron manifold and send it out to a welding shop for such a repair. If a manifold is several hundred dollars or hard to get, it becomes and attractive option. The welds don’t look pretty, but when there’s only one way to do it right you can’t be picky.
Check out ChuckE2009 on youtube, he has a few vids on welding cast iron. I have done it with his recommended “Nomacast” as well as Jupiter-BBB and both worked well. I would pull the manifold, clean the area and make a nice v-channel in the crack, preheat it and weld away. Also be careful when bolting it back on and make sure you torque it down evenly in a couple steps.
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