OK I was a "victim" of the dreaded fatigue cracks around the mounting point on the side pipes. So I pulled them ground off the ceramic coating welded and touched up with high-temp paint. I did a search and see where there are several fixes. My thought based on the different fixes is to get the Dark Water Customs hangers and to ONLY insert one bolt in the tab on the side pipe itself. I see were some, including Richard Oben, recommend this. My question is to the folks who did this: Was this a permanent fix? Did the stress cracks return? My thoughts based on the searches are that if I simply weld it and connect everything back up that the stress cracks will return.
Thanks, Russ.
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MKIII, 302 FMS Crate, GT40 Heads, Quick Fuel carb, TK0500 Mid-shift, 3-Link, 300 RWHP & Trq. Finally done after two years. I think I will call her Black Betty
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
What headers are you using? I have the j-pipes with the dark water hangers. If I remove one of the sidepipe hanger bolts my pipes sag. So using both bolts and no cracks yet.
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mark III #4165, on the road in white gelcoat.
Running J-Pipes. Before I noticed the cracks I had everything tight, but now I had planned to put only one bolt in the sidepipe mount (on the actual sidepipe itself) and leave it slightly loose. I was just wondering if anyone had done this fix and had run a few thousand miles without any further issues?
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MKIII, 302 FMS Crate, GT40 Heads, Quick Fuel carb, TK0500 Mid-shift, 3-Link, 300 RWHP & Trq. Finally done after two years. I think I will call her Black Betty
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
One of mine started to crack at the lower end of the flange welded to the pipe. This was 7 years ago when the problem was just becoming known. I removed one bolt and left the other loose. The little crack has not progressed one bit in 7 years/16K miles. I believe it's a viable fix.
Greg
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FFR4373 MK3, nondonor, DIY options/mods/paint, Lexus indigo/Viper silver, Hydroboost PS&PB/discs/ABS, AC/heat, 3-link/Konis, FMS302E, Holley 600DP/Airgap, 4X4 exhaust, Halibrand deep lip chrome CobraIII, TeamIII spinners, rollbars: chrome full & single
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MKIII, 302 FMS Crate, GT40 Heads, Quick Fuel carb, TK0500 Mid-shift, 3-Link, 300 RWHP & Trq. Finally done after two years. I think I will call her Black Betty
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
FFR MK3.1 7075 Delivered: 10/13/09, First start 2/28/11, gokart 10 minutes later
408w carbed, TKO 600, IRS (3.27 with Torsen), dual roll bars, halibrand replicas, SS side pipes, rivet on hood scoop, SAI mod
Satisfied customer of: Factory Five Racing, Mike Forte, Breeze Automotive, Whitby Motors, Herb's Door Panels, Cobra Heat, Stewart Transport, Wayne Presley (Very Cool Parts), North Racecars, and Finish Line
The best fix is to run 4 into 4's and don't use hangers.
LOL that's not a "fix" I can afford right now.
Thanks for all the responses.
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MKIII, 302 FMS Crate, GT40 Heads, Quick Fuel carb, TK0500 Mid-shift, 3-Link, 300 RWHP & Trq. Finally done after two years. I think I will call her Black Betty
"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."
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